Boston Becomes Experiential Learning Lab In Northeastern Humanities Institute

What was Boston’s role in the slave trade? If you took a tour of the city, how would you know?

The answer might surprise you: A single plaque at the end of the Long Wharf memorializes Boston’s place in the Middle Passage.

The understated memorial is a testament to “how bad of a job we do noting that slave ships landed in the Seaport area and brought thousands of slaves in the United States,” says Serena Parekh, professor of philosophy at Northeastern’s College of Social Sciences and the Humanities. “I had no idea even though I’ve lived here for 22 years now.”

The monument became an important symbol for scholars who took a tour of the city this month as part of the three-week Engaging Geography in the Humanities Institute.

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