On April 28, the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute (MLRI) will be hosting our 2022 Catalyst for Change event at the African Meeting House on Boston’s Beacon Hill. Built in 1806 and located in Smith Court, the Meeting House is considered the oldest extant Black church building in America. Smith Court served as a center for Boston’s Black community in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Along with the Meeting House, it is also home to the Abiel Smith School, which today houses the Museum of African American History.

Then known as the Bellnap Street Church, the African Meeting House was a place where the Black community gathered, worshiped, and organized. The New England Freedom Association, which assisted fugitive slaves, held many of their meetings there. On October 8, 1850, members of Boston’s Black community met at the church to coordinate a response to the Fugitive Slave Act. They called for a League of Freedom “composed of all those who are ready to resist this law, rescue and protect the slave, at every hazard.” In defiance of city, state, and federal authorities, the League physically resisted the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act for many years.

After two difficult years, we are excited to be gathering together once again. We feel humbled to be fundraising for our future fights in a place with such a storied past. By keeping our feet rooted in history and our eyes trained to the future, MLRI works to keep alive the spirit of resistance that the Meeting House has fostered for centuries.