New Research Panel: Expanding Stories of Gender and Race at the National Parks of Boston

Our three speakers share the goal of expanding the narratives of liberty, justice, and representation that we present here at Boston National Historical Park to include the voices of women and African Americans. The speakers’ work connects this Park, commonly associated with the American Revolution, to a wider horizon of 19th and 20th century Bostonian efforts to fight for representation for groups who hadn't yet been granted the full benefits of American freedom. Join us to learn what they have produced, as well as for a panel discussion. 

In "Suffrage in Black and White," SCA Public Historian Katie Woods discusses her research on the Suffrage movement in Boston⁠—its roots in abolition and African Americans' participation in the movement.

In "The Great Migration Comes to the Charlestown Navy Yard," SCA Public Historian Megan Woods will explore the connections between the Great Migration and the Charlestown Navy Yard and uncover the discrimination black workers faced at the Navy Yard.

In “Yeomen (F): WWI and Beyond,” Independent Historian Jane Sciacca will take on Yeomen (F), who were not only the first enlisted women in the US military, but were the first generation of women whom the 19th Amendment had granted the right to participate in American government. The challenges and opportunities they had faced as Yeomen (F) would help them negotiate their new relationship with government and politics.

Join the National Parks of Boston for the “Saturdays in the Park” speaker series on Saturday afternoons through April 11, 2020. This symposium is one of the special topic programs selected with our neighbors in Greater Boston in mind. It’s something different for the local crowd during the “off season”.

All programs are free and open to the public. All programs take place in the Charlestown Navy Yard Visitor Center.