Mike Ritter Photo

Old North Church organized a panel about the new book Resistance History by public historian Tad Stoermer - I've read it, it's great. Joining Tad were historian Vincent Brown, "Gen Z Historian" Kahlil Greene, and Chittenden County State's Attorney Sarah George.

Tad recounted seeing a t-shirt saying "250 Years of Liberty" and asking "to whom?" which can be asked of most anything in history.

Generally, America doesn't like to take hard looks at itself. Resistance History does that by recounting multiple cases of resistance in American history and extracting lessons for the present from them. Studying and learning where American fell short of its ideals isn't done to shame anyone. It's done so we can understand the times we live in and have the chance to do better which sounds like a nice way to honor the nation's 250th anniversary this weekend.

Kudos to the West End Museum for last minute hosting of the event as the temperature inside Old North had reached 92 degrees.

I'm happy to report one of the portraits was selected for the Griffin Museum's 32nd Annual Members Juried Online Exhibition.

https://griffinmuseum.org/show/32jme_online/

I know this project is a good one because it's teaching me about my neighbors and America. It's gratifying for Who Are We to be accepted into this show. The Griffin's been a personal favorite museum pretty much since I came to Boston more than 20 years ago.

In the meantime, here's the latest batch of portraits. Special thanks to graphic designer Brayan Restrepo and all those who have sat so far for the project.