Recorded February 28, 2022
Protest and Commemoration
In 1973, as the nation prepared for the bicentennial of American Independence, a different sort of commemoration was brewing. A reenactment sponsored by the City of Boston to mark the 200th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party became the scene of real-life protests calling for environmental protection, racial justice, an end to corporate profiteering, and the impeachment of Richard Nixon. Some 10,000 people marched in the streets of Boston, mock oil barrels were thrown into the harbor, and an effigy of the President was raised.
Half a century later, this moment of our city’s history is all but forgotten, but as we head towards the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, it raises important questions. How and why do these events deserve to be commemorated? Who inherits a legacy of protest and revolution? Can we look back at a moment frozen in time and still march forward in the spirit of change? This must-see panel discussion is moderated by WBUR’s Paris Alston and will feature Larry DiCara and Henry Adams.
Panelists
- HENRY ADAMS currently serves as Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. A graduate of Harvard College, he received his M.A. and PH.D. from Yale, where he received the Frances Blanshard Prize for the best doctoral dissertation in art history. He is the author of over 500 publications in the field of American art ranging in time from the 17th century to the present. The painter Andrew Wyeth described his book Eakins Revealed as “without question, the most extraordinary biography I have ever read on an artist.”
- LARRY DICARA served on the Boston City Council for ten years and has been intimately involved with the development process in Boston for many decades. While on the City Council, he actively participated in many of the decisions which made Boston the city it is today: Quincy Market, Copley Place, Charlestown Navy Yard, etc. As an attorney in private practice, Larry represented a wide array of clients with matters in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
Hosted by PARIS ALSTON, co-host of Morning Edition at GBH News. She was a host of the NPR podcast “Consider This,” produced in conjunction with GBH and WBUR.
This event is supported in part by a grant from the Lowell Institute.
Upcoming Events
- Massacre and Memory TourBEGINNING MARCH 3: A half-mile guided walking tour that explores the surprisingly small geography of colonial Boston to uncover the roots of the Boston Massacre and includes entry to the Old State House and Old South Meeting House.Read more →
- Special Member TourMAR 30: In this 60-minute tour, we’ll examine visual and textual representations of both powerful men and common people to understand how context impacts our confidence and trust in imagery. This tour is offered as a special benefit to Revolutionary Spaces Members and space is limited.Read more →
- Polly Sumner: Witness to the Boston Tea Party Book LaunchAPR 19: Author Richard C. Wiggin will read excerpts from his new children’s book, which tells the story of Polly Sumner, a real doll that arrived in Boston aboard one of the Tea Party ships 250 years ago.Read more →
Recent Online Events
- A Potent Force: A Material Memory ProgramMAR 14: Join us as we unearth a treasure from our expansive collection, the iconic Liberty Tree Flag, and explore the great American tradition of protest.Read more →
- The Boston Tea Party in HistoryJAN 10: Moderated by Revolutionary Spaces President & CEO Nat Sheidley, acclaimed historians will explore how the events preceding the Boston Tea Party led to this historic occasion.Read more →
- Piracy and Liberty by the SeaSEP 19: Join three swashbuckling experts on the struggle for freedom and equality in the pirate and maritime community. Eyepatches optional, registration is not.Read more →
- We Were Always HereJoin two esteemed professors to uncover the legacies of LGBTQ+ Colonial Americans and learn what life was like for those lived outside the gender and sexual norms of early America.Read more →
- Cry Havoc! Legislative Violence in AmericaVIDEO: Explore an iconic artifact from the Revolutionary Spaces’ collection and the legacy of what this American relic symbolizes: violence perpetrated in the hallowed halls of Congress.Read more →
- Unfinished Business Film SeriesA film series exploring the legacy of protest, representation, and revolution embodied in our historical sites.Read more →
- Joseph Warren, Medicine, and ActivismVIDEO: Explore the intersection of activism and medicine in this timely virtual panel discussion with scholars and doctors.Read more →
- Violence, Revolution, and MemoryVIDEO | In commemoration of the Boston Massacre, this panel explores political violence, revolution, and memory in a global context.Read more →
- Protest and Commemoration at the 1973 Boston Tea Party AnniversaryWho inherits a legacy of protest and revolution? Can we look back at a moment frozen in time and still march forward in the spirit of change?Read more →