The Life and Legacy of Emily Greene Balch

Please join the Jamaica Plain Historical Society to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Emily Greene Balch on January 8, 1867 in Jamaica Plain. Kristen Gwinn-Becker, PhD will discuss the life and legacy of this prominent American economist, sociologist, internationalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner (1946). The talk will detail how Emily Greene Balch’s strong family upbringing and the spirit of activism in Jamaica Plain spurred on her activities in poverty relief, child labor, immigration, settlement work, and her leadership in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Ms. Balch’s teaching and activism from the late 19th century to the post WWII era will be tied to current national and international movements and will show how her work formed the foundation for many of the social, economic, and political movements we recognize today and can serve as an inspiration for current local activism in Jamaica Plain and beyond.
Kristen Gwinn-Becker, PhD is the author of Emily Greene Balch: The Long Road to Internationalism, the first scholarly biography of the second U.S. woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. This talk is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served