Originally recorded April 8, 2021
Revolutionary-Era Buildings As Monuments
Many Americans visit Revolutionary Era sites to connect to our national founding story and ideals. These places were not built as monuments, but previous generations turned them into just that: Iconic places that venerate the past to create a collective American identity. Yet the stories embedded in these sites are often of white founding fathers with ideas that continue to inspire us, and actions that fall well short of their rhetoric. A New Space for Our Ideals asks us to reckon with the role these Revolutionary sites play as monuments in our society, and how we might view them as an invitation to a contemporary conversation about our national values.
Panelists
- Gary Sandling, Vice President of Visitor Programs and Services at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation
- Nathaniel Sheidley, CEO of Revolutionary Spaces
- Kyera Singleton, Executive Director of the Royall House & Slave Quarters
- Karin Wulf, Professor of History at William & Mary and Director of the Omohundro Institute
- Moderated by Cristela Guerra, arts and culture reporter for WBUR’s The ARTery
This event is generously sponsored by the Lowell Institute.
Upcoming Events
- Massacre and Memory TourA 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 →
- Changemakers: A History SlamJUNE 12: Our first-ever History Slam – a night full of raucous history presentations (we dare you!), music, drinks… and a little friendly competition!Read more →
Recent Online Events
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- 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 →
- Legacy of the LoyalistsA panel discussion on the legacy of Loyalists. How does the cultural memory of those early Americans left in the shadows transform over time?Read more →