Events

The Murder Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti: Inciting Passions a Century Later
Speaker: Hon. Dennis J. Curran, Justice, Massachusetts Superior Court (Ret.)
Thursday, May 23, at 7:00 p.m.
Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
Co-Sponsored by Friends of the Medford Public Library

On April 15, 1920, a robbery and double murder in South Braintree, Massachusetts, led to the arrest of two Italian anarchists, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. They were tried and convicted at Dedham Superior Court in 1921. No one could have foreseen that this local criminal case would become an international affair. Arguably the most famous trial in the 20^th century, this murder trial propelled two Italian immigrant anarchists into the international media spotlight. It divided a nation in the 1920’s, and has continued to arouse deep emotions, giving rise to enormous literature.
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The Great Abolitionist: Charles Sumner and the Fight for a More Perfect Union
Speaker: Stephen Puleo, Author and Historian
Thursday, June 6 at 7:00 p.m.
Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library
Co-Sponsored by Friends of the Medford Public Library

Historian Stephen Puleo will discuss his new book and relate the story of one of the most influential non-presidents in American history. In the tempestuous mid-19th century, as slavery consumed Congressional debate and America careened toward civil war and split apart–when the very future of the nation hung in the balance–Charles Sumner’s voice rang strongest, bravest, and most unwavering. Where others preached compromise and moderation, he denounced slavery’s evils to all who would listen and demanded that it be wiped out of existence. More than any other person of his era, he blazed the trail on the country’s long, uneven, and ongoing journey toward realizing its full promise to become a more perfect union.

Before and during the Civil War, at great personal sacrifice, Sumner was the conscience of the North and the most influential politician fighting for abolition. Throughout Reconstruction, no one championed the rights of emancipated people more than he did. Through the force of his words and his will, he moved America toward the twin goals of abolitionism and equal rights, which he fought for literally until the day he died. He laid the cornerstone arguments that civil rights advocates would build upon over the next century as the country strove to achieve equality among the races.
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Thanks to the Medford Arts Council for supporting MHSM

“These programs are supported in part by a grant from the Medford Arts Council, a local commission that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the City of Medford.”

The Power of Truth: Early Diversity in a Medford Neighborhood, February 2024
Murder at the Harvard Medical School, April 2023
Black Heritage Trail Virtual Tour, February 2022