In this week’s episode, we use three classic episodes to turn the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant rhetoric on its head. The President teaches us to be afraid of Central American and Middle Eastern immigrants and asylum seekers because of terrorism, crime, and an unfamiliar religion. Our ancestors had these same fears about earlier immigrant groups, groups that are today considered part of the fabric of America. In their day, Italian Americans were suspected of terrorism, Chinese Americans were blamed for organized crime, and Irish Americans were feared because of their unfamiliar and potentially dangerous religion.
The Tragedy of Sacco and Vanzetti
- In the image above, Nicola Vanzetti is on the far right, and Bartolomeo Sacco is next to him (cuffed to him) with a moustache.
- A resource site on Sacco & Vanzetti from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
- The Sacco & Vanzetti exhibit at Adams Courthouse in Boston.
Chinatown
- The Eagle Seeks a Helpless Quarry, K Scott Wong
- Murder and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts, Alan Rogers
- “The Chinese Boycott,” John W Foster
- Contemporary news coverage of the 1903 raid and convictions in the case of the 1907 massacre.
- The header photo was taken on Harrison Ave in Chinatown in approximately 1890.
The Ursuline Convent Riot
Views inside the New Orleans http://healthsavy.com/product/xanax/ Ursuline Convent
An August 31, 1775 letter detailing how Patriots took Ploughed Hill.- 1777 map showing (roughly) the position of Ploughed Hill
- The site of the Ursuline Convent in 1852 and today.
1852 
2017 - The City Council’s ineffectual report on the riot
- Ringleader John Buzzell’s trial
- The 1845 romance novel that treated all the Protestant fears and prejudices about Catholicism as real.
Featured Historic Site
For our featured historic site, we have the Armenian Museum of America, located in Watertown Square, which is dedicated to preserving one immigrant population’s experience in the Boston area
A half century after the Armenian people faced genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, Armenian Americans in Watertown and Belmont began collecting artifacts of life in Armenia, the genocide, and subsequent life in America. The museum’s website recounts, “It all began in a church parish house in Belmont, Massachusetts in 1971, when a group of Armenian educators, professionals and business leaders began collecting Armenian books and artifacts. The collection grew steadily and, in 1985, the Armenian Museum of America opened its doors to the public for the first time.”
The museum is open Thursday through Sunday from noon to 6pm. Admission is $7 for adults, and $3 for students and seniors. It’s located just steps from the 59, 70, and 71 bus, and there is metered parking available behind the adjacent CVS.
Upcoming Event
And for our upcoming event this week, we’re featuring a walking tour offered by the Massachusetts Historical Society this coming Saturday, June 30th. The tour is meant to retrace the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, during the years he called Boston home. Here’s how MHS describes the event:
As a doctoral student at Boston University’s School of Theology, Martin Luther King, Jr., spent some of his formative years walking the streets of Boston and living in the South End. His life in Boston was King’s first immersive experience outside of the segregated South and while he experienced the de facto racism of the North he also enjoyed the acceptance of the BU and Boston area communities. This tour will guide visitors through areas of Boston where King lived and socialized, where he met and courted Coretta Scott, and where he returned later at the height of the Civil Rights Movement to deliver powerful speeches on the struggle for racial and economic equality.
The tour begins at 3pm and lasts about 90 minutes. There’s a $10 fee for anyone who’s not a Historical Society member, and registration is required.