Mass Humanities

05/29/2026

Shout out to filmmaker Evan GoodchildGoodchild, whose film "AfriCOBRA + Nelson Stevens: Art for the People" will be screened at the The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston on June 19th this year!!! More event details will be shared soon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO-GhCpaRwE

New England Public Media

Legacies: Stories of Black History in the 413 is an exploration of ...

05/28/2026

A heartfelt congratulations to Lee Pelton of the The Boston Foundation , who will conclude his tenure as President and CEO at the end of August. We were honored to recognize Lee with a Governor's Award in the Humanities in 2020. Thank you, Lee, for your commitment to strengthening Boston and Massachusetts.

Read more on TBF's website:

President and CEO Lee Pelton has informed the Board of Directors of his intention to conclude his tenure this year. Pelton will remain fully engaged as President and CEO though August 31st while the Board leads a search process for the Foundation’s next leader.

05/27/2026

We spoke with Bob Rivers, Chair of the Board of Eastern Bank and Chair of MA250, to see what the 250th has him thinking about this year. Thank you for championing the 250th across the commonwealth, Bob!

05/26/2026

Our annual report for 2025 is now available online! https://masshumanities.org/annual-reports/

Take some time this afternoon to re-live some of our highlights from the past year, including providing $800,000 in Expand Massachusetts Stories grants, supporting 71 readings of Frederick Douglass, bringing the Smithsonian Museum on Main Street "Voices and Votes" exhibit to six rural towns, and congratulating 46 students who graduated from The Clemente Course in the Humanities.

Our annual report was designed by our friends at Maple and Main Creative ✨

Thank you to Barr Foundation and Mass Cultural Council for your continued support and belief in our mission.

05/26/2026

Thanks to our friend Dave Slatery at Mass Cultural Council for contributing this personal reflection to our latest "People's Guide to the Revolution."

Acting Executive Director David Slatery's essay for Mass Humanities' “People’s Guide to the Revolution”

05/21/2026

"...slowly, steadily, the “we” expanded."

For Volume 4 of our "People's Guide to the Revolution," we're kicking things off with an essay by Carol Rose, executive director at ACLU of Massachusetts. Visit our website to read "The Revolutionary Power of 'We'" here: https://masshumanities.org/the-revolutionary-power-of-we/

05/01/2026

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05/01/2026

ICYMI: King's Chapel in Boston is doing amazing work to reconcile with its institutional history. In the fall of 2025, the church unveiled "Unbound," a breathtaking sculpture memorializing the 219 women, men, and children who were enslaved by former parishioners and ministers. Learn all about this "Promises of the Revolution" project in our Q&A with Gianna Russi, Director of King's Chapel History Program, on our website:

https://buff.ly/8FG78Jq

04/27/2026

“Journey Toward Reconciliation: A Memorial to Enslaved Persons at King’s Chapel.”

Gianna Russi: "There are two really important words there, 'journey' and 'reconciliation'. 'Journey,' because it’s the understanding that it’s not ending. It’s always going to be a journey towards understanding, towards reckoning with this history and all it stands for. And there’s always a next step, always something to aspire to. And so understanding that it’s a long term thing, it’s something that’s going to be continued to be grappled with for years and years.

And also 'reconciliation' being another important part. It’s really about reconciling with the history. It’s about reckoning with it. This is something the congregation at large and also the living memorial is really hoping to achieve."

Gianna Russi, Director of King's Chapel History Program, is featured in Vol. 3 of our guide to the 250th. Read the Q&A here: https://buff.ly/8FG78Jq

CC: King's Chapel MA250 Federation of State Humanities Councils

04/23/2026

Democracy Abroad: A look at America’s 250th through the eyes of four documentary filmmakers | By Larry Hott

ICYMI, MH board member Larry Hott provided an incisive reflection on democracy today for our most recent "People's Guide to the Revolution." This is required viewing for anyone interested in the state of democracy today. Watch on our website now:

By Larry Hott I’m a long-time documentary filmmaker and I’m also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, also known as the Oscars. I’ve been reviewing films for the Academy Awards for more than 30 years and this year I noticed that several documentaries are about threats t...