3.14.23 — The Criminal Justice Task Force, part of Northeastern Law’s Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), has launched the Historical Narrative Project, which aims to inform community members and stakeholders about the role race has played in the history and economic development of Massachusetts. The first paper in the series, “Faneuil Hall: The Monument of Peter Faneuil’s Legacy and a Catalyst for Change,” was written by Alicia Chouinard ’21 , a member of the Criminal Justice Task Force and associate with Tucker, Dyer & O’Connell.

“Alicia’s paper tackles the challenges of embracing what we love about Boston while also recognizing the complexities of race and discrimination in our city’s history,” said Professor Deborah Ramirez, head of the Criminal Justice Task Force and co-faculty director of CLEAR. “Faneuil Hall is an icon for Boston. It’s important that we understand and recognize the reality of its founding and funding and that we think about how, today,  we must focus on telling the full and complete history of our city, including the role race has played in its development.”

“Boston has a wonderfully exciting history. As we celebrate that history, we must take responsibility for that history, and that requires us to understand and acknowledge the social and economic realities of the times. I hope this paper provides necessary context for meaningful discussions about the history of Faneuil Hall from its very beginnings and the role of race and the slave trade in Boston’s social and economic infrastructure,” said Chouinard.

The Historical Narrative Project plans to publish a series of papers on topics including school desegregation in Boston; Boston’s connections to slavery; and the Charles Stuart case; among others.

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