News Release

Lowell Talks

Date: October 10, 2018
Contact: Phil Lupsiewicz, 978-275-1705

LOWELL, MA- This fall, Lowell National Historical Park is launching Lowell Talks, a new series of community conversations on a wide range of historical and contemporary topics. The series will connect historical perspectives and unique insights from Lowell’s history with today’s political and social issues.

The series will be hosted by Lowell National Historical Park and presented in partnership with community members and community organizations. Lowell Talks programs are free and open to all. All participants are encouraged to bring their questions and stories, share their views, and to join in on the conversation.

The first in the Lowell Talks program series include:

Lowell Talks: Mill Girl #MeToo
A Community Conversation on Gender & Violence in Workplaces and Communities. Presented in partnership with the Center for Hope and Healing, Inc., Lowell, MA
Sunday, October 14, 2 p.m.
Boott Cotton Mills Museum Event Center, 115 John St., Lowell, MA

Together with The Center for Hope and Healing, a local agency dedicated to ending sexual violence, we will be discussing how mill girls and other workers have historically dealt with harassment in and out of the workplace. Join us as we explore the history of this issue as well as connections to the current #MeToo movement. 

Lowell Talks: A Conversation with Benjamin Butler
Sunday, November 4,  11 a.m. 
Boott Cotton Mills Museum Event Center, 115 John St., Lowell, MA  

General Benjamin Butler, Lowell's lightning-rod, was born 200 years ago this November. During an hour-long program, interpreter Richard Scott will bring Butler to life, offering a first-person presentation based on years of research. After providing Butler’s perspective, and answering questions about growing up in 19^th-century Lowell, politics, and the Civil War, Scott will invite us to explore what Butler’s legacy means today. 

Lowell Talks: Remembering the 1918 Armistice and a Century of Conflict
Sunday, November 11, 10 a.m.
Boott Cotton Mills Museum Event Center, 115 John St., Lowell, MA  

One hundred years ago this November 11, at the eleventh hour of the day, an armistice was declared in Europe, thereby ending the First World War. During this Lowell Talks, we will be joined by Shawn Driscoll of the UMass Lowell History Department to discuss the meaning of World War I a century after its end. Together, we will consider questions of remembrance, the toll of war, and the lingering consequences of this uneasy "peace." Join us and bring your questions, your stories, and thoughts about the "Great War." In the tradition of Armistice Day, we will pause at 11 a.m. for a moment of silence.

Lowell Talks programs take place at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum Events Center at 115 John Street, Lowell, MA. Paid parking is available one block away at the Downes Garage at 75 John Street (corner of John and French Streets). Free parking is available at the Park Visitor Center lot at 304 Dutton Street. The Visitor Center lot is a 10-15 minute walk from the Boott Mills Museum.

For more information about Lowell National Historical Park and about future Lowell Talks programs, visit www.nps.gov/lowell, or call [phone].