A publication of Mass Humanities
Spring 2015
The Theater of Possibility
Six previously incarcerated women found their voices through the Generational Legacy Project; now a few participants are getting advanced degrees and influencing state policy.
Incarceration rates have leapt across the nation, and adapting to life after prison is an increasingly common experience. A play Mass Humanities recently funded, Hidden Faces of Courage, was penned by six women under the guidance of playwright Mary Cook Driscoll and offered us a glimpse at their stories. Driscoll’s co-authors intimately know the challenges facing women leaving prison—they’ve done it themselves—and with her guidance, they have explored literature, film, and the true stories of other women like them to reflect on and discuss their personal experiences. The stories told within Hidden Faces are cast from this mold and explore the strength and resilience of women exiting prison. They must adapt to new circumstances, yet their connections to each other prove enduring. On With Living and Learning (OWLL), a Boston-based organization, received the maximum grant award for Hidden Faces in 2013. At the time, the Mass Humanities strategic initiative emphasized those projects that explored social issues as well as the history and promise of collective action to remedy them. The grant funded a nine-month project that began with a series of workshops for previously incarcerated women and culminated in a series of six sold-out performances co-produced by the Fort Point Theatre Channel. “Mass Humanities took a chance on us,” Mary shares, “at a time when people weren’t talking much about this issue yet. I’ll forever be grateful for that. It is difficult to get funding for these programs since prison reform organizations don’t understand the impact of the arts and humanities. There is a big difference between OWLL’s programs and social services agencies, and that is the bond. We are all women, we share a common humanity. Every one of these women has sat in my In This Issue living room as my peer and producing Hidden Faces of Courage helped us Recent Grants to realize that.” page 2
2014 Annual Report page 3
2015 Mass History Conference page 7
Jill Ker Conway, Humanist page 8
The catalyst for OWLL’s work lies in Mary’s transformative friendships. Years ago, her focus was on women living with HIV and she convened a small consciousnessraising group in her home. One woman who attended was
Women confront the challenges of their situation in discussion with a reentry worker. Akiba and Mary share a thought at Generational Legacy’s first informal read.
surly and closed-off; she sat wrapped in her puffy jacket, a hat slung low over her eyes and a cigarette protruding from her mouth, saying little. She was HIV positive and straight out of prison but Laverne eventually opened up and shared her story. A boundary-crossing friendship between Mary and Laverne ensued. Mary with a Ph.D. and Laverne an 8th grade education, they defied the status quo and spoke openly about HIV and its effect on women, a challenging subject in most circles at the time but especially for the art world where women were—and remain—underrepresented. They clarified an important aspect of their work one day over coffee when Laverne realized that all of the women they engaged had been in prison. Hidden Faces was first written to express this commonality and find ways for women in a similar situation to connect. Laverne, then in her twilight years, wanted to describe the pathways to prison, the women’s circumstances, and the root causes of incarceration. The play centered on her relationship with Mary but that soon shifted to a focus on family, a shared concern among the participants. “As Laverne was dying, she asked me to rewrite the play,” Mary explains, “she wanted it to be about living in the shadow of incarceration. These women are still in prison even though they’re on the outside. Hidden Faces became about mothers facing a dysfunctional reentry system and succeeding anyway.” Continued on page 2
Continued from page 1
Hidden Faces evinced the power of the humanities to change lives. Each of the participants was treated like a theater professional and the requirements were steep: regular hours, public engagements, contract negotiations, and so on. Many of the women were able to shape their personal histories and present them to their family members for the first time. “They could tell the story in a nonthreatening way and their families could hear it as a whole,” as Mary says, and one such case reunited one of the women with her estranged family. She has now joined OWLL’s board of directors—one of two participants who did—and is an advocate specializing in mental health issues. She is working with Mary on using the creative process in programs for women reentering after incarceration. By the time of the Fort Point production, the women were transformed. The social isolation they had felt was melted away by their connection and their work on the play. “At the
cast party,” Mary recalls, “there were Ph.D.s and people exiting prison, but put them in the living room together and all that breaks down.” Now, the influence of Hidden Faces reaches from personal relationships to the State House. After one performance, an audience member approached the director and crew about engaging legislators with the play. Two senators and two representatives were receptive and the crew was invited to stage a production on the grand staircase in the State House on May 21st. It will be an unusual performance, Driscoll notes, since usually the content is either about the women’s pathways to prison or their reentry, but the offiMASS HUMANITIES 66 Bridge Street cials want a full production, agreeing Northampton, MA 01060 and confirming that the theater is a tel (413) 584-8440 fax (413) 584-8454 route to understanding. www.masshumanities.org STAFF
Recent Grants
David Tebaldi
Berkshire
Pleun Bouricius
$10,000 to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center for the gathering of local oral histories from members of multi-generational working families in the Berkshire County area and the subsequent creation and performance of four short plays based on their stories ENA $10,000 to Lift Ev’ry Voice to support a summer youth program as part of the Biannual Lift Ev’ry Voice Festival, focused on African-American identity in the Berkshire’s as well as the history and question of civil rights ENA
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
dtebaldi@masshumanities.org
Boston
$9,700 to the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library for an exhibition timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of Boston’s resistance to the British Stamp Act of 1765, as well as a summer teachers’ institute for teachers in the Boston Public School district NSC $10,000 to Central Square Theatre for community humanities programming to complement the play, Mr g, for underserved youth and young and working adults, including faithbased communities of color ENA $5,000 for the Cambridge Forum to host a series of six public conversations, entitled The Health of Democracy, that examine the proper role of government in promoting the general welfare of its citizens as well as shaping and overseeing the nation’s social contract NSC
Six short multimedia pieces will be the focus for a discussion series about the lives of detained immigrants in Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement’s new work. The Emily Dickinson House in Amherst hosted a retreat for literary house professionals.
$10,000 to Save the Harbor / Save the Bay to train summer program staff to engage new audiences in humanities storytelling about Boston Harbor and its historical denizens ENA $8,000 to the Friends of the Public Garden to support the annual history day on Boston Common, in which more than 1,000 fifth grade students participate ENA $10,000 to the Fletcher Maynard Academy for a program engaging 25 young black men from grades three through five in nominating the home of local hero Suzanne Revaleon
Green for inclusion on the African American Heritage Trail in Cambridge ENA
DIRECTOR OF GRANTS & PROGRAMS
pbouricius@masshumanities.org Carolyn Cushing
$10,000 to the Institute for New England Native American Studies to convene Native groups in Boston, Worcester, Cape Cod Islands and South Coast, and Amherst in roundtable discussions envisioning a new social contract between the Commonwealth and its Native peoples NSC
Cape & Islands
$10,000 to the Cape Cod Community Media Center for preproduction of Stephano: The True Story of Shakespeare’s Shipwreck, a film project that will trace the life of Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins as part of the Center’s “Hit and Run History” series Media $1,000 to the Sturgis Library for Shaking Two Nickels Together, a reading and discussion group centered around the theme of income inequality
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
ccushing@masshumanities.org Deepika Fernandes FISCAL OFFICER
dfernandes@masshumanities.org David Morgan COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER EDITOR OF MASS HUMANITIES
dmorgan@masshumanities.org Anne Rogers SYSTEMS MANAGER
arogers@masshumanities.org Rose Sackey-Milligan PROGRAM OFFICER
rsackey-milligan@masshumanities.org John Sieracki DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS
jsieracki@masshumanities.org Jeannemarie Tobin DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT
jtobin@masshumanities.org Melissa Wheaton ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AND GRANTS ADMINISTRATOR
$5,000 to the Provincetown Theater Foundation for multi-lingual playbill essays and study for local high schools and community college classes illuminating the relationship between the Provincetown Playhouse’s famous founders and the Portuguese fishing community on the theater’s 100th anniversary ENA Several of the grants fall under special categories: ENA: Engaging New Audiences Media SIR: Scholarship-in-Residence grant NSC: Negotiating the Social Contract SMOG: Social Media Outreach grant
Continued on page 7
mwheaton@masshumanities.org Hayley Wood SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER
hwood@masshumanities.org Mass Humanities promotes the use of history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to deepen our understanding of the issues of the day, strengthen our sense of common purpose, and enrich individual and community life. We take the humanities out of the classroom and into the community. Mass Humanities, a private, nonprofit, educational organization, receives funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; and private sources.
Annual Report
2014
Program Updates The Clemente Course
FROM THE DIRECTOR
Class and the Classics As one of America’s taboo subjects, class permeates our social contract discussions yet only periodically takes center stage. Perhaps that is because it is a thorny issue, one that we prefer to gently set aside and politely leave undisturbed. The national creed that we are created equal serves to occlude class difference—we flatter ourselves that we’re a classless society—but also invites us to inquire after the idea of equality and its lived expression.
Four hundred seventy four students have now graduated from our Clemente program, which provides students from disadvantaged backgrounds with the opportunity to earn tuition-free college credit. Forty more students graduated in 2014. The first cohort enrolled in courses at the newly established Worcester site, our fourth in the state.
Indeed, it is no accident that the 40th anniversary celebrations Mass Humanities staged in 2014 were titled “Created Equal.” The commemoration coincided with the launch of our new thematic initiative, “Negotiating the Social Contract,” which draws from John Winthrop’s project to unify sentiment in the Puritan colony and imbue it with social cohesion. Winthrop’s concerns about class were a driver in his thinking about the social contract, as we recognize in our theme statement: To Winthrop, “some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission.” They needed, he felt, to ensure the cohesion of the community by allowing those differences in fortune—the pursuit of individual families’ wealth—while also securing the consent of the poor by sharing this wealth as needed.
If these sentiments rankle readers today, we likely owe the frustration to the egalitarian impulse behind the phrase created equal. Our social contract includes commitments to equality of opportunity and access but not outcome. The Clemente Course in the Humanities is our effort to elaborate on that promise, as it provides access to the humanities and opens a pathway to success for individuals in economically distressed communities. The Clemente Course is our most recognizable cross-class program; professors from Harvard and other selective colleges lead classes in Brockton, Dorchester, New Bedford, and Worcester, uniting in a common enterprise two socio-economic ends of the Commonwealth’s social spectrum. One often hears about learning to “code switch” in conversation with Clemente students, and the degree to which a student can adopt new social cues, dress, or language—the markers of class—is the degree to which they understand themselves as changed persons. Whereas discussions of Socrates , Kant, or John Stuart Mill were previously beyond the pale for the students, now they are part of the ongoing conversation about matters of ultimate concern that we call “the humanities.” The Inspire Campaign to endow the Fund for New Communities is a multi-year initiative we’ve undertaken to ensure that programs like the Clemente Course continue to reach new audiences. But it is not only recently that Mass Humanities has sought to fund programs that serve a broad class spectrum. We’ve worked for decades to ensure that the contributions the humanities make to our civic life are available to all, and that the lessons we glean from them continue to inform and enlighten us as we strive to shape a better future. Early in our organization’s history, we accepted a mandate to serve all of Massachusetts based on the understanding that the humanities are not exclusively for scholars and university students. We recognize that the humanities inspire people of all class backgrounds—and that the programs we fund and sponsor are enhanced by the diversity of class perspectives participants bring to them. Our differences are important to understand, as are the commonalities we bring to this shared endeavor.
Family Adventures in Reading (FAIR) Over 250 children attended FAIR with their adult caretakers in 2014; nearly every region of the state was served. The program pairs world-class children’s literature with professional storytellers. The results are increased library use, higher literacy, and characterbuilding conversations between generations. FAIR took place in 12 libraries this year, including a pilot program for preteens.
Literature & Medicine Euripides, David Sedaris, and Audre Lorde were all read and discussed by medical professionals in Literature & Medicine: Humanities at the Heart of Health Care this year. These and other authors gave attendees the opportunity to reflect on their work through the power of literature. Lit & Med reached a landmark in 2014, having served over 1,000 participants since its inception in Massachusetts, including 70 this year.
The Public Humanist The writers who support our foray into the digital humanities continued to generate exceptional content and give voice to many aspects of Mass Humanities programming, grant making, and administration. Thirtyfive thought-provoking articles reached our audience this year.
Massachusetts History Representatives from over 90 organizations were drawn to our annual conference, a celebrated event for state historians. Public readings of “The Meaning of the Fourth of July for the Negro” were hosted in nine sites as part of our Reading Frederick Douglass program. Our digital almanac of state milestones and curiosities, Mass Moments, reached 3,554 subscribers daily. 33
2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2014 Financials
CHAIR
MASSACHUSETTS FOUNDATION FOR THE HUMANITIES, INC. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION OCTOBER 31, 2014
VICE CHAIR
Ben Birnbaum
BOSTON COLLEGE
Nancy Netzer ASSETS
BOSTON COLLEGE
LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
Current Assets
TREASURER
Current Liabilities
Cash Grants receivable Other accounts receivable Prepaid expenses Pledges receivable - within one year
Total Current Assets
1,095,487 93,405 15,440 36,732 10,745 $1,251,809
Regrants payable Accounts payable Deferred revenue Accrued expenses
88,051 30,677 50,000 54,916
Total Current Liabilities and Total Liabilities
$223,644
James R. Burke
HINCKLEY, ALLEN & SNYDER LLP CLERK
G. Perry Wu STAPLES, INC.
jessie little doe baird
WÙPAN‚AK LANGUAGE RECLAMATION PROJECT
Net Assets
Capital Assets–At Cost
Leasehold improvements Equipment Computer software Vehicle Less - accumulated depreciation
32,032 11,430 7,910 12,498 63,870 (50,533)
Total Capital Assets
$13,337
Unrestricted Unrestricted–board designated Temporarily restricted Permanently restricted Total Net Assets
Investments Cash – endowment – donor designated – board designated Pledges receivable – within one year – after one year
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Kathryn Bloom
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
Lauren Cohen
RUDER FINN
$2,562,238
Javier Corrales
AMHERST COLLEGE
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS
Other Assets
Ellen Berkman
654,335 104,238 409,700 1,393,965
Elliot Bostwick Davis
$2,785,882
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
10,926 1,215,505 104,238 86,708 103,359
Total Other Assets
$1,520,736
TOTAL ASSETS
$2,785,882
Alfred Griggs
NORTHAMPTON
Andrew Peter Helene RBS CITIZENS, N.A.
Ronald B. Hertel
WELLS FARGO ADVISORS, LLC
Lindsey Kiang CHESTNUT HILL
Leila W. Kinney
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Lucia Z. Knoles
CHANGES IN UNRESTRICTED NET ASSETS (INCLUDING NET ASSETS RELEASED FROM RESTRICTIONS)
ASSUMPTION COLLEGE
James Lopes
Foundations 5%
Federal 54% State 24%
Individuals 11%
SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL OF LAW
Corporations 2%
Revenue: $1,509,851
Jeffrey Musman
SEYFARTH SHAW, LLP
Robert Pura
GREENFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Other organizations 3%
Interest <1%
Tom Putnam
JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Fundraising 18%
Bianca Sigh
Grants and Programs 66%
NYSTROM BECKMAN & PARIS LLP
Expenses: $1,414,558
Lisa Simmons
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF TRAVEL & TOURISM
John Stauffer
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Administration 16%
Kathleen Stone
ATTORNEY AT LAW
Ken Vacovec
VACOVEC, MAYOTTE & SINGER, LLP
The Inspire Campaign to establish the permanent
Suzanne Frazier Wilkins
EXECUTIVE COACH
Fund for New Communities and meet the NEH Challenge by July 2016
Pledges and payments as of April 2015 $250,000+ National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant: up to $425,000 To be matched by $1,275,000 from other sources $100,000+ John Burgess and Nancy Adams Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Paterson Historical Fund
$25,000+ Jean Beard James and Laura Burke Ronald and Colleen Hertel $10,000+ Anonymous (2) Lisa Baskin Ellen Berkman and David Bryant Dianne F. and Paul Doherty Alfred and Sally Griggs Carolee Howell Susan and Drew Leff Polly and Charles Longsworth
Jeffrey Musman and Lynne Spencer John and Joan Regan William Schawbel David and Peggy Starr John Stauffer Kenneth and Linda Vacovec Katherine and Phillip Villers G. Perry Wu $1,000+ Ned and Elizabeth Bacon Sanford and Elizabeth Belden Ben and Diane Birnbaum Kathryn Bloom
Bruce Bullen and Maria Krokidas John Carroll Citizens Bank Foundation Richard and Wendy Cohen Jill Ker Conway Javier Corrales John and Marie Dacey Andrew Helene Lucile Hicks Lindsey Kiang and Anne-Marie Soulliere Leila Kinney Lucia and Thomas Knoles Charles Lidz Jean MacCormack
Susan Mikula and Rachel Maddow Cullen and Anna Marie Murphy Michael Pappone and Diane Savitzky Richard and Marcie Sclove William and Laura Shea Lisbeth Tarlow David Tebaldi Cynthia Terwilliger David Weinstein Up to $999 Lawrence Ambs Glynda Benham Pleun Bouricius Ruth Butler
Lauren and Ian Cohen Elliot Bostwick Davis John Dineen Abaigeal Duda Alexa and Ranch Kimball James Lopes Sonia and Angel Nieto Marisa Parham Tom Putnam John Sigel and Sally Reid Bianca Sigh Ward Lisa Simmons Lauren Sloat Kathleen Stone and Andrew Grainger Suzanne Frazier Wilkins
Several of the grants fall under special categories:
2014 Grants Boston
$9,707 to the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library to develop and implement a multi-lingual exhibit of censusbased maps of Boston telling the story of recent immigration in the city ENA $10,000 to Theatre Espresso to create multi-lingual playbills for the company’s Road to Tolerance cycle of five plays, to be presented to Boston Public School students ENA $10,000 to the Museum of African American History to create, run, and evaluate two four-day summer institutes for 60 Boston-area teachers on the theme of women in African American history ENA $4,900 to the American Islamic Congress to supply the Boston Muslim Film Festival with speakers, scholars, and publicity materials for its seventh annual presentation $10,000 to the Pluralism Project for Religion Refocused, a partnership with upwards of ten faith-based groups of diverse traditions uniting to host five film-and-discussion events on civics and religion ENA $3,970 to In Good Company for performances of The Golden Door, a new musical play on the immigration history of Boston, and honoraria for a humanities scholar and panelists for post-performance talk-backs in three communities $10,000 to the American Repertory Theater for The A.R.T. of Human Rights, interactive seminars, theatrical productions and public conversations exploring art and human rights CCCC
In-Kind Donations
$1,500 to the Appalachian Mountain Club to scan and inventory 1,000 photographic prints of New Englanders enjoying the outdoors between 1930-1950 RIG
Berkshire
$5,000 to the City of Pittsfield to research, design, and install Work + House an exhibit focused on workers’ housing in the city’s industrial past that began with the paper and textile mills
Cape & Islands
$500 to the Sturgis Library for Odd Couples, a four-part reading and discussion group exploring the works of four pairs of authors who were known to have a complicated relationship with one another
CCC: Crisis, Community, and Civic Culture C ENA: Engaging New Audiences RIG: Research Inventory grant
$10,000 to Straight Ahead Pictures for an online exhibit and curriculum using the story of Anne Sullivan (Helen Keller’s famous teacher and Agawam, MA, resident) to tell the story of disability rights and poverty advocacy CCCC $5,000 to Old Deerfield Productions for the production of two performances of an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
SIR: Scholarship-in-Residence grant P2: Public Squared grant Media
$10,000 to the Center for Independent Documentary to support the development of the film Seams, a poetic oral history of women’s experiences of the conflict between Britain and Ireland Media $5,000 to the Fall River Historical Society to document the oral histories of women textile industry workers and/or their descendants during the 1910-1940 period $3,160 to the Foxborough Regional Charter School for a reading and discussion series for fathers and their five-to-nine year olds using picture books from the syllabus of the Mass Humanities Family Adventures in Reading program
$4,334 to the Sons & Daughters of Hawley to host the Sanford Tavern Archaeology Field Training Program, a summer camp for budding archaeologists from underserved area high schools ENA
Central
$9,248 to the Committee for Northampton to bring 75 Commonwealth Academy students to Sojourner Truth’s Florence abolition and slavery walking tour, which will be adapted with age-appropriate educational materials and online resources ENA
$3,000 to the Community Economic Development Center of Southeast Massachusetts to research recorded discussions with the local fishing community and prepare the materials for archival storage and public access SIR
$1,500 to the Westminster Historical Society to inventory negatives and photographs taken at Gardener’s Colony for the Insane during the 1950s and 1960s and reproduce them in print for researchers and online for the public RIG
Metro-west Boston
Out of State
$1,500 to Northborough Historical Society to inventory 12 boxes of artifacts and records from the Proctor Comb and Button Manufacturing Company, a significant industry in the town from the mid-1800s into the early 1900s RIG
Northeast
$10,000 to the Worcester Historical Museum to mount an original play and a county-wide reenactment of the events of September, 1774, when the local British government was overthrown by weaponless militiamen CCCC
Connecticut Valley
$5,000 to the Northampton Academy of Music for the production of a new, original play, The Mildred Files about a scandal involving the Academy’s past interim director as part of a multi-year series of events and productions focused on women in the performing arts ENA
$5,000 to Gore Place Society to finalize improvements to their accessibility measures for sight-impaired visitors, including experiential interpretation, and for a workshop sharing the Society’s best practices
$10,000 to the Community Media Productions Group for pre-production of a one hour television documentary on the untold story of women clerical workers organizing for pay equity, advancement, and recognition Media
$5,000 to the Tsongas Industrial History Center at UMass Lowell to produce a short film about historical discrimination against the Irish in Lowell that will be incorporated into fourth grade curricula
$4,150 to Fractured Atlas for a residency to produce the local history theatre piece Mill, Mountain, River: A Child’s Eye View of Olde Colraine alongside third and fourth graders in Colrain, MA
Southeast
$25,000 to the Maysles Institute to produce the James Baldwin Transmedia Project, a series of events combining film, live performances, and conversations with community leaders and humanities scholars on Baldwin’s life, work, and message of equality P2
$5,000 to the Hull Lifesaving Museum to produce and install outdoor signage to help visitors interpret the history of the precarious entrance to Boston Harbor as viewed from Stony Beach in Hull
Fair market value $10,000+ John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum $5,000+ Gourmet Caterers Northern Light Productions
$2,500+ New England Public Radio, in honor of Jill Ker Conway $1,000+ Glynda Benham Ellen Berkman William Swanson, in honor of Jill Ker Conway
$250+ American Antiquarian Society Ben Birnbaum Ken Burns Ruth Butler Javier Corrales Kevin Cullen Elliot B. Davis Joseph J. Ellis
Fundación Puertorriqueña de las Humanidades Alfred Griggs Thomas Groome Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate George Krupp Madelaine and Roberto Marquez
Cullen Murphy Museum of Fine Arts Michael Pappone G. Perry Wu $100+ Lauren Cohen Andrew Helene Ronald Hertel Lindsey Kiang Lucia Knoles James Lopes
Jeffrey Musman Thomas Putnam Lisa Simmons Up to $99 jessie little doe baird Kathleen Banks Nutter James Burke Michelle Coughlin Alice DeLana Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello
Kayla Haveles Kathryn Jacob Leila Kinney Cliff McCarthy Rebecca Mlynarczyk Jenny O’Neill Michael Pappone Robert Pura Bianca Sigh Ward Kathleen Stone Kenneth Vacovec
5
2014 Contributors $20,000+ McMullen Family Foundation, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. $10,000+ The George I. Alden Trust Anita and Joshua Bekenstein Charitable Gift Fund, in honor of Hubert E. Jones Community Foundation of Southeastern MA Hertel & Konish Wealth Management Group John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, in honor of Jill Ker Conway The Lynch Foundation, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Smith College, in honor of Jill Ker Conway University of Massachusetts Dartmouth $5,000+ Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Boston Private Bank & Trust Company Adams-Burgess Charitable Fund of Fidelity Charitable Comcast Corporation Jill Ker Conway Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation Fidelity Investments John and Maureen Harrington, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Lindsey Kiang and Anne-Marie Soulliere Museum of Fine ArtsIn honor of Malcolm Rogers Staples Foundation for Learning Gregory Torres and Elizabeth Patullo Vacovec, Mayotte and Singer, LLP Vila B. Webber 1985 Charitable Trust Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, in honor of Hubert E. Jones $2,500+ Anonymous Paul and Edith Babson Foundation Elizabeth Bacon Trust, in honor of Georgia Perkins Ashforth Ellen Berkman and David Bryant The Boisi Family Foundation, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. The Boston Foundation
Cooley Dickinson Health Care, in honor of Jill Ker Conway Joseph Corcoran Family Charitable Foundation, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. John and Marie Dacey Ronald and Colleen Hertel Museum of Russian Icons Jeffrey Musman and Lynne Spencer Michael Pappone and Diane Savitzky Partners Healthcare System United Way of North Central MA, Inc., for Allen Rome Seyfarth Shaw LLP University of Massachusetts Boston $1,000+ Karen Ansara, in honor of Hubert E. Jones The Susan A. and Donald P. Babson Charitable Foundation The Barrington Foundation, Inc. Glynda Benham and Alan Karas Ben and Diane Birnbaum Kathryn R. Bloom Charitable Trust Boston University School of Social Work, in honor of Hubert E. Jones David J. Bromer John J. Carroll Rhonda Cobham-Sander Community Foundation Of Western Massachusetts (FAIR grant) Community Foundation Of Western Massachusetts, in honor of Jill Ker Conway Javier Corrales Richard K. Donahue, in honor of Jill Ker Conway Goizueta Family Charitable Gift Fund of Fidelity Charitable Roberto S. Goizueta Alfred and Sally Griggs Andrew Helene Hertel Family Fund Darcy Immerman Leila W. Kinney Polly and Charles Longsworth John Maguire, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Thomas and Michelle McCarthy Monica Sadler, in honor of Malcolm Rogers Saint Michael’s College Kathleen Stone and Andrew Grainger Lisbeth Tarlow, in honor of Malcolm Rogers David Tebaldi Laurel Thatcher Ulrich Frank Virnelli G. Perry Wu and Grace Kao
Unrestricted and temporarily restricted donations
$250+ Charles and Rita Kappers Alesi Anonymous (3) jessie little doe baird Mr. and Ms. James Barnhill Pamela Berger, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Kathryn R. Bloom Melissa Boisselle Wayne and Jacqueline Budd Fund of Fidelity Charitable James R. Burke Ruth Butler Lisa Cahill Lauren and Ian Cohen Richard and Wendy Cohen Daniel R. and Judith R. Coquillette C. Michael and Janet M. Daley, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Alice DeLana Sara Delano Phoebe Dent Weil, in honor of Jill Ker Conway Elizabeth A. DuclosOrsello, Ph.D. and Chase DuclosOrsello, Ph.D. Ellen Dunlap and Frank Armstrong Harron Ellenson Joseph J. Ellis and Ellen Wilkins Julia Faber Cecilia A. Farrell, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Margaret and Jeff Flagg Newell Flather, in honor of Hubert E. Jones Terry Fuller Kathryn and David Gibson Gary Goshgarian Greenfield Community College Dennis B. Hale Lucile P. Hicks, in honor of Malcolm Rogers John E. Hill John Hornor Anne P. Jones, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Frances Jones-Sneed John Joyce, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Cam Kerry Committee Lucia and Thomas Knoles Brian J. Konish Susan and Drew Leff Roberto and Madelaine Marquez Robert Meagher Cullen Murphy Nancy Netzer and Robert Silberman John J. Neuhauser, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Martin J. Newhouse and Nancy Scott Sonia and Angel Nieto, in honor of David Tebaldi
Dr. John J. and Barbara O’Connell, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Mark F. O’Connor Harold Petersen Robert Pura Gail T. Randall Kathleen Rawlins Robert E. Riley Laura Roberts and Ed Belove Stanley C. Rosenberg Susan Rothenberg Elizabeth Sanchez Sant Family Realty Trust Stanley F. and Kay L. Schlozman Harry A. Sherr John Sieracki Bianca Sigh Ward and John Ward Lisa Simmons Ron and Nancy Slate Frank Sousa Vincent and Mary Alice Stanton, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Bruce Stevens Kathie Stevens Patrice Todisco Kenneth and Linda Vacovec Rose-Marie Van Otterloo, in honor of Malcolm Rogers William M. and AlisonVareika Mary Walsh and Daniel Hurley James M. Weiss, in honor of J. Donald Monan, S.J. Margaret A. Wiseman $100+ Michele Aldrich Lawrence Ambs Albert Anderson Paula Andrews Anonymous (2) Corinne Bermon Leonard and Jane Bernstein Carl Carlsen Nicole B. Casper Andrew Cohn Wendy Covell Carolyn Cushing Margaret Dale Carolyn Davies Marian A. Desrosiers Katherine Domoto David L. Entin Luise Erdmann Allen W. Fletcher Jayne Gordon Carol H. Green Stephen and Linda Greyser Fund Susan Haff Charlie Harak, in honor of David Tebaldi David J. Harris Kathleen Hickey Dianne Hoaglin Florentine Films/Hott Productions, Inc. Paul F. Kelly Patricia Kennedy Alexa and Ranch Kimball Fund Marie King
Gail L. Kitch Barbara C. Kohin Brian D. Lapointe G. Ramsay and Joan Liem Ann Lisi Priscilla Little Janice Litwin James J. Lopes Albert Malo Michael Manzo Barbara Mathews Roger C. and Carol B. McNeill Ellen Messer Robert S. Molloy, in honor of Perry Wu Cecily O. Morse Linda Morse Janet Moulding Bill Nigreen/Kathleen McDermott Fund Kristin and Barry O’Connell Peter S. O’Connell Nancy Orlando Sherry Penney Livingston, in honor of Hubert E. Jones Stuart Peterfreund Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti Janice Rahimi Gail T. Reimer James C. Reynolds Dolores Root Larry Rosenberg James Shorris, in memory of Earl Shorris Ellen M. Smith David and Peggy Starr Cynthia Terwilliger Ruth Thomasian William and Caroline Toner Deb Uhlendorf Alden T. Vaughan Rosamond Vaule Robert C. and Faith White Allan B. Wing Up to $99 Virginia Alexander Bernadine Angelo Anonymous (5) Michael Ansara Barbara Armistead Nancy Atwood Reginald Bacon Hosea Baskin Lynne Bassett Roni Beal Catherine Bermon Barbara Brewer Robert Briere Cynthia Burr Justyna M. Carlson Eunice Charles Edie Cheng Citizens Bank Foundation Bruce S. Cohen Dayl Cohen Robyn Conroy Pat Costello Amanda DeGrace Karen Delaney Jane Dietzel-Cairns Nathan Doctrow Sarah Doyle John Drabinski Sally Ebeling
Philip Eugene Erica Fagen Judy Farrar Alexandra Fiandaca Dennis Flynn Anne Forbes Mary Ann Ford, in honor of Jack Cheng Robert Forrant Walter Fraze Alan Gage David Glassberg Penina Glazer Jocelyn Gould Karl Hakkarainen Elizabeth Harlow Elna Headberg Nicolette Heavey Scarlett Hoey Alan Hoffman Brece Honeycutt Rebecca Ikehara Juliet Jacobson Jessica Johnson Mary Ann Johnson Jennifer Kalms Juliana Koo James Laughlin Bruce Laurie Wendy Lement Deborah J. Leonard Paula Lupton Kathleen Major Karen Manz Judith Marshall Martha Mayo Kilmer McCully Donna McDaniel Mary McDonald Alfred McKee Mary Beth Meehan Nancy Meehan James D. Moran Eva S. Moseley Guy Mus Grace G. Newcomer James M. O’Hare Ellen Parker, in honor of Catherine Lugar Kristin Patten Lorna and Dale Peterson Lori Price Thomas Putnam Jonathan Ralton Patricia Raub Nichols Regan Christine Reynolds Barbara Robbins, in memory of David Robbins John T. Ryan Neal Salisbury Laurie Sammons Stephanie Schorow Frances Shedd-Fisher Michelle Shukis Mary Smoyer Diann Strausberg Amanda Tewes Emily Thomas Nancy Tobin William D. Wallace Elizabeth Wear Shana Weinberg Lisa Welter Carole White Suzanne F. Wilkins Matthew L. Wilson Hayley Wood Conrad E. Wright Karen Yourell Ellen Zellner
BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR
Nancy Netzer
BOSTON COLLEGE VICE CHAIR
James Burke
HINCKLEY, ALLEN & SNYDER LLP TREASURER
Jeffrey Musman
SEYFARTH SHAW, LLP CLERK
Recent Grants
Continued from page 2
Central
$10,000 to the Grace Land Conservation Trust to support the development of an educational and informational program focusing on the economic and civic history of local agriculture by telling the stories of 6 farms in 6 towns in the region served by the Trust NSC
Ellen Berkman HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Glynda Benham MEGAWAVE CORPORATION
Lauren Cohen
PURE COMMUNICATIONS
Javier Corrales AMHERST COLLEGE
Elliot Bostwick Davis MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
Alice DeLana CAMBRIDGE
Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello SALEM STATE UNIVERSITY
Alfred Griggs NORTHAMPTON
Andrew Helene RBS CITIZENS, N.A.
Ronald Hertel
Connecticut Valley
$4,695 to the Emily Dickinson Museum for a one-day conference for staff members of New England’s literary house museums, entitled Creative Spaces: The Preservation, Interpretation, and Future of Historic Literary Sites $3,000 to the Hatfield Historical Society to employ a scholar to evaluate and organize materials and develop a searchable, descriptive database of the Museum’s medical collection from the early 1900s SIR $2,500 to the Four Rivers Charter Public School for 11th graders’ dramatic reading of the voices of selected human rights leaders in a theatrical performance of Voices From Beyond the Dark by Ariel Dorfman
WELLS FARGO ADVISORS, LLC
Lindsey Kiang BROOKLINE
James Lopes
SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL
$9,750 to The Literacy Project for memoir writing workshops for 75 adult basic education students in five western Massachusetts classrooms ENA
OF LAW
Michael Pappone GOODWIN PROCTER LLP
Marisa Parham AMHERST COLLEGE
Thomas Putnam
JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
Bianca Sigh Ward NYSTROM BECKMAN & PARIS, LLP
Lisa Simmons
MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE OF TRAVEL AND TOURISM
Ronald Slate
$5,000 to Historic Northampton for an archaeological dig at the 1719 Parsons House, to which area third and fourth grade students and the public will be invited $5,000 to the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts for a conversation between jazz legend Archie Shepp and students from Science and Technology of Springfield and Holyoke High Schools on how social and political current events impact the direction of contemporary music
VACOVEC, MAYOTTE & SINGER LLP
$5,000 to the Charlemont Federated Church for The Charlemont Forum, a series of summer lectures offered by scholars, legal experts, and city officials, with contributions from recent immigrants to the Commonwealth on the history of immigration in the U.S.
G. Perry Wu
Metro-west Boston
POET AND LITERARY CRITIC
John Stauffer HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Kathleen Stone ATTORNEY AT LAW
Kenneth Vacovec
STAPLES, INC.
$3,500 to TC Squared Theatre Company for performances of their play, The Great War Theatre Company: Messengers of Bitter Truth, at 6 Boston area high schools
$10,000 to the Filmmakers Collaborative, in support of a social media campaign to launch a multimedia electronic book depicting the history of China’s One-Child Policy and the experiences of two adopted ChineseAmerican girls who visited their place of birth SMOG
Northeast
$5,000 for the Saab-Pedroso Center for Portuguese Culture and Research at UMass Lowell to develop and implement an exhibit with programming focusing on Portuguese immigration to Lowell, beginning in the early twentieth century $5,000 to Girls Incorporated of Greater Lowell to support programs for girls 10 and older learning about the famous Lowell Mill Girls through history lessons, site visits, and walking-and-photography tours ENA $4,000 to Lawrence Community Works for the Reel Talk Film series, a three-part moderated film-and-discussion program with underserved Lawrence youth
Southeast
$10,000 to the City of Brockton, Mayor’s Office of Community Engagement, for a community conversation on historic approaches to social contract negotiation and achieving citizen rights and freedoms, and signage marking approaches to the subject by notable historical figures ENA $5,000 to the Old Colony Historical Society to support an exhibit to focus on the Skinner department store in downtown Taunton at the turn of the twentieth century as part of the Society’s revitalized community engagement efforts ENA
Out of State
$10,000 to Community Initiatives for Visiting Immigrants in Confinement to document the stories of detained immigrants in six short audio/video pieces and to present those in four moderated community film-and-discussion programs NSC $10,000 to Insight Productions for the development of a trailer and a written treatment for a documentary about the security measure in American public schools of arming teachers Media
The 2015 Mass History Conference
Chew on This:
Presenting the history of food in Massachusetts
Monday, June 1, 2015 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM Hogan Campus Center, College of Holy Cross, Worcester Registration for the Mass History Conference is now open at our website: masshumanities.org
Join us to experience food in Massachusetts public history this June at the 2015 Mass History Conference at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. The conference has long been considered the premiere networking and skill-sharing opportunity for historians of our state culture. Through hands-on examples, workshops, food demonstrations, and more, attendees will explore questions about what we grow, what we eat, and what it all means. Filmmaker Ian Cheney will present this year’s keynote address. The Northampton-based director is the creator of The Search for General Tso (2014) and King Corn (2007). He is also co-founder of Food Corps, a nationwide team of AmeriCorps leaders who bring nutrition education and healthy food to school kids. Ian spoke with the hosts of WAMC’s Ideas Matter, a radio program on the public humanities available at masshumanities.org.
Several of the grants fall under special categories: ENA: Engaging New Audiences Media SIR: Scholarship-in-Residence grant NSC: Negotiating the Social Contract SMOG: Social Media Outreach grant
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“ Opportunities for rising up and the wisdom needed along the way—these are the essentials of civilization that Mass Humanities provides, and that I support as a donor.” —Jill Ker Conway AUTHOR, HUMANIST FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT OF SMITH COLLEGE 1975-1985
The Inspire Campaign Home Stretch! Goal of the Inspire Campaign: To earn the National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant of $425,000 by raising $1.275 million by July of 2016 and establish an endowed fund that will benefit underserved communities. Progress: More than $1 million has been given as of April 2015. The funds are being invested, with gains to be allocated toward the 2016 operating budget.
Massachusetts has an abundance of institutions that offer a wide variety of humanities programs, from our world-class colleges and universities to small historical societies and museums that stud the landscape. Even so, thousands of our fellow residents have limited access to them due to social, economic, geographic, and other reasons. We have made great progress in recent years to expand our programs, like the Clemente Course in the Humanities, and to strengthen our fundraising to benefit underserved communities. Through our annual fund and the Inspire Campaign, many have joined the ranks of our supporters, and our ongoing supporters have given even more. We are extremely grateful. The Inspire Campaign has led to the establishment of the Fund for New Communities, a permanent source of dollars to keep this kind of programming alive —the kind that actually creates new communities with and for the humanities—far into the future.
Please make a special donation to the Inspire Campaign today, by visiting masshumanities.org and clicking the Donate button. Help us surpass our goal and bring more of the riches of the humanities to those who do not have easy access. 66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060