“Meanwhile I send this picture thinking that you will be glad to exhibit it among the Legislature, as an example of slavery. Let hard-hearted Hunker look at it and be softened.”
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Mary Mildred Botts Williams, 1847–1921
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Mary Mildred Williams was a light-skinned Black child born into enslavement in Virginia. She became identified in the popular imagination with “Ida May,” the fictional kidnapped white child in Mary Hayden Pike’s novel, Ida May: A Story of Things Actual and Possible. Williams was freed at age seven through the efforts of her father, a Black freedom seeker who moved his family to Massachusetts, and influential men in Massachusetts including Charles Sumner. Her light skin and white appearance sparked a debate about how enslavement was not based on race alone.
View the daguerreotype taken by Julian Vannerson, circa 1855 here.
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Wednesday, 6 September | 6:00 PM
Matthew Dennis, University of Oregon.
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Tuesday, 12 September | 5:00 PM
Sarah Stegeman, Syracuse University, and comment by Marie Stango, Idaho State University.
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Tuesday, 26 September, at 6:00 PM: The Boston Desegregation & Busing Initiative: The Segregation of the Boston Public Schools & the Community Organizing & Legal Efforts to Try to Eliminate Segregation & to Secure Educational Justice for Black Students, 1960–1973 with Hubie Jones, Founder of MA Advocacy Center; Jean McGuire, Founder of METCO; Zebulon Miletsky, Stony Brook University; Vernida Weller Carter, Norwich University; Charles Glenn, Boston University; Gloria Lee , Greater Framingham Community Church; and Jim Vrabel, GBH.
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Registration and Events
Interested in Past Programs?
If you missed a program or would like to revisit the material presented, please visit www.masshist.org/video.
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Our galleries and library are open Monday and Wednesday through Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:45 PM, and Tuesday from 10:00 AM to 7:45 PM (the galleries and library open at 12:00 PM the third Tuesday of the month). Please note that the last admission is 45 minutes prior to closing.
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An advance appointment is strongly encouraged for all researchers. Please visit our Appointment Request Form to select your preferred visit dates.
Set up an appointment via Zoom or live chat with a member of our reference staff.
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The MHS Fund and Membership
Our Members make it possible for us to offer an array of complimentary services including admission to our exhibition galleries and library, online access to our collections and digital editions, and onsite and remote reference services for all. Membership begins with a fully tax-deductible contribution of $250 or more to the MHS Fund. All Members enjoy a full year of social, cultural, and educational experiences, including invitations to our annual Holiday Party, FREE program registration, and Member Week perks. Learn more and join today!
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