Past Events
Suffolk University’s President Marisa J. Kelly, Ford Hall Forum, Law School Housing Discrimination Testing Program, College of Arts and Sciences, Communication, Journalism & Media Department, Office of Advancement, Office of Diversity, Access, and Inclusion, Black Studies Program, and Black Alumni Network present a screening of:
The new documentary Roxbury is an intimate exploration of a community’s struggle to rise above discriminatory housing policies such as redlining and restrictive covenants and the resulting legacy of race-based income inequality. The film highlights the voices of a vibrant community of color located in the heart of Boston and portrays its residents’ efforts to claim agency in a shared vision of a better future that reflects a larger struggle facing communities across the country.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Daniel Weidknecht, director of Roxbury and adjunct faculty member, Department of Communication, Journalism & Media, Leslie Reid, chief executive officer, Madison Park Development Corporation, Kelly Viera, director of Investigations and Outreach, Housing Discriminating Testing Program, and Ivy Ngugi, director of UMOJA MILELE. Soni Gupta, director of Neighborhoods and Housing at The Boston Foundation will serve as the evening’s moderator.
The film, a collaboration among Suffolk University’s Communication, Journalism & Media Department and Law School programs is made possible by an education and outreach grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
6:00 p.m. in person and live via Zoom
Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston
This event is free and open to the public.
Register here for in-person tickets
Register here for Zoom
PDF Flyer
Past Events
Join us for a talk with nationally acclaimed historian Zebulon V. Miletsky, Ph.D., as he discusses Boston’s long-held reputation as one of the most “liberal” cities in America, dating back to the Civil War era when Boston was the hub of abolitionism. The truth is more complicated. This primer on racism in America and the North will help shed light on Boston’s longer story.
Zebulon Vance Miletsky, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Africana Studies and History at Stony Brook University (SUNY) specializing in recent African American History, the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, Urban History, Mixed Race, and Biracial Identity. In addition to his earlier work on Mixed Race, Miletsky’s major project has been the Boston School Desegregation Crisis and the parent-led civil rights movement in Boston. His acclaimed book Before Busing: A History of Boston’s Long Black Freedom Struggle was published by the University of North Carolina Press in December 2022. Originally from Boston, Miletsky received his Ph.D. in African-American Studies with a concentration in History from the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2008.
Thursday, October 26, 2023
73 Tremont Street, Fifth Floor, Room 5050, Boston, Massachusetts
Lunch will be provided
12:30 Program begins
This program is free and open to the public. In-person registration is not required.
REGISTER here for Zoom
PDF Flyer
Past Events
Ford Hall Forum and GBH Forum Network invite you to a panel discussion moderated by Adrian Walker of The Boston Globe, with Zebulon V. Miletsky, PhD., associate professor of Africana Studies, Stonybrook University and the author of, A History of Boston’s Long Black Freedom Struggle, Alisa R. Drayton, Executive Director, Yawkey Club of Roxbury, and Marilyn Flowers-Marion, chairperson, Retired Teachers Chapter of the Boston Teachers Union, who will share their lived experiences of court-ordered busing in Boston during the 1970s. The panel will also explore the long-term impacts of busing on the city of Boston, including the current state of Boston’s public schools and racial equity in a myriad of arenas. Looking to the future, the panel will consider what a more equitable Boston Public School System might look like.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2023
120 Tremont Street, 5th Floor Commons, Boston
6:00 P.M. IN PERSON
Register here for LIVE VIA ZOOM
This program is free and open to the public.
PDF Flyer
Past Events
Each of the last presidential elections has presented its own unique challenges, from historically unpopular candidates to voting during a global pandemic. 2024 is shaping up to be no different. Join David Paleologos, Director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center and one of the United States’ most respected and trustworthy pollsters, to discuss our next unprecedented presidential election. Get the inside scoop on the swing states, critical voting blocs, and crucial issues that could make or break the 2024 elections. The afternoon’s moderator is Latoyia Edwards Emmy award-winning anchor on NBC10 Boston and NECN.
Friday, October 20, 2023
Live at 12:00 p.m. via Zoom
This event is free and open to the public.
Register here to attend via Zoom
PDF Flyer
This is a Program of Suffolk Weekend.
Past Events
Suffolk University’s Ford Hall Forum and Theatre Department, Front Porch Arts Collective, and the Actors’ Shakespeare Project present:
Reimagining Shakespeare through the Black Lens
Join us for a spirited conversation with Stevie Walker-Webb acclaimed Tony-nominated director of Ain’t No Mo’, actor, playwright, activist, and director of the play Fat Ham, Dawn M. Simmons, Associate Director of Fat Ham and Co-Producing Director of Front Porch Arts Collective, and Regine Vital, theatre artist, educator, and Actors’ Shakespeare Project Associate Producer. The evening’s moderator is Pascale Florestal, Director of Education, Front Porch Arts Collective, and Visiting Guest Artist Professor in Practice, Suffolk University.
The evening’s panel will discuss the evolution of Shakespeare’s work and how race and other intersections influence these stories and reflect on the world today. The panel will explore fresh new perspectives and distinct voices offered in two upcoming Boston theater productions, Fat Ham and The Taming of the Shrew.
Fat Ham, a Huntington Theatre production in partnership with Front Porch Art Collective and Alliance Theater, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning new play that is a smart and sharp reinvention of Shakespeare’s masterpiece, which took Broadway by storm this spring.
In The Taming of the Shrew, premiering at the Modern Theatre this fall, Artistic Director Christopher Edwards and the talented cast turn this beloved play inside out, flip it upside down and stretch it to the limits in a way that only Actors’ Shakespeare Project can – to find what truly sits at the heart of this hilarious and contentious comedy. Audience Q&A will follow this moderated conversation.
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
6:00 p.m.
Suffolk University’s Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
This event is free and open to the public.
Register here to attend in person
Register here to attend via Zoom
Click here for the PDF Flyer
Graphic Designer Credit: Ginny Warren Design
Past Events
Ford Hall Forum, and the Communication, Journalism & Media, Political Science, and Legal Studies Department, and History, Language and Culture Departments at Suffolk University present:
The Politics of Hate and Israel’s Ultimate Other
Join us for the screening of Hate: Arabs and Jews in Israel, the acclaimed documentary about the complex relationships between Arabs and Jews in Israel and their influences on domestic and national politics. Following the screening, filmmaker Ron Cahlili will be joined in conversation with Sayed Kashua, prominent Palestinian author, screenwriter, and journalist and Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber, PhD, chair and associate professor, Communication, Journalism & Media, Suffolk University.
The documentary Hate examines the apparatus of hate towards Israel’s Palestinian citizens. Director Ron Cahlili documents the way in which the different state systems, including educational, political, military, and the media, form a dominant structure that fosters and maintains fear and hatred towards Palestinian Arabs in Israel. Through striking footage and multiple interviews with experts, educators, and political activists, the film traces the forces behind the growing expressions of hate in the Israeli public sphere.
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02108
5:00-7:00 pm
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Register Here
https://ci.ovationtix.com/34432/performance/11351576
Past Events
Suffolk University’s Ford Hall Forum, Law School, History, Language and Culture Department, Communication, Journalism & Media Department, Women’s & Gender Studies Program, and the Office of Diversity, Access & Inclusion present:
A talk by internationally acclaimed scholar Hila Shamir, S.J.D., Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law and Fellow, Center for Labor & A Just Economy at Harvard Law School.
Human trafficking is widely regarded as one of the most urgent moral and political dilemmas in today’s global economy. In her talk, Professor Shamir will call for a shift away from the prevailing anti-trafficking strategies focused on criminal law, border control, and minimal human rights safeguards for recognized victims. Instead, she will advocate for an innovative labor-centered approach, aiming to dismantle the labor market structures conducive to grave exploitative practices. The labor-focused approach stresses the necessity of solutions tailored to the contextual variability of factors contributing to worker vulnerability. Certain existing tools show initial promise in reshaping the power dynamics among actors within sectors predisposed to severe labor market abuses. Following her talk, Shamir will be joined by Renée M. Landers, Professor of Law and Faculty Director of health and Biomedical Law concentration at Suffolk University. Audience Q and A will follow.
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Poetry Center, 73 TremontStreet, Second Floor, Boston, MA 02108
12:00 pm Lunch served
12:20 pm Program, in-person and via Zoom
This program is free and open to the public.
Register Here for Zoom
Click Here for the PDF Flyer
Past Events
Suffolk University’s Ford Hall Forum, Women’s & Gender Studies Program, the Communication, Journalism, & Media Department, Office of Diversity, Access & Inclusion, Center for Student Diversity & Inclusion, History, Language & Global Cultural Program, Center for Women’s Health and Human Rights, Our Bodies Ourselves Today, and GBH Forum Network present:
Gender Politics and Trans Rights and Inclusion: A Conversation with Trailblazing Trans Activist – Schuyler Bailar
As seen on The Ellen Show and 60 Minutes
Schuyler Bailar (he/him) was the first openly transgender D1 NCAA athlete. Since graduating from Harvard University in 2019, Schuyler has become an internationally celebrated inspirational speaker, author, and advocate for trans inclusion, radical body acceptance, and mental health awareness. He is also recognized as a top social media LGBTQ+ educator and advocate. In his talk, Schuyler will share his personal journey and discuss some of the recent legislation affecting trans rights. He will also speak about the importance of trans inclusion and strategies for taking action.
Schuyler will participate in a conversation moderated by Bobbi Van Gilder, PhD, assistant professor, Communication, Journalism, & Media Department, Suffolk University, followed by audience Q and A. The audience will have an opportunity to meet and greet Schuyler at the conclusion of the program.
Thursday, April 27, 2023
The program starts at 12:20 pm
Lunch will be served at 12:10 pm
120 Tremont Street, Fifth Floor Commons
In-person registration is not required.
Register here to join by Zoom
PDF Flyer
Past Events
Ford Hall Forum and the Departments of Political Science & Legal Studies and Communication, Journalism & Media present:
Middle-East to the Mid-West: A Palestinian Writer’s Journey
Join us for a presentation and discussion with acclaimed Palestinian author and screenwriter Sayed Kashua. Professor Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch from the Political Science & Legal Studies department will host the prominent Palestinian author, screenwriter, and newspaper columnist Sayed Kashua. Through humor and satire, Kashua shares the challenges and struggles of living in a foreign land and the difficulties of writing
about home from a distance.
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
In-Person and Live via Zoom
Sargent Hall, Fifth Floor Commons
120 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108
This event is free and open to the public.
Registration to attend in person is not required.
Click here to Join the Zoom webinar
Past Events
Join Revolutionary Spaces, Ford Hall Forum, and GBH Forum Network on March 14 as we unearth a treasure from our expansive collection, the iconic Liberty Tree Flag, and explore the great American tradition of protest. Commemorating the 250th Anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which ignited from the Meeting of the Body of the People at Old South Meeting House, we will examine how this artifact relates to protest and the fight for freedom in its time, connecting it to our broader understanding of American history.
Revolutionary Spaces Associate Director of Collections Lori Erickson will showcase the Liberty Tree Flag and discuss the artifact, which was used to mark the Liberty Tree as a site of memory that symbolized the power of protest. Almost every subsequent protest in Revolutionary Boston genuflected in some way to the Liberty Tree. Later, the flag was brought out at anti-slavery meetings and feminist meetings as a reminder of the power of protest to make a change.
This virtual panel discussion with Revolutionary Spaces President and CEO Dr. Nathaniel Sheidley and esteemed professor and award-winning author Robert David “KC” Johnson. Examine how this artifact relates to the great American tradition of protest, from colonial to the present day. The program will conclude with an audience Q&A.
This essential virtual program will provide context for future programs at Revolutionary Spaces and other institutions throughout the anniversary year of the Boston Tea Party, as we grapple with the notion of protest in our midst.
This program is made possible through the generous support of the Lowell Institute.
Potent Force Flyer Flyer
Register Here for Zoom
Past Events
The evening’s panelists are Catherine Barber, MPA, senior researcher, Harvard School of Public Health’s Injury Research Center, Greg Jackson, executive director, Community Justice Action Fund, xxx, and xxx.
Gun violence has become as ubiquitous as it is polarizing in the United States. An almost daily drumbeat of mass shooting events have made some people numb, others fear that it could happen to them, and produced a generation for whom active shooter drills in schools are routine. However, as horrific as these events are, they represent only a fraction of the annual mortality rate. Suicide represents the largest share of gun-related deaths per year, followed by homicide, accidents, and domestic violence. Despite this, it seems that the only thing we can agree about is that the overall toll is too high. What, if anything, can be done?
Join us as we move beyond the political battle over 2nd Amendment rights vs. public safety and take a deep dive into policy: what works, what doesn’t, and what is feasible to do in this highly charged environment.
This event is free and open to the public.
Registration is required.
Click here to register to attend in person
Click here to register to attend via Zoom
PDF Flyer
Past Events
Ford Hall Forum and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Suffolk University present:
Reproductive Rights Are Human Rights: Legal, Medical, and Social Challenges
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
12:20 pm
Poetry Center, Sawyer Library, Second Floor
73 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02108
Lunch will be served
THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
The afternoon’s panelists are Kristie Monast, executive director, HealthQ, Sheila Ramirez, JD, director, Health Policy and Government Relations at Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts, and Renee Landers, professor of law, and faculty director, Health and Biomedical Law Concentration and the Master of Science in Law: Life Sciences program, Suffolk University School of Law. Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber, PhD, associate professor, Communication, Journalism & Media will serve as the afternoon’s moderator.
The panel of experts will explore questions regarding the legal, medical, and social challenges women face after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade. Speakers will focus on multiple challenges faced by communities of color, undocumented immigrants, and women with limited access to healthcare.
REGISTER HERE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION.
Past Events
Little White Lie is a feature-length documentary that tells Lacey’s story of growing up in a typical middle-class white Jewish household in Woodstock, NY, with loving parents and a strong sense of her Jewish identity — that is until she discovers that her biological father is actually a black man with whom her mother had an affair. When Schwartz uncovers her family secret, it leads her on a personal quest to examine the big issues of race, identity, and belonging. Shoshana Madmoni-Gerber, Communication, PhD, Communication, Journalism & Media will lead the post-screening conversation with Schwartz.
Sawyer Building, Fourth Floor, Stoll Room
8 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108
5:00 pm
Register here to join the conversation via Zoom.
Past Events
The Loving Generation is a four-part digital documentary series focusing on the lives of biracial children, now adults, born to one black and one white parent from the mid-1960s thru the mid-1980s. We will screen two parts – Checking the Boxes and The Obama Era. Carlos Monteiro, PhD, Sociology Department, Suffolk University will lead the post-screening conversation with Schwartz.
73 Tremont Street, Poetry Center, Second Floor, Boston, MA 02108
12:20 pm, lunch will be served.
Click here for the flyer
Register here to join the conversation via Zoom.
Past Events
American democracy needs the passion and energy young people bring to the table today more than ever. Youth turnout in 2020 hit an all-time high. The question is how do we keep this momentum going? This series will examine why we all – especially younger citizens – can and should lead rich civic lives and actively engage in public life. While political discourse has become toxic and political sectarianism has increased, democracy is about citizens having input in the crafting of public policy decisions. At its best, democracy includes many voices. With more than eight million 18 and 19 year-olds joining the eligible voter pool in 2022, younger voters have even more power to make change. The question is how are they using it. Join us as we examine these issues to understand how young people are flexing their civic muscles and what we all can do to save our democracy.
Monday, November 28, 2022
Live at 6:00 pm via Zoom
This afternoon’s panelists are Samuel J. Abrams, PhD, non resident senior fellow, The American Enterprise Institute, Alvaro Diaz, a student activist at the University of Arizona, Caitlin Donnelly, senior program director, Nonprofit VOTE, Kostas Loukos, twice-elected Town Moderator in Mansfield, Massachusetts where he remains the youngest town moderator in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and Canyon Woodward, political strategist and co-author of Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why Our Future Depends On It. Katie Lannan, State House Reporter, GBH News, will serve as the evening’s moderator.
REGISTER TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION
PDF FLYER
Past Events
World-renowned dramatist Hugo Salcedo returns to Boston and to Ford Hall Forum for an evening of reflection on contemporary violence in his home country of Mexico. In The Three Profiles of Violence in Mexico’s Theatre: Immigration, Femicides, and Homophobia, Salcedo will explore how contemporary Mexican dramatists have chosen to represent violence in their plays.
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
6:00 pm
Sargent Hall, Fifth Floor Commons
120 Tremont Street, Boston, MA
This event is free and open to the public
Click Here to attend in person or virtually
PDF Flyer
There will be a short dramatic reading of Salcedo’s play Música de balas “Music to the Sound of Bullets” by New York based actor Dylan C. Wack. Winner of the 2011 National Prize for Dramaturgy, Música is a work that speaks to one of the biggest problems facing Mexico – violence due to organized crime. In this powerful play, Salcedo shows us a small window into the terrifying reality of this drug war and humanizes and rescues the victims from becoming mere statistics. This performance invites the audience, through a poetic and nostalgic tone, to feel and experience the daily life of its characters, who become ghostly figures that roam through indeterminate spaces, exalting the esthetic fragmentation and, in turn, expressing human frailty.
The evening’s moderator is Iani Moreno, associate professor, History, Language, & Global Culture Department, Suffolk University.
Past Events
Gen-Z’s civic engagement is loud, visible on the streets, and viral on social media. They are engaged, worried about big issues, and increasingly discontent with incremental or no progress in addressing them. The question is whether this energy will translate into votes? How do advocacy groups and political parties recruit young people? Some use aggressive tactics and build on anger. Some tap into the passion for an issue or partisan identity. Others stay above the fray, appeal to a sense of civic responsibility, and extol the power of voting. Who’s listening to all these different messages and why? No matter the rate at which young people turn out to the polls, they will play a pivotal role in the outcome of midterms just a few short days away, play a pivotal role in the outcome of midterms just a few short days away.
This evening’s panelists are
Hannah Joy Gebresilassie, award-winning journalist, media personality, and entrepreneur,
Adam Gismondi, Ph.D., director of impact, Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life,
Eric Gordon, professor, Emerson College, director of the Engagement Lab, and assistant dean of civic partnerships,
Ben Holden, a data science graduate student at the University of Colorado – Boulder and a Suffolk University alumnus,
Serena Saunders, communications & program coordinator, Running Start, and
Clarissa Unger, co-founder and executive director, Students Learn Students Vote Coalition. The evening’s moderator is
Katie Lannan, State House Reporter, GBH News.
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
Live via Zoom at 6:00 pm
This event is free and open to the public.
Past Events
Join us for the staged reading of the new play, SALTONSTALL’S TRIAL, The Untold Story of the Salem Witch Trials by award-winning actress, poet laureate, and director Myriam Cyr and attorney and author Michael Cormier. 1692 Salem, Massachusetts. Hysteria abounds and witchcraft accusations fly. A respected judge Nathaniel Saltonstall, is called to serve on the court of the Salem Witch Trials. As he questions the legitimacy of the proceedings, he is forced to choose between integrity and self-preservation. The truth will put his loves ones at risk and himself on trial. Based on a true story. In collaboration with the Suffolk University Theatre Department and Punctuate4 Productions. The reading will be followed by a talk back with Cyr, Cormier, and Marilynne Roach, acclaimed author and expert on the Salem witch trials. This is a collaboration among Ford Hall Forum, the Suffolk University Theatre Department, and Punctuate4 Productions.
Thursday, October 27, 2022
6:00 pm
Modern Theatre, 535 Washington Street, Boston, MA
Admission is free and open to the public.
PDF Flyer
Registration is required
Past Events
Ford Hall Forum, Women’s and Gender Studies Center, and the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion present:
Truth Tellers is a film about American Courage. Artist/activist Robert Shetterly has painted over 250 portraits of great Americans and etched inspiring quotes into the backgrounds of each. From the fight to remove symbols of hate to sustainability and climate activism, and from whistleblowing to the rights of indigenous people, Shetterly uses his art to explore these activists’ responses to some of the most pressing issues of our time. From contemporary activists for racial justice Bree Newsome, Zyahna Bryant and Rev. Lennox Yearwood, to climate activists Bill McKibben, Kelsey Juliana, and Bill Bigelow, Shetterly puts them in the context of our great civil rights leaders John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer and Bayard Rustin. Truth Tellers is both a story of Shetterly’s art and activism and a history lesson of what is required of a citizen in a democracy.
Thursday, October 13, 2022
6:00 pm
Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street, Boston, MA
No registration is required to attend in person
This event is free and open to the public.
Teller is a film about American Courage. Artist/activist Robert Shetterly has painted over 250 portraits of great Americans and etched inspiring quotes into the backgrounds of each. From the fight to remove symbols of hate to sustainability and climate activism, and from whistleblowing to the rights of indigenous people, Shetterly uses his art to explore these activists’ response to some of the most pressing issues of our time.
PDF Flyer
https://www.truthtellersfilm.com/
Past Events
Ford Hall Forum and the History, Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, and Language and Global Studies Department at Suffolk University present:
Prominent immigration lawyers and activists Alba Jaramillo, Isabel Garcia, and Eduardo Canales will gather in a panel to discuss the U.S.-Mexican border humanitarian crisis. They will describe the roles they have been playing for decades to try to solve and ameliorate the immigration crisis and their work with asylum seekers, migrants, and the families of people who have perished crossing the border. They will also discuss the current border policies regarding militarization, U. S. Code Title 42, and human smuggling. The evening’s moderator is Iani Moreno, associate professor, History, Language & Global Culture Department, Suffolk University.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
Modern Theatre at 6 PM
525 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111
This event is free and open to the public
The talk will be followed by a dramatic reading of the powerful play Winter_Invierno, by internationally renowned Mexican playwright Hugo Salcedo. This artistic presentation vividly portrays the very real crisis happening along the U.S.-Mexico border. In the play, Salcedo humanizies the atrocities that happen when one attempts to flee their country. The dramatic reading is directed by Laura Shink, assistant professor, Suffolk University Theatre Department.
Thursday, October 6, 2022
6:00 pm
Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111
This event is free and open to the public.
Click for their Bios:
