THE AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY PRESENTS: AN (UN)CIVIL ACTION?: VIOLENT POLITICS IN 1920s WORCESTER

What was the KKK doing in Worcester in the 1920s? Join historian John McClymer for a film_and-discussion program about civic violence in American politics.

Sponsored by: Mass Humanities, Assumption College, Worcester Historical Museum, American Antiquarian Society

An (Un)Civil Action?: Violent Politics in 1920s Worcester

A film–and-discussion program about civic violence in American politics moderated by historian John McClymer

November 21, from 1:00 to 4:00 PM

Testa Science Center Auditorium,

Assumption College, Worcester

In 1920s Worcester, violent political action appears to have been an option. On October 19, 1924, months of back-and-forth political intimidation climaxed in a night-long riot that followed a heavily protected Ku Klux Klan meeting at the Worcester Fairgrounds. When, four years later, on Nov. 5, 1928 a pre-election Hoover victory parade of 8,000 marched down Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, some 10,000 opposition supporters attacked the marchers. The ensuing riot lasted for hours also.


Learn more about this and discuss how we might think of revolution, riot, rebellion, raid, and rout as part of politics and society. This program will also feature excerpts from the documentary, John Brown's Holy War and a discussion of Brown's choice for armed conflict.

This event, presented by Mass Humanities in collaboration with Assumption College, the Worcester Historical Museum, and the American Antiquarian Society, is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. For more information, visit: www.masshumanities.org.

Northampton-based Mass Humanities is affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Massachusetts Cultural Council, both of which fund the grant program. Mass Humanities conducts and supports projects that use history, literature, philosophy, and the other humanities disciplines to strengthen and enhance civic life across the Commonwealth. For further information about initiatives, grant deadlines, and awarded grants, visit: www.masshumanities.org.