Forty years ago: Desegregation in Boston Public Schools

Newly digitized primary sources and online teaching activities related to education equality are available on DocsTeach.

“Fighting for Freedom”: A Free Summer Institute from the National Archives at Boston and the National Park Service

The National Archives at Boston in Waltham, MA, and the Boston African American National Historic Site are teaming up to offer the 2013 Summer Institute for teachers "Fighting for Freedom at Home and on the Front: Boston's Struggle for Freedom, 1806–1865." The two-day institute takes place Monday, June 24, 2013 and Tuesday, June 25, 2013. … Continue reading “Fighting for Freedom”: A Free Summer Institute from the National Archives at Boston and the National Park Service

Mr. President, It is my Desire to be free.

"Mr. President, It is my Desire to be free." Thus wrote (another - not me!) Annie Davis to Abraham Lincoln, 20 months after he issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Writing from Belair, Maryland, she continued, “Will you please let me know if we are free.” But she was not. The Emancipation Proclamation affected only those states … Continue reading Mr. President, It is my Desire to be free.

WPA Art Links Past to Present: Thinking About Boston

Teaching units about the Great Depression include the Works Projects (also Progress) Administration (WPA). The records of this government program that put millions of unemployed Americans to work in public works projects are held in the National Archives. They reveal fascinating stories about local history: the building of the school cafeteria, curb cuts, road improvements...and … Continue reading WPA Art Links Past to Present: Thinking About Boston