Quincy 400: Slavery & Freedom in Quincy
Quincy 400 Lecture Series: Slavery & Freedom in Quincy with Historians Kabria Baumgartner and Gabriel Raeburn
Tuesday, April 29 from 6:30 – 7:30 PM
Richardson Building at the Main Library, 40 Washington St.
The City of Quincy proudly marks 400 years of rich history, community, and culture since its settlement in 1625. Known as the birthplace of two U.S. Presidents, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Quincy has been at the forefront of shaping American democracy and innovation. This milestone is an opportunity to honor our past, celebrate our present, and envision a bright future together.
The Thomas Crane Public Library invites the public to partake in an exciting year-long series of activities and events commemorating Quincy’s remarkable legacy. Join us on Tuesday, April 29 from 6:30 – 7:30 PM in the historic Richardson Building on 40 Washington St., Quincy, for our next Quincy 400 Lecture Series on Slavery & Freedom with Historians Kabria Baumgartner and Gabriel Raeburn.
Explore the history of slavery and freedom in Quincy with Kabria Baumgartner and Gabriel Raeburn as they present original research on the experiences of Black and Indigenous people who were enslaved in our community in the eighteenth century.
Kabria Baumgartner writes about the hidden and often forgotten lived experiences of African-descended people in New England and the Atlantic World. She is the author of the award-winning book, In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America (New York University Press, 2019), and she has published scholarly articles and popular writing including most recently in Newburyport Magazine. Her research has been supported by grants and prestigious fellowships from the Spencer Foundation, the National Academy of Education, the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, and the National Park Service. She has consulted on and appeared in historical documentaries including most recently Legacy of Courage: Black Changemakers in Massachusetts Past, Present, Future (2022).
She is a tenured faculty member at Northeastern University and works with local historical organizations and nonprofit groups as a historian and curator. In 2021, she co-founded the award- winning Newburyport Black History Initiative (NBHI), an organization that aims to highlight and incorporate Black history into the public landscape in Newburyport, MA. She served as chief historian of Harvard University’s Slavery Remembrance Program. She co-curated and co-wrote the exhibition Let None Be Excluded: The Origins of Equal School Rights in Salem, which was on view at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA from April 2022 to April 2024.
Gabriel Raeburn is a historian of American religious and political history, spanning the colonial period to the late twentieth century. Currently, he is an Associate Fellow of the History Design Studio at The Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University. Raeburn holds a PhD in Religious Studies and History from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was also a Dean’s Teaching Fellow for Excellence, and a M.St. in U.S. History from the University of Oxford.
This year promises a wide array of programs and activities designed to celebrate 400 years of the people and ideas that have shaped not only Quincy but also the fabric of America. Additionally, we’ll have a year-round Quincy 400 display with rotating subjects/themes each month as well as Quincy 400 trivia sheets and Quincy 400 bingo! All are available at the Main Library. Bingo sheets are available at all Quincy Library branches. Stay tuned for more events to come!
Join us as we commemorate Quincy’s vibrant legacy and celebrate the shared pride of our community. Together, let’s honor our history and look forward to the next chapter.
This program is made possible by generous donations to the Friends of the Thomas Crane Public Library.