Past Events

How do stories and songs carry knowledge across generations? How does art hold space for healing while challenging systems of oppression? This panel explores how narrative and music function as radical tools for Black liberation—both historically and today.

GBH Music welcomes the Rasa String Quartet to the Boston Public Library for a free show, hosted by CRB Classical 99.5 midday host Edyn-Mae Stevenson. In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Rasa String Quartet performs a program of all-women composers, from Hildegard von Bingen and Florence Price, to Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift.

Formed in 2019, the Rasa String Quartet brings together violinists Emma Powell and Maura Shawn Scanlin, violist Kiyoshi Hayashi, and cellist Mina Kim. The Rasa String Quartet is dedicated to exploring the musical space where classical and folk traditions intersect and influence one another. In Sanskrit, the term ‘rasa’ refers to the indescribable power of art to move, inspire, and connect us—a quality Rasa String Quartet strives to embody in every performance. The Rasa String Quartet will perform four free concerts at the BPL throughout the 2025-2026 GBH Music Season.

Show #1 - 12-12:45pm

GBH Amplifies with Tracy Chang: Tran Ngoc Lee, chef-owner of Viet Citron

Join us for a compelling episode of GBH Amplifies as host Tracy Chang sits down with Tran Ngoc Lee, the visionary chef and owner behind the thriving Viet Citron. From her early childhood in Vietnam to her previous career designing high-profile spaces for a world-renowned architecture firm, Tran’s "winding path" is a masterclass in grit and creative obsession. Now operating three locations across Burlington, Somerville, and Cambridge, Tran discusses how she transitioned from sketching buildings to crafting authentic Banh Mi, all while pioneering a revolutionary restaurant culture that prioritizes financial literacy, competitive benefits, and community collaboration.

Show #2 - 1-1:45pm

GBH Amplifies with Tracy Chang: The Iconic Marvin Gilmore

In this installment of GBH Amplifies, host Tracy Chang welcomes a true Boston legend and "Renaissance Man," 101-year-old Marvin Gilmore, for an intimate exploration of a life spanning over a century of American history. From his early days in a world of horse-and-buggy transport to his harrowing service as a Black soldier in a segregated WWII military, Marvin shares the grit and strategic brilliance that allowed him to navigate systemic racism and become a pioneer of "firsts." As a musician, civil rights activist, and entrepreneur, he reflects on building Black wealth and housing during the era of MLK and Mandela.

About

GBH Amplifies is a community conversation series focused on expanding the reach of local voices from Greater Boston and beyond. The series features community leaders hosting public conversations in the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, providing a platform for inclusive perspectives on the issues that matter most to New England communities. GBH Amplifies happens weekly on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm at the GBH BPL Studio. This event is free and open to the public.

GBH Amplifies is also being supported by the Barr Foundation.

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.

Lam is a journalist and short story writer, currently serving as the web editor of New America Media. He is a regular contributor to National Public Radio's All Things Considered and blogs for the Huffington Post.

The Lowell Humanities Series at Boston College welcomes Sherene Seikaly to discuss themes from her forthcoming book project, From Baltimore to Beirut: On the Question of Palestine, and raise the question: How do we understand conflicting claims to land and its relationship to colonialism?

Cosponsored by the Boston College History Department.

The Lowell Humanities Series is sponsored by the Lowell Institute, Boston College’s Institute for the Liberal Arts, and the Provost’s Office.

Join us for a special event with Henry Louis Gates Jr. where he will discuss his new series, Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History on March 25th at 4:30pm.

Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History is a four-part series tracing the rich, complex relationship between Black and Jewish Americans — defined by solidarity and strained by division. Drawn together by racism and antisemitism, they forged civic and cultural bonds, especially during the civil rights era. The series explores both the challenges and enduring promise of that alliance.

This event is hosted by Hutchins Center, GBH, and Harvard Divinity School.

Stories from the Stage invites you to our home (studio) for an entertaining night of storytelling. How far would you go to get what you needed? Beg, Borrow, and Steal will feature bold, true stories about resourcefulness, risk, and the moments when people found a way—whether by asking, improvising, or bending the rules just a bit. No villains, no heroes—just humans doing what it takes and living with the consequences.

At Stories from the Stage, produced by GBH WORLD, ordinary people share extraordinary experiences that you will not soon forget. In each taping, we get up-close and personal with storytellers about what inspires them and the craft of storytelling.

Timeline

6:30pm Doors open to GBH's Atrium for the pre-reception
7:00pm Doors open to GBH's Calderwood Studio for seating
7-9:15pm Formal program with live storytellers

Note all on-site purchases will be credit card only.

Event registration is required. Seating is general admission.

The maximum capacity of this event is 120.

 
Photo credit: Stories from the Stage

Stories from the Stage warmly invites you to our home (studio) for an entertaining night of storytelling. Some stories are so wild, so perfectly timed or so absurdly human that they sound made up—but they’re not. Maybe it was a coincidence you still can’t explain, a misunderstanding that spiraled out of control or a real-life plot twist no screenwriter would dare touch.

At Stories from the Stage, produced by GBH WORLD, ordinary people share extraordinary experiences that you will not soon forget. In each taping, we get up-close and personal with storytellers about what inspires them and the craft of storytelling. Join us for this special night where college students from around the region are welcome to join the studio audience!

Timeline
6:30pm Doors open to GBH's Atrium for the pre-reception
7:00pm Doors open to GBH's Calderwood Studio for seating
7-9:15pm Formal program with live storytellers

Note all on-site purchases will be credit card only.

Event registration is required. Seating is general admission.

Photo credit: Stories from the Stage


This event is presented with support from our sponsors

Join NOVA at the GBH Studios at the Boston Public Library for a night of NOVA science trivia! Get ready for creative categories that test your knowledge of science, from the depths of the universe to the history of science. This month, we will quiz you on the spring equinox, scientists in the movies, fermentation and more!

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event. Registration is encouraged for this free event.

As some may know (and others may not know), Latinos have no single, defining look, as they come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, representing a blend of Indigenous, European, African, and Asian ancestry. While often stereotyped as having tan skin and dark features, Latinos can appear white, Black, or brown, with diverse skin tones, hair textures, and facial features. Today, we have a diverse panel representing this very wide range of looks to talk about their own experiences explaining “What does a Latino look like”?  

Guests:

Drew Rooks
Argentinean

Naheem Garcia
Cuban

Betty Francisco
Puerto Rican

Christa Jones
Not Latina but "looks" Latina


GBH Amplifies is a community conversation series focused on expanding the reach of local voices from Greater Boston and beyond. The series features community leaders hosting public conversations in the GBH Studio at the Boston Public Library in Copley Square, providing a platform for inclusive perspectives on the issues that matter most to New England communities. GBH Amplifies happens weekly on Thursdays from 12:30-1:30pm at the GBH BPL Studio. This event is free and open to the public.

GBH Amplifies is also being supported by the Barr Foundation.

Registration is encouraged for this free event.

Limited seating is available on a first come, first serve basis. If you require a seat, we encourage you to arrive before the start time of this event.