Ford Hall Forum

The Ford Hall Forum is the oldest free public lecture series in the United States. Founded in 1908, it continues to host open lectures and discussions in the Greater Boston area. Some of the more well-known past speakers include Maya Angelou, Isaac Asimov, Noam Chomsky, Alan Dershowitz, W. E. B. Du Bois, Al Gore, Martin Luther King Jr., Henry Kissinger, Norman Mailer, Ayn Rand, Cokie Roberts, Eleanor Roosevelt, Robert Frost, Malcolm X, Jimmy Wales, and Gwen Ifill.

The Ford Hall Forum's mission is "to promote freedom of speech and foster an informed and engaged citizenry through the free public presentation of lectures, debates, and discussions." Its events strive to illuminate key issues facing society by bringing to a public podium knowledgeable and thought-provoking speakers. These speakers are presented in person, for free, and in settings that facilitate frank and open debate. All programs provide equal time for speakers' remarks and questions from the audience.

History

The Forum was founded in February 1908 by George W. Coleman, a Boston businessman and then leader of the Boston Baptist Social Union. The first public lectures were held in the Union's meeting place, the Ford Building on Beacon Hill, from where the Forum's name originates. The first speaker was the Baptist Pastor Walter Rauschenbusch whose book "Christianity and the Social Crisis" had been released the year before.

As a free speech institution that does not endorse the view of any of its speakers, the Forum has occasionally given a stage to speakers who other institutions would, or could, not. In 1929, Margaret Sanger appeared at the Forum, visibly gagged, after Mayor James Michael Curley issued an injunction barring her from speaking about family planning. Around the same time, the Forum withstood criticism for hosting meetings with civil rights activist, W.E.B. Du Bois. Malcolm X was invited to speak in the 1960s at a time when he was widely considered too dangerous to be given a public podium in the heart of Boston. In the early 1990s, when former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke was a candidate for a seat in the U.S. Senate, the Forum brought him to Boston to answer questions about his views and about his past.

Ousted by the Boston Baptist Social Union for fear of being associated with radicalism, the Ford Hall Forum began its own separate enterprise in 1929. The stated purpose of the new corporation was:
"To provide education such as will develop intelligent, capable, and responsible citizens, minister to the welfare of all, and promote understanding of civic, moral, religious, and spiritual responsibilities. This can be done in part by maintaining a common meeting ground for all the people where there will be full, free, and open public discussion of all vital questions affecting human welfare."

Periodically, the Forum specifically recognizes the value of expressing sentiment that may not always be welcomed but is certainly necessary with its First Amendment Award in honor of Louis P. and Evelyn Smith, long time active benefactors of the Forum. Recipients are listed below along with other speakers.

For many years the Ford Hall Forum was based at Northeastern University, the Ford Hall Forum currently is presenting its lecture series in cooperation with Suffolk University.

References

# Coleman, George W. Democracy in the Making: Ford Hall and the Open Forum Movement : A Symposium. Boston: Little, Brown, 1915.
# The Challenge of the Forum. The Story of Ford Hall and the Open Forum Movement. A Demonstration in Adult Education. The New England Quarterly. 1931.

External links

Ford Hall Forum Official Website

WGBH Forum Network

FORA.tv
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are available at Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department.

Boston Public Library Sound Archives

Culture of Boston
Freedom of speech
Lecture series