One hundred years ago, a North End community was devastated by the rupture of a molasses tank that caused damage to the neighborhood and claimed twenty-one lives. Debate over the fallout of the flood remain in the folklore of Boston to this day. Questions on the matter pertaining to the role of big business taking responsibility for the flood damage and how reactions were handled by all involved still resonate. Stephen Puleo, author of the book Dark Tide, and a panel with first-hand knowledge of labor issues then and now, discuss these lingering questions and relate them to what's happening in Boston's service industry now. Image: Old South Meeting House
Stephen Puleo is a historian, teacher, public speaker, and the author of several books, including 'Voyage of Mercy', 'Dark Tide',' American Treasures', and 'The Caning'.
Dr. Karilyn Crockett focuses her research on large-scale land use changes in twentieth century American cities and examines the social and geographic implications of structural poverty. Karilyn’s new book "People before Highways: Boston Activists, Urban Planners, and a New Movement for City Making" (UMASS Press 2018) investigates a 1960s era grassroots movement to halt urban extension of the U.S. interstate highway system and the geographic and political changes in Boston that resulted.
Robert Forrant is Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. His most recent book, Where Are the Workers: Interpreting Labor and Working-Class History at Museums and Historic Sites, was published in 2022. In early 2024 he published “‘No Avenging Gibet’: The 1860 Pemberton Mill Collapse” in The New England Quarterly.
Courtney Leonard was born and raised in South Boston. She works in Boston's service industry and is a union member who is demanding fair wages and healthcare.
Carlos Aramayo is the Financial Secretary Treasurer of Boston's Local 26, UNITE HERE, a union representing workers in the hospitality industries of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Members work in Boston and Providence hotels, restaurants, and university dining halls in addition to the Boston Convention Centers, Fenway Park and Logan International Airport. They clean hotel rooms, greet guests, and prepare and serve food for hundreds of thousands of travelers to Boston and the northeast. [Follow Carlos on Twitter.](https://twitter.com/Carlos\_Aramayo "")