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Juneteenth 2023

Join us for several events celebrating Juneteenth!

Previous Events

2022 Native American Heritage Month

Wampanoag dancers

Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers

Saturday, November 5, 2022 3:00pm

MBL Courtyard

Join us and the Wampanoag Nation Singers and Dancers as they perform music, dance, and tell stories. Members of this group of musicians and artist come from multiple of the tribal communities of Cape Cod and the Islands (including Mashpee, Herring River and Aquinnah).

The performers dress in traditional clothing and the music is accompanied by a water drum and handcrafted rattles. The audience is encouraged to join the performers in song and dance to have a first-hand experience of the spirit of Wampanoag history, culture, and traditions.

Braiding Sweetgrass cover

Book Club

“Braiding Sweetgrass”
by Robin Wall Kimmerer

This book will be available to borrow from Falmouth and Woods Hole Libraries (hard copy and audio), and for purchase at Eight Cousins Books in Falmouth.

Book Discussion
Tuesday, November 1, 2022
6:00pm Falmouth Library
Hermann Foundation Room

These are events directly sponsored or supported by the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative and/or Advisory Committee. For other community events, visit our calendar.

 

2022 Hispanic Heritage Month

LVK24Feb22

Dr. Villa-Komaroff Lecture

“Thinking Fast Makes Changing S l o w: Normal Cognitive Processes Interfere with Achieving Diversity”

September 15, 2022 5pm

Hybrid event

Virtual:

Join us via Zoom

In person: 

Clapp Auditorium at MBL
7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543

Lydia Villa-Komaroff, Ph.D. is founder and President of Intersections SBD Consulting. She is a molecular biologist, a business executive, and a diversity advocate. She was among the early cadre of scientists who first joined DNA from animals or people to DNA from bacteria to make useful proteins and to study biological processes and human diseases. She is a board member of ATCC and Cytonome and serves on several academic advisory boards. Villa-Komaroff held faculty positions at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Children’s Hospital (Boston), and Harvard Medical School. As an administrator, she served as Vice President for Research at Northwestern University (Illinois) and Vice President for Research and Chief Operating Officer of the Whitehead Institute (Cambridge, MA). She has served on advisory committees for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and the Massachusetts Life Science Board. She represented small business for the State Department at an Asian-Pacific Economic conference. She is co-founding member of SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science), a fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Her awards include the 2013 Woman of Distinction from the American Association of University Women, the 2016 Elting Morison prize from the MIT Program in Science and Technology, and the 2021 SACNAS Presidential Award. She received her BA from Goucher College, her PhD from MIT, and a certificate in executive management from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She was the third Mexican-American woman in the United States to get a doctorate in science.

Happy girls or friends dancing and laughing. Friendship, International Women s Day. 8 March. Vector illustration, template with beautiful women for greeting card, poster or flyer.

Salsa Dance Party and Potluck

September 18, 2022 3pm

Salsa Instructors:

Sherlynette Castro, Mayra Sánchez and Juan Felipe Diaz Quiroz

Location:

Tent next to MBL Courtyard

Tortilla Soup

Film Screening

October 1, 2022 3pm

Tortilla Soup

Location:

Hermann Meeting Room (Falmouth Public Library)

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Woods Hole Partnership Education Program Panel

October 14, 2022 12pm

Panelist:

Participants included a PEP Co-founder (Ben Gutierrez, USGS) and several PEP Alumni (Rosalinda Gonzalez (USFWS), Alexandra Padilla (WHOI/USGS), Mareike Duffing Romero (NOAA). Moderated by Irene Duran (WHOI, PEP alumna).

Juneteenth 2022

Join us for several events celebrating Juneteenth!

Thursday, June 16, 2022. 7:30 pm: “Hidden Figures” Screeninghidden figures movie

Hidden Figures tells the story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.

Followed by Juneteenth-related trivia & prizes: prizes are gift cards to POC-owned businesses in Falmouth.

Cornelia Clapp Auditorium, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole (masks required).

More info here 

 

Friday Evening Lecture Series:  “Be the Messenger: Tell the Truth about Independence in America and its Impact on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” -   B. Chad StarksThe Juneteenth Flag

B. Chad Starks

Friday, June 17, 2022, 8:00 pm: lecture 

“Be the Messenger: Tell the Truth about Independence in America and its Impact on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”
presented in collaboration with the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee in celebration of Juneteenth
Cornelia Clapp Auditorium, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole

Registration here 

Sunday, June 19, 2022. 11:30 am – 1:30 pm: walk

Join us in a contemplative freedom walk as part of the Juneteenth celebrations. You may walk in the Highfield Gardens or the surrounding Beebe Woods. Several different paths of variable lengths will be shown on map handouts.

Please drop in any time between 11:30 am-1:30 pm and learn more about the Juneteenth celebration.

More information

 

Juneteenth is often cited as African-American Independence Day, a special day of recognition by many municipalities and states. The observances commemorate June 19, 1865, the day the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas, the last of the seceding states to be occupied by the federal army. At the time, an estimated 250,000 persons were still enslaved in Texas, despite the signing of the proclamation more than two years earlier.

 

Black History month 2022

2022 Black History Month Events

This year’s theme is “Black Health and Wellness”.

All events were held virtually, with the last event being hybrid.

When: Multiple events Where: Virtual For more information, visit the Black History Month 2022 page.

2021

Native American Heritage Month Celebration – Virtual Film Screening of “We Still Live Here – Âs Nutayuneân”

When: Film screening available November 14-17, 2021

Watch Event and Panel Discussion
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
6:30 p.m. Vimeo Watch Event
7:30 p.m. Panel Discussion

Where: Virtual

For more information, visit the 2021 Native American Heritage Month page.

Native American Heritage Month Celebration – Book Discussion of “Our Beloved Kin”
by Lisa Brooks

When: Monday, November 22 at 7:00 PM EDT

Where: Virtual

For more information, visit the 2021 Native American Heritage Month page.

Juneteenth 2021

When: Multiple events commencing Monday, June 14

Where: Virtual & a space of your choice to Walk for Freedom

For more information, visit the 2021 Juneteenth event page.

2021 Black History Month Events

This year’s theme is “The Black Family: Representation, Identity and Diversity”.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of Black History Month Celebrations in Woods Hole!

All events will be held virtually, including the Harambee.

When: Multiple events Where: Virtual For more information, visit the Black History Month 2021 page.

 

2020

Ambrose Jearld, Jr. Lecture & Presentation of the Bullard Award

“Reducing Harm: A politic to address institutional and cultural practices that reduce participation and retention in STEM” Presented by Nigel Golden, PhD Candidate at UMass Amherst

Followed by the presentation of the John K. Bullard Award to Dr. Larry Alade, NOAA Fisheries.

When: Thursday, July 23 from 2-3:30 PM EDT Where: Zoom – Registration Required

Juneteenth Lecture – “Freedom-Seeking”

Join the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee on Zoom for a Juneteenth Lecture by Dr. Donique McIntosh.

Unfortunately due to current restrictions all in-person Juneteenth events have been canceled.

When: Wednesday, June 17, 3PM EDT Where: Zoom – Registration Required

Listen Up! Experiences from Students of Color on the Cape

Join the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee in partnership with Falmouth Academy and Falmouth High School for a listening event of stories from students about their experiences with race and racial bias in our community.

Listen Up! is an ongoing series of events by the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee with the goal to create a space where underrepresented voices are heard and where listeners are challenged to think beyond their own experiences in the community. Help promote allyship in our community through listening. For more information about Listen Up! events, you can visit our Listen Up! page here.

When: Tuesday March 3, Doors Open 5:30, Listening 6-7. Where: Falmouth Academy, 7 Highfield Hall This event is free and open to the public. Register to attend here

2020 Black History Month Events

This year’s theme marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment and the culmination of the women’s suffrage movement.  It also marks the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment and the rights for black men to vote after the civil war.  This theme has a rich and long history, which begins at the turn of the nineteenth century with the states’ passage of laws that democratized the vote for white men while disenfranchising free black men.

When: Multiple events Where: Throughout Woods Hole and Falmouth For more information, visit the Black History Month 2020 page.

 

2019

Celebrating the Year with Conversation

In 2019, the communities of Woods Hole and Falmouth challenged themselves to listen, to talk, and to think about diversity, equity, and inclusion. We invite you to join us to celebrate the work we have done within ourselves and our communities in 2019 and foster deeper relationships, dialogue, and action around diversity, equity, and inclusion in 2020.

When: Thursday, December 5, Doors Open 6:00, Opening remarks 6:30, Conversation 6:45-7:45 Where: Amvets Post 70, 336 Palmer Ave, Falmouth. Parking is available at the Amvets and Seafood Sam’s. Register to attend here

Listen Up: Stories of race on the Cape

Join the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee in partnership with St. Barnabas Episcopal Chruch for a listening event about race and racial bias in our community. Hear stories collected from local residents and challenge your understanding of racial bias in your community.

When: Thursday, September 19, Doors Open 5:00, Listening Session 6-7 Where: St. Barnabas Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 91 Main St. Falmouth Register and/ or sign up to share your story here.

Community Listening Event: Stories of Race in Woods Hole: Listening as Allyship

Hear stories collected from local residents, challenge your understanding of racial bias, and learn more about demonstrating allyship with underrepresented minorities.  When: Wednesday July 17, Doors Open 5:30, Listening Session 6-7, Followed by a reception Where: Amvets Post #70, 336 Palmer Ave Falmouth Register and/ or sign up to share your story: http://bit.ly/WoHoListen

Ambrose Jearld, Jr. Lecture 2019

On July 10, 2019, Dr. Warren Washington will deliver the 2019 Ambrose Jearld, Jr. Lecture titled “A Life of Climate Modeling and Promoting Diversity” at 1PM in Redfield Auditorium (45 Water St., Woods Hole).

Dr. Warren Washington has been active in research for over 50 years, working on models were used extensively in the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment, for which Dr. Washington and colleagues around the world shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Dr. Washington’s talk will include a review of the history of climate modeling, a comparison of observed 20th-century climate change with climate model simulations, and likely future climate change under low and high carbon emission scenarios. Dr. Washington will also discuss societal impacts and policy options, and the issues of environmental justice and diversity.

Juneteenth 2019

Join us for several events celebrating Juneteenth!

From June 1-19 visit the Main Branch of the Falmouth Public Library for a display on suggested readings.

On June 15, from 11AM-1PM join us at the Peg Noonan Park on Main St. in Falmouth to learn more about Juneteenth and participate in activities.

On June 19, from 4:30-6 PM (doors open and refreshments at 4) join us at Redfield Auditorium, 45 Water St. in Woods Hole for a lecture titled “Gleaning insight from the story of Juneteenth – The Paradox Continues” presented by Ewell Hopkins.

Juneteenth is often cited as African-American Independence Day, a special day of recognition by many municipalities and states. The observances commemorate June 19, 1865, the day the Emancipation Proclamation was finally enforced in Texas, the last of the seceding states to be occupied by the federal army. At the time, an estimated 250,000 persons were still enslaved in Texas, despite the signing of the proclamation more than two years earlier.

PEP 10th Reunion & NSF Workshop

Optimizing the Intern Experience: A Woods Hole Workshop, Sponsored by NSF, with additional funding from the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative.

Celebrating 10 years of the Partnership Education Program

Black History Month 2019

The Road North: Why, When, & How Black People Migrated from the South

Daniel Black, Professor of African American Studies, Clark Atlanta University
Founder, Ndugu and Nzinga Rites of Passage Nation

Thursday, February 21

12:30 PM
Speck Auditorium in MBL’s Rowe Laboratory
10 MBL Street, Woods Hole Lecture Abstract:
Dr. Daniel Black will discuss and illuminate the various motivations which drove hundreds of thousands of black people from the south to Northern centers such as Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York, Kansas City, Boston, and St. Louis. These reasons are varied and complicated, to be sure, but one thing is certain: Black people were in search of the American dream and meant to find it. Often, these migrants were young people who became the urban workforce, filling factories and doing domestic work for twice or even three times what they had made picking cotton or working tobacco fields. Yet the north did not turn out to be Heaven. To be sure, racism in Northern cities equal that in the south. Yet economic opportunities made most stay and hope for the best. In this presentation/speech/lecture, Dr. Black will share some of those specific experiences and speak of the historical context in which black Americans risked everything in search of a “livable” life somewhere between the trials and tribulations of the South and the nation’s burgeoning centers of the North.

Daniel Black is an award-winning novelist, professor, and activist. His published works include They Tell Me of Home, The Sacred Place, Perfect Peace, Twelve Gates to the City, The Coming, and Listen to the Lambs. In 2014, he won the Distinguished Writer’s Award from the Mid- Atlantic Writer’s Association. The Go On Girl! National Book Club named him “Author of the Year” in 2011 for his novel Perfect Peace. Perfect Peace was also chosen as the 2014 selection for “If All Arkansas Read the Same Book” by the Arkansas Center for the Book at the Arkansas State Library. The novel has been reprinted more than ten times and is being heralded as an American literary classic. Dr. Black has also been nominated for the Townsend Literary Prize, Ernest J. Gaines Award, Ferro-Grumbley Literary Prize, Lambda Literary Award, and Georgia Author of the Year Prize.

 

The Diseased Ship: Examining Cape Cod’s Connections to the Slave Trade
Meadow Hilly, Black Box Project

Saturday, February 23, 2019

2:00 PM
Sea Education Association
Woods Hole Road, Falmouth

 

American Storyteller in Ghana
Sharon Kennedy, Storyteller and Grammy Award Nominee

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

12:15 PM
Quashnet Elementary
150 Old Barnstable Road, Mashpee
(Please note: event is open to Quashnet 5th & 6th Grade Students Only)

In 2012 Sharon Kennedy went on an extraordinary trip to Ghana and Burkina Faso. She and a friend traversed Ghana from the south to the north, and then into Burkina Faso, with a wonderful Ghanaian Muslim guide. It was very hot, the roads were bad, and the food was spicy, but the people were the friendliest she’d ever met.

Kennedy will present an hour long-show about this experience featuring Ghanaian folktales and songs. The audience will learn simple West African dance moves and easy-to-use instruments.

 

The Environmental Justice of Renewable Energy
Derrick Jackson, Award-winning journalist and author

Thursday, February 28, 2019

4:00 PM
Speck Auditorium in MBL’s Rowe Laboratory
10 MBL Street, Woods Hole Abstract:
The United States is undergoing an energy revolution, from rooftop solar in to onshore wind and from energy efficiency to offshore wind. What does that mean for communities that historically suffer disproportionately from pollution from fossil fuel mining, refining, shipping, storage and burning? Likely a lot, from asthma to drinking water. Derrick Jackson, who has written extensively on the coming American offshore wind industry and on policies of the Environmental Protection Agency, will try to make those connections.

Derrick Z. Jackson is an award-winning journalist and co-author and photographer of the 2015 book, “Project Puffin: The Improbable Quest to Bring a Beloved Seabird Back to Egg Rock,” published by Yale University Press.

Jackson is a former Boston Globe columnist and currently a fellow at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and contributor to ESPN’s The Undefeated and The American Prospect Magazine. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and is a 10-time award winner from the National Association of Black Journalists, a 2-time commentary winner from the national Education Writers Association, and a commentary winner from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

 

Harambee

Thursday, February 28

5:30 PM
Main Dining Room, MBL Swope Center
5 North St., Woods Hole

Cape Cod African Dance & Drum Live Performance

An ethnic feast celebrating everyone of every race! Guests are asked to bring a potluck dessert to share!

Cape Cod African Dance & Drum is an ensemble of dancers and drummers who practice traditional West African and Afro-Caribbean dance and drumming on Cape Cod and the New England area. This troupe includes master West African drummers, as well as a diverse group of professional American artists with a variety of dance and music backgrounds. The ensemble performs to uplift the hearts of their audiences, playing for the joy and healing inherent in African traditions.

Archived

Archived Black History Month