A humble piece of luggage, timeworn travel chests, and a slightly crumpled cardboard box on display at the Jackson Homestead and Museum are poignant reminders of immigrants’ journeys to the United States, some of which led to settling in Newton. “Suitcase Stories” highlights the artifacts and stories of five families…
Posts published in “History”
When three contiguous parcels (206-208 Concord Street in Lower Falls) were put on the market at the same time, Lower Falls resident Tori Zissman began to worry about the possibility of a developer tearing down the existing homes to make way for a new, larger project. Zissman, who had long admired…
This month, Fig City News profiles two particularly generous members of our community – Josephine McNeil and Lionel Porter – in celebration of Black History Month. Josephine McNeil Josephine McNeil is the founder and executive director of the Citizens for Affordable Housing in Newton Development Organization (CAN-DO), a community-based, nonprofit…
In a time of nationwide turmoil in the 1960s and 1970s, the Newton Public Schools (NPS) took a lot in stride: a homemade bomb exploding, major changes in school governance, and the beginning of significant cultural wars. On a Friday morning in November of 1968, a homemade bomb exploded in…
When METCO (the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) program began in 1966, organized opposition emerged in Brookline, Wellesley, Needham, and other neighboring suburbs, but not in Newton. METCO had “a smooth start here” without “incident or fanfare.” Instead of protesting METCO, Newton’s parents were protesting lunchtime. Between 1940 and 1970,…
Kabria Baumgartner, Dean’s Associate Professor of History and Africana Studies at Northeastern University, will present “The Troubled History of Race and Public Education in Massachusetts” at the Newton Free Library’s Druker Autotorium (330 Homer Street, Newton) on Wednesday, February 25 from 7-8PM. Baumgartner will explore how Black women activists fought for…
Sharon Stout, President MA Electors and Chair of the Newton Democratic City Committee and Emerge MA, will speak in Cabot Park Village’s Black History Lecture Series on Friday, February 27 at 3PM in the Community Room of Cabot Park Village (280 Newtonville Avenue, Newtonville). Cabot Park Village’s Black History Lecture…
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Kimberly S. Budd will speak in Cabot Park Village’s Black History Lecture Series on Wednesday, March 1 at 4PM in the Community Room of Cabot Park Village (280 Newtonville Avenue, Newtonville). Chief Justice Budd will speak on the topic of “Behind the Curtain of the Supreme…
Allison Pagliaro, Education Director of Historic Newton, will speak in Cabot Park Village’s Black History Lecture Series on Wednesday, March 4 at 2:45PM in the Community Room of Cabot Park Village (280 Newtonville Avenue, Newtonville). Black History has always been an integral part of Newton History. Learn from a historic…
Lisong Liu, professor of history at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, will discus “The Origins and Transformations of Chinese Communities in Boston,” at the Newton Free Library’s Druker Autotorium (330 Homer Street, Newton) on Thursday, March 12 from 7-8PM. An associate in research at the Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese…