2022 Bay State
Legacy Awards
As the leader of the New Bedford Historical Society, Lee Blake spearheads the preservation of African American history in New Bedford and the region. She is the visionary behind Abolition Row Park, a project that will create a city park out of an abandoned lot across the street from the Nathan and Mary Johnson House. She also collaborates with other non-profit organizations across the Southcoast to share the stories of the Underground Railroad, Frederick Douglass, and African American history in public art and history projects, which have included a mural and brick walkway celebrating the MA 54th Volunteer Infantry Regiment; a public trail exploring the legacy of Captain Paul Cuffe in New Bedford and Westport, Massachusetts; and an exhibit in Boston and New Bedford with University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on the Abolition Row Project, entitled Black Spaces Matter. Blake has been awarded six National Endowment for the Humanities grants over the past 15 years for the professional development of teachers across the country on the intersection between New Bedford’s history as a maritime port, the Underground Railroad, and African American history. Throughout, she has been a tireless leader, fundraiser, advocate, and resource for researching, interpreting and sharing local and regional histories of minoritized people. Blake was awarded the National Park Service Robert Stanton Network to Freedom Award for her work in preserving the history of people of color in 2018 and the Massachusetts Governor’s Award in the Humanities in 2019.
Jim Lopes, New Bedford
For more than fifty years, starting when he founded the Afro-American Historical Society at age 16 at New Bedford High School, Jim Lopes has contributed to the creative presentation and interpretation of Massachusetts history through his research, writing, lectures, films, programs, and exhibits. A graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, he is a retired intellectual property attorney, and currently teaches in the Communications Department at Rhode Island College. He also serves as Visitor Services Supervisor at Fall River Heritage State Park, where he creates and presents programs and exhibits that interpret local history. Previously, he served as the Vice President of Education & Programming at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. In his tenure, he expanded its vision to be more inclusive of African American, Cape Verdean, and Native American cultures. Under his guidance, the Museum created Captain Paul Cuffe Park and the Cape Verdean Maritime Exhibit, and presented Old Dartmouth Roots, a local genealogy conference. In Boston, Lopes contributed to exhibits at the Roxbury Heritage State Park, wrote the first guide to the Boston Black Heritage trail. Mr. Lopes is the co-founder of the international Cape Verdean Genealogy Society. He is also an award-winning documentary producer and has conducted oral histories of whaling families. Currently, he is working with the University of Massachusetts to collect oral histories of early Cape Verdean residents of the Town of Dartmouth. Attorney Lopes serves on the New Bedford Historical Commission and is a former board member of Mass Humanities, as well as the New Bedford Whaling Museum, where he served as Vice Chairman.
Bay State Legacy Award Finalists
Thomas Doughton, Worcester (College of the Holy Cross)
Nominated for lifetime achievement in the research, interpretation, and education of African-American and Native American History in Worcester and the Central Massachusetts region, Thomas Doughton has worked with many historical organizations on many projects. He specializes in the history of people of color and their relationships with colonists and white Americans in Worcester and Central New England. In 2007, he co-authored From Bondage to Belonging: The Worcester Slave Narratives with B. Eugene McCarthy. Recently, he was historian and guide on the Holy Cross film project Pakachoag: Where the River Bends, which tells the story of the Nipmuc land where the College of the Holy Cross now resides. (View it at bit.ly/pakachoag.) He is senior lecturer in the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies at Holy Cross, a frequent public lecturer, and a Smithsonian Journeys Expert.
Jayne Gordon, Damariscotta, ME (Mass Historical Society, ret.)
Nominated for lifetime achievement as a leader in the teaching and dissemination of local history in Massachusetts, Jayne Gordon has made significant contributions to and shared her knowledge with historical organizations, students, teachers and colleagues in Massachusetts and far beyond its boundaries. Her work as a director, education director, NEH consultant, local history teacher, museum studies educator, panel moderator, board member, and even tour guide in the Boston area and beyond has increased the understanding of American and New England history for thousands of people. Orchard House, the Concord Museum, Thoreau Society, Concord Guide training, NEH summer seminars, Tufts University, Massachusetts Historical Society, Bay State Historical League — all benefited from her experience and expertise. Jayne’s passion for learning is catching. You cannot leave a Gordon talk without urgently wanting to know more about the marginalized people of Concord or Emerson’s transcendental musings, 19th century entertainments or the politics of revolution. She knows the particulars and understands the broader context that makes those particulars significant. In short, Jayne Gordon is the best of a rare breed: the scholarly public historian.
Carole Owens, Stockbridge (Stockbridge CPC)
Nominated for lifetime achievement in the exploration, dissemination, and preservation of history in Stockbridge and the region, Dr. Carole Owens preserved in words and pictures what could not always be preserved in buildings and other artifacts for more than forty years. Owens has written 12 books and some 1000 newspaper columns bringing life to the history of Stockbridge, the Berkshires, and Massachusetts. She is editor and publisher of Stockbridge Updates, a free bimonthly subscription newsletter that highlights town events and local history. Owens teaches local history classes for the OLLIE lifelong learning center at Berkshire Community College and lectures at historical societies and libraries. Writing from the perspective of a social historian, Owens rekindled interest in deserted and deteriorating houses of the nineteenth century with her first book, The Berkshire Cottages: A Vanishing Era. Her book Remarkable Women of New England went beyond Berkshire County history, recounting the lives of the women of the Revolutionary War. But Owens did not stick to preservation on paper. She helped save Ventfort Hall Mansion by securing grants and, ultimately, its inclusion as one of “America’s Treasures”. She was also instrumental in stabilizing the William Russell Allen House in Pittsfield. Finally, Owens serves on the Stockbridge Community Preservation Committee as she has on many others, including the effort to establish the town’s demolition delay bylaw.
MHA STAR Awards
MHA STAR Awards for excellence in local or exemplary work in the field of local and public history in Massachusetts recognize as long term commitment, outstanding work with concrete results, exemplary innovation, local leadership for change, or contributions to equity and justice.
Starting in 2023, we will invite separate nominations for the Bay State Legacy Award and the MHA Star Awards.
Dan Breen (Somerville Museum, Brandeis University)
Star Award for innovative programming in and long term volunteer contributions to history, as well as equity and justice in public history
Karilyn Crockett (MIT)
Star Award for innovative programming and contributions to equity and justice in public history
Sara Leavitt Goldberg (Historic Newton)
Star Award for long term commitment to and contributions to equity and justice in local and public history in Massachusetts.
Ann-Marie Harris (Berkshire Athenaeum)
Star Award for lifetime contributions to and support of local history.
G. David Hubbard, II (Winthrop Improvement & Historical Association)
Star Award for long term commitment and volunteer contributions to public history
Bill Lichtenstein (LC Media)
Star Award for innovation in the collection of recent and oral history
Christopher Messier (Pilgrim Memorial State Park)
Star Award for innovation in and long-term contributions to equity and justice in history
John C. MacLean (Lincoln)
Star Award for long term volunteer contributions to public history
John Mayer (Amesbury Carriage Museum and History Center)
Star Award for long term commitment and service and concrete results in support of the field
James R. Miller (Sheffield Historical Society)
Star Award for long term volunteer contributions to public history
Marie Panik (Historic Northampton)
Star Award for long term service and dedication and concrete results in support of the field
Jacob Sconyers (Hub History)
Star Award for innovation in communications in public history
Nathaniel Sheidley (Revolutionary Spaces)
Star Award for innovative programming and concrete results in support of the field