black history
March 2026
FREEDOM LOST, FREEDOM WON: American History Through a Black Family’s Story
The American story is often packaged as a linear climb toward a “more perfect union”. But for many Black families, history feels less like a ladder and more like a pendulum—swinging between hard‑won breakthroughs and the inevitable backlashes that follow. Join Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and commentator Eugene Robinson for an exploration of this rhythmic history.
February 2024
A Long Time Coming: The Role Of Race In American History
Ray Anthony Shepard has put together an award-winning book for young readers to counter what he says are “years of sanitized Black History months and schoolbooks.”
January 2021
Markers and Reminders: MLK to BLM
Cambridge Forum partners with the Harvard Square Business Association to examine Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy and Black Lives Matter’s impact on the history of Cambridge, Boston, and beyond.
July 2020
Parenting While Black
Writer, poet, and teacher Clint Smith in conversation with Jude Nixon, Professor of English at Salem State University. Their discussion explores what it means to raise children during this challenging period of Black Lives Matter.
December 2017
Race Still Matters
Political activist, author, and Harvard University professor Cornel West speaks on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his national best-seller Race Matters.