Black History Month

Massachusetts has played an important role in American black history, from colonial days to the present. We've assembled a collection of articles, links and a quiz to help you get a feel for that history.

Black History in Massachusetts

Water

Back when our waters were still clean, we started our long relationship with the sea. From the voyages of the Pilgrims to 19th-century clipper ships to the fishing fleets of today, we were a plenty salty crew.

But it's not just the sea. Our rivers and lakes also tug at and affect us - from the battle at that "rude bridge" over the Concord River to Thoreau's and Emerson's water-inspired ruminations. Follow our links down to the waterfront.

Ocean

That's "Atlantic" to its close friends. Only five states are smaller than Massachusetts, but our coastline extends for hundreds of miles from Provincetown to the New Hampshire line, so grab your towel and head on out to the beach! Even today, we have a the only govenment watched-over by a fish: The state House of Representatives meets only as long as the Sacred Cod hangs in its chambers. More

Rivers

Sure, compared to the rest of the country, our rivers are generally pretty tame. Heck, some of them might not even be *considered* rivers elsewhere (take the Muddy River...please!). But they're our rivers and we like 'em. Are there really are huge, killer goldfish in the Charles? More

Lakes/Ponds

Has any lake had more of an influence on American intellectual thought than that little pond in Concord called Walden? We take a tour of some of the area's freshwater bodies of water. Oh, and by the way: what they call "lakes" in other parts of the world, we often call ponds. And the more north you go, the bigger these "ponds" become. "The Great Ponds" is probably what we'd call Erie, Michigan, Superior, Huron and Ontario. More