Speakers:

Llana Barber

Llana Barber is associate professor of American Studies at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury where she teaches immigration, urban, and Latinx history, as well as the history of US imperialism. Her first book, Latino City: Immigration and Urban Crisis in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1945-2000 (UNC Press, 2017), explored the history of New England’s first Latinx-majority city. This work emphasized the impact of deindustrialization and suburbanization on Lawrence, and the Puerto Rican and Dominican activism that transformed the city. Latino City received the 2018 Lois P. Rudnick Prize from the New England American Studies Association and the 2017 Kenneth Jackson Award from the Urban History Association. Barber is currently researching the history of the Haitian diaspora from the 1970s to 1990s, focusing on U.S., Dominican, and Bahamian efforts to exclude Haitian migrants in this era.

Robert Forrant

Dr. Forrant is a professor in the History Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, teaching courses on global labor issues, labor history, immigration, and international development. He has been a consultant to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Metalworkers Federation, and several trade unions. Professor Forrant is the editor of three volumes on sustainable regional development, the author of numerous published articles and reports and a forthcoming book on industrial development and decline in the Connecticut River Valley and New England. Before completing his graduate education, he worked as a machinist and union business agent at the now closed American Bosch plant in Springfield, MA and ran a community-based economic development program. He analyzes and reports on the Massachusetts industrial economy for the journal Massachusetts Benchmarks, a joint publication of the University of Massachusetts and the New England Federal Reserve Bank and he writes a monthly column on the economy for the Lowell Sun.

Reuben Henriques

Reuben Henriques is History/Social Science Content Support Lead at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Originally from Madison, WI, Reuben taught middle and high school history in the Boston area for six years and has also written curriculum and delivered professional development with a particular focus on AP world history. His current work with DESE focuses on supporting teachers and leaders with implementation of the History and Social Science Framework and civics project legislation in an inclusive and equitable way.

Glennys Sánchez

Glennys Sánchez is a Senior Associate at Great Schools Partnership. She has more than 10 years of experience as a community activist, K-16 education professional, and community-engaged researcher. Sánchez has devoted her professional career and personal journey to integrating the voices and participation of historically marginalized communities in different spaces ranging from nonprofit leadership, higher education, to community engagement research. In a previous role, Glennys led the family engagement research and knowledge management initiatives of a non-profit organization based in Boston that prepares educators to engage all families in equal partnerships that are essential to student success. Glennys earned an associate’s degree in business from Northern Essex Community College, a BA in economics from University of Massachusetts Boston, and a M.Ed. in Community Engagement from Merrimack College. In her spare time, Glennys organizes a social justice music, theater, and poetry festival. She lives in her adopted home of Lawrence with her partner and three children and often travels to her native Dominican Republic.

Brian Sheehy

Brian Sheehy is the History Department Coordinator at North Andover High School in North Andover, MA, where he teaches AP European History, AP United States History, Sports of the Past, and Sports in American Culture. He is the 2020 Organization of American Historians: Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Teacher of the Year Award 2020 and Williams College: Olmstead Secondary Teacher of the Year Award 2020. In 2018 he created the North Andover High History Learning Lab, which focuses on enriching and enhancing the history curriculum through object based learning. Brian is also a sports historian who has traveled all over the country giving presentations at conferences, symposiums, historical societies, and museums. He has designed and created professional development for other teachers so that they can incorporate sports-related themes and topics into their everyday history classrooms. Brian is the president of the Essex Base Ball Organization, a nonprofit group that plays base ball as it was played in the 19^th century.

Moderator:

Brad Austin

Brad Austin is a Professor of History at Salem State University, where he teaches modern U.S. history, sports history, the history of New England and slavery, and history education courses. He has served as the chairperson of American Historical Association’s Teaching Prize Committee. He is the author of Democratic Sports: Men’s and Women’s College Sports During the Great Depression (University of Arkansas Press, 2015) and the co-editor of Understanding and Teaching the Vietnam War (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013). He is also co-editor for the University of Wisconsin Press’s Harvey Goldberg Series for Understanding and Teaching History. In 2012, he won the Graduate Studies Teaching Award from the Northeastern Council of Graduate Studies, an organization representing more than 200 universities in the eastern United States and Canada.

Contact:

Beth Beringer

Director of Education Programs, Essex Heritage, can be reached at bethb@essexheritage.org