Scholarly Analysis & Criticism Digital Exhibits

This collection allows for more nuanced, theoretical and formal scholarly engagements with aspects of early Black Boston’s texts and histories. Included are, “Uneven Spread,” “Shielding Slavery,” “Gender and Rhetoric in 19th Century Slave Narratives,” and “Defining a Feminist Text.” These exhibits engage, challenge, and critique local university engagement with enslavement, as well as genre forms in the pre-twentieth centuries, such as the slave narrative, and how these themes/topics are manifested in text. This collection attempts to make known the impact and significance of the work being discussed whilst critically engaging with these forms, genres, and content. 

Explores issues of displacement, gentrification, and the challenges faced by underserved communities in resisting the expansion of modern-day universities.

This exhibit examines the continuing resonances of the histories of enslavement in New England by exploring the debate surrounding the inclusion of the Royall family crest as part of Harvard Law School’s seal. The Royall family's fortune derived from enslaved people’s labor on their Antiguan plantations.

Explores the significance of slave narratives in the abolitionist movement of the 19th century. It compares the different rhetorical approaches of Chloe Russell and David Walker regarding domesticity and marriage. These narratives reflect different approaches to empowerment and resistance against white oppression.

A feminist reading of Chloe Russell's "The Complete Fortune Teller & Dream Book," a 19th-century text that explores the empowerment of women and challenges traditional gender roles. Also, it recognizes and amplifies the voices of Black women in historical narratives and feminist movements.