Celebrations of Washington’s Birthday reflect tangled legacies of immigration, integration
Honoring Washington as a beloved president came to include minstrel shows in the early 1900s. That these performances were by prisoners in prisons playing the role of Washington’s enslaved people adds yet another layer of complexity.
Like Mildred Loving, was W.E.B. Du Bois a romantic at heart?
In this Valentine’s Day month, I pay homage to W.E.B. Du Bois’ 1924 novel “Dark Princess” because it highlights the least-talked-about subject then and now: Black love.
MBTA readies its new $1B fare collection system, rolling ahead over questions of equity and value
The MBTA is preparing to launch its long-delayed, billion-dollar fare collection system – and with it, a crew of “fare engagement officials” who will check whether subway and bus riders have paid their fares and cite those who have not.
Music snobbery and the SheerHive: We land somewhere between passion and pretension
Nobody likes someone who uses their strengths to punch down at others’ weaknesses, but there can be a positive side to music snobbery.
These Black Cambridge trailblazers were first ladies of nursing and song
Meet two extraordinary women born and raised in Cambridge who broke barriers and extended the boundaries of their respective careers.
Attend meetings in Cambridge from Feb. 9-16 about micromobility and toll of vacant spaces
Public meetings this week look at making a better Central Square, how to make City Hall contracting more equitable, the economic toll of vacant spaces and the use of “micromobility” devices on city streets.
A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, with hip-hop dancing and writing sex scenes
In a look ahead at a week of Cambridge and Somerville events, there’s hip-hop dance, Valentine’s, Galentine’s, Mardi Gras, Lunar New Year and Black History celebrations, operatic ballet not seen since the 1700s, “How to Steal a Presidential Election” and the arts of writing love poetry and sex scenes.
Entrepreneurial spirit of two Black trailblazers provided medicine, ice cream and bank services
We continue Black History Month with Emory Clark, who dreamed of owning his own pharmacy and made it come true (with a sideline in ice cream), and Charles Lenox, whose quiet work helped build Cambridge business community in the early 1800s.
Even when big festival headliners are forgettable, there’s a win in local acts getting larger audiences
Another sign spring is right around the corner? The warm weather music festivals are starting to roll out their lineups. And none are more eager than Boston Calling, our local monument to blue-chip billboard pablum.
A week of events in Cambridge and Somerville, from We Black Folk fest to ‘Bumbled’ bee play
In a look ahead at a week of Cambridge and Somerville events, there’s a “Groundhog Day” Improv Show, We Black Folk music festival, a fermentation workshop (with sauerkraut!) and more fun science, Celeste Ng and Jas Hammonds readings, ice skating and play premieres to go apiary for (such as for “Bumbled”).
