Projects – Reckonings

Jazz Square Activation

Jazz Square Activation celebrates the vibrancy of jazz today and in the past, in order to imagine a better future. In September 2024, Boston Jazz Square Activation celebrated the official designation of the intersection of Massachusetts and Columbus Avenues as Jazz Square. Our place-based activation practices include free concerts as well as creating historical markers, poster exhibits on jazz venues and musicians, oral histories, maps, and walking tours exploring the history of Boston jazz.

Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW) Through the Years

In collaboration with Reckonings, students in Dr. Denise Khor’s Fall 2023 course, Asian American Cinemas, developed a publicly available timeline following the history of our partner organization Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW). AARW is a member-led, nonprofit organization representing pan-Asian communities in Greater Boston.

Unsettled Accounts

Unsettled Accounts is a community-university collaboration dedicated to documenting, investigating, and archiving past and present injustices in housing and land ownership in Boston, which have had a disproportionate impact on Black Bostonians. Co-led by Roxbury activist Dianne Wilkerson and Northeastern urban planning and public policy professor Lily Song, the project works in partnership with the Reckonings Project, the ICA (Institute for Contemporary Art) Teen Photography Collaborative, and Homes for Equity.

Freedom House

Founded in 1949 by social workers Muriel S. and Otto P. Snowden, Freedom House has served as a haven for communities of color by providing education, technological, and capacity-building programs and services in Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan. From a tiny office in the Old Humboldt Theatre Building, the hard work began fighting for neighborhood improvement,

Reckonings Summer Institute 2023

The Reckonings Project builds collaborations with community partners, faculty, and students to empower BIPOC communities and residents in the preservation, creation, and curation of their community histories. The Summer Institute 2023 fostered methods for and practical application of co-creation and co-curation among community organizations and college teachers across the Boston and New England region.

The West End Museum Walking Tours

The West End Museum and the Reckonings Project have worked together on walking tours to highlight this Boston neighborhood’s rich history. In summer 2024, Emma Beckman served as a research intern at the museum…

AFAB – Association of Haitian Women in Boston

The Association of Haitian Women in Boston is a community-based grassroots organization dedicated to empowering low-income Haitian women and their children. We promote women’s access to social and economic opportunities by expanding their knowledge, developing their abilities to become self-sufficient, and taking control of their destiny. We raise the consciousness of Haitian women about their

Unboxing the Archive

Unboxing the Archive is a digital storytelling video project that explores the rich and complex history of African Americans in New England. Using archival collections at historical societies and libraries, it features ten-minute videos covering fascinating, often overlooked stories on a range of topics, from slavery in New England to successful Black entrepreneurs.

Black Artists of Boston

The Black Artists of Boston Project began as a collaborative endeavor between a graduate class at Northeastern University and a group of community elders, who as artists, have been working in and around Boston for over thirty years.