Celebrate LGBTQIA+ Pride Month with BPL Special Collections

Come celebrate Pride Month with Special Collections! Select items that spotlight LGBTQIA+ culture and history will be on view for the month of June in the Special Collections reading room—no appointment necessary. Items include: A Historical Map of Lesbian and Gay Boston (1995); The score of the opera Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten; A 1611 stage play about a woman who defied the gender binary; Wanderfolk in Wonderland (1903), written and illustrated by a queer couple; and photographs by Zoe Perry-Wood of BAGLY LGBTQ+ Youth Prom.

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In Person: Black Boston Stories: Taking Care · June 15, 6:00pm ET

When you think of locations that are important for taking care of residents in Boston’s Black communities, what place or places come to mind? On Thursday, June 15 at 6PM at the Grove Hall Branch Library, Apolo Cátala, OASIS on Ballou; Reggie Jean, Haley House; and Jo-Anna Rorie, Neighborhood Birth Center will reflect on taking care in and of Boston’s Black communities and lead a wider conversation with participants. Food will be served starting at 5:30PM.

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Mapping 250 Years of Poetry in Boston

“In Boston’s dense and contradictory history, stretching from the horrors of American slavery to the privileged complacency of east coast academia and suburbia, and including both the harsh realities of socio-economic inequality and the community-based activism and solidarity which it sparks, there is always something to be gained from a closer look at the personal lives and diverse experiences of the countless people involved,” writes Northeastern University co-op student Patricio Pino in his latest article on mapping poetry in Boston.

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In-Person: K-12 Educator Professional Development Workshop · July 10-12

Hey Boston teachers! Are you teaching the new AP African American Studies course? This three-day workshop, Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Activism in Turn-of-the-20th Century Boston, is designed in conjunction with our current Building Blocks exhibition to expand participants’ knowledge and comfort in teaching the role and impact of women in Boston’s Black history. Designed for teachers in grade 3-12.

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Help Us Unlock $10,000 in Matching Funds

With just three weeks left in June, we’re almost a quarter of the way to our fundraising goal of unlocking $10k in matching funds. Any amount you give before June 30 will count 2X as much in the next fiscal year. If you value the work we do, please help us reach our match! Every gift counts.

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Watch Now: Blake Gumprecht on North to Boston

Academic geographer Blake Gumprecht joined us last Wednesday to discuss his new book, North to Boston: Life Histories from the Black Great Migration. He gave previews into the life stories of ten people who moved to Boston from the South as part of the Great Migration and spoke about the process to reconstruct such stories.

Watch the recording →