Posts Tagged ‘Black history’
Oct 20 & 24: Guided tour: The Black Community in West Cambridge
Details The Black Community in West Cambridge guided tourTuesday, October 20 5:30-7:00 p.m.Saturday, October 24 10:00-11:30 a.m.Registration required$15 About the tour Although there are many in Cambridge who have never heard of Lewisville, this area of West Cambridge has been a vibrant and enduring part of the city’s history for over two centuries. The neighborhood,…
Read MoreOct 6: “Cambridge’s Black Community” Course
Cambridge’s Black Community: Seizing Freedom and Creating Community A 3 week courseOctober 6, 13, and 203-5 pmCambridge Center for Adult Ed42 Brattle StreetRegistration required Joins us for a fall course! From the time of its earliest settlement by European colonists, Cambridge has had a community of Black residents whose lives and work have shaped the city.…
Read MoreJune 14: Juneteenth at Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters
Sunday, June 14, 2026Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters105 Brattle Street, Cambridge4:00-5:00 pm Community partner tables, music, refreshments, and activities5:00-7:00 pm Speakers and Juneteenth #Pop Up Poetry, A Denise Plays Hard Event Gather for Juneteenth to honor those who endured slavery and seized freedom on Brattle Street 250 years ago, their descendants, and the long history of Black freedom activism in Cambridge…
Read MoreJune 13: Land/Mark Symposium
Land/Mark: A Symposium on Enslavement, Resistance, and the Revolution Saturday, June 13th, 11am – 3pmCambridge Public Library Lecture Hall449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138Free and open to the publicRegistration required This symposium explores the story of Mark, Phillis and Phebe, three enslaved people punished in 1755 for fatally poisoning their enslaver, John Codman, in order to break free from slavery. The case was so well known that 40 years later, Paul Revere referenced Mark when describing his famous 1775 ride. How should…
Read MoreAug 12 & 16: The History of Candy-Making in Cambridge Guided Tour
Details The History of Candy-Making in Cambridge Guided TourWednesday, August 12, 5:30-7:00 p.m.Sunday, August 16, 10:00-11:30 a.m.Registration required$15 Why Candy? Why Cambridge? One of the industries for which Cambridge is best known is candy-making – at its peak in the mid-twentieth century, the city boasted 66 different candy companies, including Squirrel Brand, Daggetts, and NECCO,…
Read MoreDebate Over Fugitive Slave Act Raises Questions of “Lawful Authority”
By Beth Folsom, 2026 On April 5, 1851, the Cambridge Chronicle reported that “an alleged fugitive named Robert Symmes was arrested in Boston on a warrant from Geo. T. Curtis, Esq., U.S. Commissioner. Symmes is alleged to be the slave of James Potter, of Chatham County, Ga.” In his struggle against arrest, Symmes allegedly “inflicted…
Read MoreMay 13: Warren Milteer Jr. and Susan Tomlinson
Wednesday, May 13, 20266:00pm – 7:30pm Cambridge Public Library Lecture Hall 449 BroadwayFree; please register Join the Cambridge Black History Project, the Cambridge Public Library, and History Cambridge in welcoming Warren Eugene Milteer Jr. for a reading and discussion of his new book, Out of This Strife Will Come Freedom: Free People of Color and the Fight for…
Read MoreWest Cambridge History Hub
2026 is our year of West Cambridge! Check out our upcoming events A Brief History of West Cambridge As defined by the City of Cambridge’s Community Development Department, the neighborhood of West Cambridge is bounded on the west by Fresh Pond, on the north by Concord Avenue, on the south by the Charles River and…
Read MoreWest Cambridge’s Lewisville Neighborhood Highlights Resilience of the Black Community
By Beth Folsom, 2026 Although there are many in Cambridge who have never heard of Lewisville, this area of West Cambridge has been a vibrant and enduring part of the city’s history for over two centuries. The neighborhood, roughly bounded by Concord Avenue, Garden Street, and Shepard Street, was a community made up largely of…
Read MoreFeb 8: What Happened to the Black Community in Cambridge?
Sunday, February 84 pm159 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138FreeRegistration required as space is limitedStreet parking only; not handicap accessible What Happened to the Black Community in Cambridge? Black History in Action presents a lively conversation with Alyssa Pacy, Archivist at the Cambridge Public Library, Charles Sullivan, Executive Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission, Dr. Kris Manjapra,…
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