ABCL

Join the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington on Friday, July 8, 2022, for the 2nd Annual Quock Walker Day aka Massachusetts Emancipation Day Community Celebration.

This virtual event begins at 7 pm.

For more information and to register, Quock Walker Day Community Celebration – Friday, July 8, 2022 – Black Farmers Persevere

To join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

Please click the link below to join the webinar:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82831721592?pwd=UllZamVJYy9OdkJQMVhHcEtMcDNGdz09

Passcode: 989224

Quock Walker Day celebrates the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision of July 8, 1783, that found a White enslaver guilty of assault on Quock Walker, a freedom seeking Black man, and agreed with Chief Justice Cushing that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution.

The Quock Walker trials span from 1781 to 1783. In 1781 Quock Walker, a young man from Barre, MA and of Akan and/or Ewe lineage, filed a civil suit against Nathaniel Jennison for assault and battery.  Mr. Walker was found by the jury to be free and was awarded 50 pounds. Following appeals and a criminal case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found Jennison guilty of assault and agreed that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution.

Mr. Walker’s fight through the legal system to safeguard his natural freedom resulted in the end of slavery in Massachusetts.

This year ABCL will celebrate the audacity of Quock Walker, the Black farmer, and explore the role that Black farmers continue to play in addressing racial disparities and providing food and income for their families.

Invited speakers include

• Massachusetts Emancipation Day aka Quock Walker Day Proclamation – Jill Hai, Lexington Select Board

• Harvest Poetry – Regie Gibson, Literary Performer

• Using Community Gardens for Subsistence Farming and to Grow Cash Crops – Victorine Nduku, Nurse and Farmer

• Continuing the Tradition of Black Farmers in the Northeast – Earl Ransom, 2^nd Generation Dairy Farmer, Strafford Organic Creamery at Rockbottom Farm

Hosted by the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington.

On Saturday, July 9, 2022, the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) is hosting the second annual Quock Walker Day Hike for Freedom.  This intergenerational event is an opportunity for Lexington residents and other friends of liberty to celebrate Massachusetts Emancipation Day while enjoying the sites along ACROSS Lexington Route M.  ACROSS Lexington Route M is an approximately 3.3-mile looped trail. The event will start at 8 am at Bowman Elementary School, 9 Philip Rd, Lexington, MA 02421. 

Quock Walker Day (also known as Massachusetts Emancipation Day) celebrates a historic court case won in 1783 by Quock Walker, a self-emancipated man who sued his enslaver for assault and battery. In winning the case, Chief Justice William Cushing not only granted Walker compensation, but also the assurance that slavery was incompatible with the state constitution.

Mr. Walker was a farm worker whose perseverance led to end of slavery in Massachusetts.  This year ABCL recognizes Quock Walker’s indomitable spirit and present-day Black Farmers who continue to persevere.

Participants may register online and in person between 7:30 and 9 am on July 9.  We encourage participants to register online by July 7, 2022, to guarantee receipt of a commemorative t-shirt.

ACROSS Lexington, a project of the Greenways Corridor Committee, is a network of marked trails and paths for walkers, runners, and trail bikers.  ABCL requests that participants practice “leave no trace” ethics by leaving the land in equal or better condition than you found it.  Participants are requested to remove and properly dispose of any waste that you generate.

Participants are responsible for bringing and using activity-appropriate equipment, (insect repellant, proper footwear, sufficient water, etc.), and for carrying the proper clothing (hat, rain gear, etc.).  Ticks and mosquitoes may be encountered along the trail.

Participants will have an opportunity to take a picture with the Quock Walker banner which is part of the Black History Project of Lexington.  Please upload photos of your experiences during Quock Walker Day Hike for Freedom on social media, #QWDHike4Freedom.

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month 2022, you are cordially invited to the “My American Story” Event. During the event, seven panelists from the Lexington AAPI community will share their personal stories. These panelists have very different backgrounds, professions and life experiences, which showcase the wonderful diversity in our AAPI community. It is also an event to celebrate our commonality as Americans. Please see below and the attached flyer for event details.  

Presented by Chinese Americans of Lexington (CALex) 

Click to register (required)

More Information: contact@calexma.org

Panelists

Cosponsors:

• The Human Rights Committee of Lexington
• Town of Lexington Human Services Department
• Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL)
• Bangladeshi Americans of Lexington (BALex)
• Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL)
• Japanese Support Group of Lexington (JPLex)
• Korean American Organization of Lexington (KOLex)
• LexPride

Registration is now open for the 8th annual Lexington Parent Academy
Click to download the flyer

WHO:  All interested Lexington families, adult caregivers and faculty

WHAT:  8th Annual Lexington Parent Academy. Participants can choose up to 3 workshops to attend throughout the day.

WHEN: Saturday March 19th 9:30-2:30

WHERE: Virtual through Zoom

WHY:  The Parent Academy is designed to educate and empower parents and caregivers to manage the changing demands of parenting in today’s world, this is a free event for all interested parents and community members.  

To Register and View Presenters and Workshop Descriptions click on the link below: 

2022 Lexington Parent Academy Registration Link or scan the QR code 

SPONSORED BY:  The Lexington Public Schools SHAC (School Health Advisory Council), Town of Lexington Human Services Dept., Town of Lexington Recreation Dept., ABCL (Association of Black Citizens of Lexington), BALex (Bangladeshi Americans of Lexington), CAAL (Chinese American Association of Lexington), CALex (Chinese Americans of Lexington), Human Rights Committee, IAL (Indian Americans of Lexington), JPLex (Japan Support Group of Lexington), KOLex (Koreans of Lexington), LexFun (Lexington’s 5-and-under Network), Lexington Community Coalition, LexPride, LexSEPTA (Lexington Special Education PTA), PPC (PTO Presidents Council), LHS Forums Committee.

Please contact Julie Fenn, Assistant Coordinator of PE, Health and Wellness with any questions.  jfenn@lexingtonma.org

Moderator/Host – Regie Gibson

Performer/Speaker – Dr. Samantha Ege

Register at https://carylibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/florence-price-black-renaissance-woman/

Join Cary Library and the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington for a virtual program that introduces audiences to Florence Price, the first African American woman to have her music performed by a major symphony orchestra – in 1933. Dr. Samantha Ege will elaborate on Florence Price’s style of music and provide vivid commentaries, while incorporating her own performance videos.

Dr Samantha Ege is a leading interpreter and scholar of the African American composer Florence B. Price. Dr Ege’s performances and publications shed an important light on composers from underrepresented backgrounds. She has been contracted as co-author alongside Douglas Shadle of Price (Master Musicians Series, Oxford University Press) and co-editor alongside A. Kori Hill of The Cambridge Companion to Florence B. Price (Cambridge University Press).

Dr Ege is the Lord Crewe Junior Research Fellow in Music at Lincoln College, University of Oxford. She holds a PhD in Musicology from the University of York and a BA with honors in Music from the University of Bristol. She spent her second undergraduate year at McGill University as an exchange student. She taught music internationally for almost a decade after graduating from Bristol. She joined Lincoln College in 2020.

Regie Gibson will be the host of this program.  He is a poet, educator, and literary performer. Recently, as a member of Convergence Ensemble, Regie Gibson narrated an evening dedicated to art songs composed by Black composers of which Florence Price was centrally featured. He lives in Lexington. 

Join the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington from 10 am to Noon at Lexington Historical Society Archives & Research Center (1332 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington MA)

Everyone has a story. Will you share yours with us?

Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) and the Lexington Historical Society are teaming up again to document the history of the Black experience in town. Our inaugural event was in 2020.

Collecting oral histories, photographs, documents, and artifacts will help historians build a clear and complete picture of Lexington’s multiracial history.

On February 12th, we will be collecting stories and scanning photographs at the Archives and Research Center at Munroe Tavern.

If you or someone you know is interested in contributing to this project, please contact the ABCL Historian at historian@abclex.org to schedule an appointment.

All participants must provide proof of vaccination prior to having their appointment confirmed.

Only those with appointments will be allowed into the building during the event.

A Black Intellectual’s Odyssey: From a Pennsylvania Milltown to the Ivy League by Martin Kilson, PhD

Register at https://carylibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/a-blacks-intellectuals-odyssey-a-memoir/

Guest Speaker – Marion Kilson
Moderator – Marc Saint Louis

Martin Kilson was an American political scientist and, in 1969, he became the first black academic to be appointed a full professor at Harvard University. In A Black Intellectual’s Odyssey, Kilson takes readers on a fascinating journey from his upbringing in the small Pennsylvania mill town of Ambler and the racist margins of twentieth-century America to one of the nation’s most prestigious institutions. Join Marion Kilson and Mark St. Louis, for a deep dive into the life and accomplishments of the late Martin Kilson.

In 1969, Martin Kilson became the first tenured African American professor at Harvard University, where he taught African and African American politics for over thirty years. Dr. Kilson was buried in Westview Cemetery in 2019, https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2019/5/1/martin-kilson-obituary/

Join the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington and Cary Library on Saturday, January 15, 2022 for a unique look into the songs that inspired marchers during the Civil Rights Movement.

Here is a poster to download and share.

Aniece Kerr, Lexington resident and active participant in the Civil Rights Movement, will share a brief history of each song and their significance to the movement. The songs will be performed by Candice R. Henry, Nellie R. Henry, Gwendolyn Kerr, and Stephen Kerr.
Advance registration is required. Sign up online at https://www.carylibrary.org/programs

This year the Black History Portrait Banners will again be on display in Lexington’s town center from January 10th through March 1st, 2022 (20 on poles, 4 in the Depot) . A Cary Library Display will run from January 9th through March 5th, 2022.

Join the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington on Thursday, July 8, 2021, for the 1st Annual Quock Walker Day aka Massachusetts Emancipation Day Community Celebration.

This virtual event begins at 7 pm.

To join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:

Please click this URL to join. https://zoom.us/j/98698920920?pwd=NzMwN0hHWTNuV2lNbkpITkdqM2VRdz09

Passcode: 757211

Quock Walker Day celebrates the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision of July 8, 1783, that found a White enslaver guilty of assault on Quock Walker, a freedom seeking Black man, and agreed with Chief Justice Cushing that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution.

On June 15, 1780, the Constitution of the Commonwealth was ratified by the voters of Massachusetts. The first article stated, “All men are born free and equal, and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights; among which may be reckoned the right of enjoying and defending their lives and liberties; that of acquiring, possessing, and protecting property; in fine, that of seeking and obtaining their safety and happiness.”

The Quock Walker trials span from 1781 to 1783. In 1781 Quock Walker, a young man from Barre, MA and of Akan and/or Ewe lineage, filed a civil suit against Nathaniel Jennison for assault and battery.  Mr. Walker was found by the jury to be free and was awarded 50 pounds. Following appeals and a criminal case, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court found Jennison guilty of assault and agreed that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution. Mr. Walker’s fight through the legal system to safeguard his natural freedom ended up ending slavery in Massachusetts.

This year ABCL will host a multi-speaker presentation about the history of slavery in Massachusetts and the life and legacy of Quock Walker. Come and learn about the Akan people of Ghana and the movement to officially recognize Massachusetts Emancipation Day.

Featured topics and speakers include:

• Why Quock Walker Day – Phillip James, History Department Coordinator, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School
• Agency and Quock Walker’s Journey to Freedom (How Entrepreneurship and Hutzpah Allowed Quock Walker and his Siblings to Escape the Condition of No Longer Enslaved but Still Not Free) – Zine Magubane, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Boston College
• The Language of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Quock Walker Cases of 1781 to 1783 – Robert Bellinger, Ph.D., Associate Professor of History, Suffolk University
• The Akan Diaspora in Massachusetts – Kerima Lewis, Ph.D., Affiliated Faculty, Emerson College
• Ongoing Akan & Ewe Ethnic Group Connections to Massachusetts – Barfuor Adjei-Barwuah, Ph.D., Ambassador of Ghana to the United States of America
• Traditional Akan & Ewe Ethnic Group Leadership – Osabarima Owusu Baafi Aboagye III, Chief of Akyem Dwenase, Akyem Abuakwa State, Ghana and appointed member to the Judicial Committee of Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council in Ghana
• Visiting the Quock Walker Family Historical Sites – Leslie P. Choquette, Ph.D., Professor of History, Assumption College
• Next Steps to Making Quock Walker Day Legislation Law – Cindy F. Friedman, State Senator of 4th Middlesex

Hosted by the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, co-sponsored by Lexington Historical Society and Five Fields Real Estate – COMPASS.