ALBC Town Hall – Boston, MA
“Race, Freedom and Equality of Opportunity: Lincoln, Douglass and the Transformative Power of Words”
October 3, 2009

Northeastern University
Student Center Ballroom
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

Boston – The Boston TH discussed the role education played in the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and encouraged people of all ages to rededicate themselves to personal, community and national educational goals.  The event featured presentations from young people inspired by the speeches and writings of Lincoln and Douglass as well as a panel of celebrated leaders from academia and the arts.

The Town Hall sought to build and strengthen bridges between diverse community and national leaders committed to making sure everyone has an equal opportunity at education.

Panelists Included:

Hill Harper, Hill Harper, Actor (CSI: NY) and author of Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny, Letters to a Young Sister: DeFINE Your Destiny, The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Trusting Relationships.

John Stauffer, Harvard professor, author of Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln

Moderator: Peniel Joseph, Tufts University-Professor of History, author of Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America

Robin Chandler, Director, Northeastern University Women’s Studies Program & Associate Professor of African American Studies, artist, poet and writer.

Gary Ross, writer/director (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, The Tale of Despereux).

Gloribell Mota, Boston community activist and candidate for state representative (East Boston).

Lincoln, Douglass and the Transformative Power of Words was just one of the eleven town halls throughout the country exploring issues of race, equality, social justice and history.  Inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to build an equal opportunity society, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission’s Lincoln Legacy Town Hall Meeting series seeks to build mutual understanding about differing perspectives on race and ethnicity and provide an opportunity to re-examine what it means to be American in the 21st century.

The ALBC Town Hall Series is made possible with support from the Fetzer Institute.

Boston Town Hall Co-Conveners

The ALBC would like to thank the following co-conveners for their support in making the Boston town hall a success.

Barry Gaither / National Center of Afro-American Artists
Boston Public Schools – Dept. of Extended Learning Time Afterschool & Services DELTAS
Color of Film Collaborative
Exploritas
Facing History and Ourselves
Gerald E. Bell / Strongtower Intl. Inc.
Harvard Law School-Charles Hamilton – Houston Institute for Race and Justice
Kelley Chunn and Associates
Leonard Lee / Mass. Department of Public Health-Child and Youth Violence Prevention Director
Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities
Massachusetts Historical Society
Matahari: Eye of the Day
Northeastern University Institute on Race and Justice
Primary Source
Sue Auclair Promotions
Teen Voices
Unitarian Universalist Urban Ministry
Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts
Vicki Jones/MKD Inc.
Vision, Inc
Write Boston