http://masshumanities.org/?p=eventsUpcoming events in the Central Region:
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 7:30 PM
Defending John Brown: An Evening with Henry David ThoreauNationally-known Thoreau re-enactor Kevin Radaker will portray Thoreau in a one-person dramatic presentation. Weaving together passages from several of his writings, biographical and historical information, Radaker skillfully presents Thoreau's personality, intellect and wit, making the audience feel that they are in the presence of the actual man. This performance will stress Thoreau's political views and will contain selections from Thoreau's famous speech "A Plea for Captain John Brown." The dramatic monologue will be followed by a question-and-answer session with Thoreau, then with Radaker.
location: Mechanics Hall, 321 Main Street, Worcesterphone: (508) 471-2131web:
www.americanantiquarian.org/publicpro.htm#johnbrown cost: free
funded by Mass Humanities
grant programFriday, November 6, 2009 7:30 PM
Warriors for Freedom: John Brown and Henry David ThoreauDavid S. Reynolds, author of John Brown, Abolitionist: The Man Who Killed Slavery, Sparked the Civil War, and Seeded Civil Rights (Knopf, 2005), will describe how the Transcendentalists were the boldest and most publicly visible proponents of John Brown in the immediate aftermath of Harpers Ferry. Virtually everyone in the North, including radical abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, initially reacted negatively to Brown's attack on Virginia. Henry David Thoreau stood alone in coming out immediately and eloquently on Brown's behalf and planted the seed for the mass veneration of John Brown that grew steadily in the months before and after John Brown's execution on December 2, 1859. Focusing on three newly discovered letters housed at the American Antiquarian Society and written by Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Dr. Reynolds will argue that if it had not been for the positive reception and promotion of John Brown by Thoreau and other Transcendentalists, Brown may very well have passed into obscurity as a solitary, crazed anarchist.
location: American Antiquarian Society, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcesterphone: (508) 471-2131web:
www.americanantiquarian.org/publicpro.htm#johnbrown cost: free
funded by Mass Humanities
grant programSaturday, November 21, 2009 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
An (Un)Civil Action? Violent Politics in 1920's Worcester
On October 19, 1924, months of back-and-forth political intimidation climaxed in a night-long riot that followed a heavily protected Ku Klux Klan meeting at the Worcester Fairgrounds. Four years later, on Nov. 5, 1928 a pre-election Hoover victory parade of 8,000 marched down Shrewsbury Street in Worcester; they were attacked by some 10,000 opposition supporters. The ensuing riot lasted for hours.Join historian John MCClymer for a discussion program of civic violence in American politics, also featuring excerpts from the documentary, "John Brown's Holy War" and discussion of Brown's choice for armed conflict.Refreshments. Presented by Mass Humanities in collaboration with Assumption College, Worcester Historical Museum, and American Antiquarian Society.
location: Testa Science Center Auditorium, Assumption College, Worcester
phone: (413) 584-8440 web:
masshumanities.org/?p=uncivil_action email:
localhistory@masshumanities.org cost: Free and open to the public. No preregistration necessary.sponsored by Mass Humanities