Lowell Lecture
Public Memory at the Crossroads
Date & Time
Oct. 16, 2025 at 12:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
Location
Suffolk University, Poetry Center
Suffolk University
Poetry Center
73 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02108
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Jha D. Amazi, a Principal at Model of Architecture Serving Society (MASS)who leads the Public Memory and Memorials Lab Noelle N. Trent, PhD, President and CEO of the Museum of African American History | Boston and Nantucket Bryan Trabold, PhD, Professor of English at Suffolk University Trent Masiki, PhD, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Black Studies Program, Suffolk University
Presenting Organization
Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University
Topics
Public memory is not simply a record of what has happened; it is the living conversation between past and present, a shared understanding that shapes who we are and who we hope to become. At stake is more than history itself. Public memory influences civic engagement, strengthens or frays the bonds of community, and guides how societies imagine their futures. By examining memory as both inheritance and responsibility, this gathering asks us to consider how the stories we carry forward might nurture resilience, foster empathy, and sustain democracy in our own time.
This forum invites us to reflect on the power of memory in public life. How do monuments, archives, rituals, and stories preserve identity across generations? What happens when collective memory is suppressed, silenced, or rewritten? And how can communities cultivate spaces of remembrance that are inclusive, truthful, and just?