We Refuse to Forget! An Intergenerational Conversation with Our Elders About Justice, Mobilizing, and Engaging Communities.

Boston PAR Network – December Meeting 2024 

On December 7^th, Massasoit Participatory Action Student Researchers met at Northeastern University in Boston, for the second meeting of the Boston-PAR Network for Educators and Housing Activists entitled, We Refuse to Forget! An Intergenerational Conversation with Our Elders About Justice, Mobilizing, and Engaging Communities. The focus of this meeting was to learn from experienced, justice-oriented activists who have extensive experience supporting the African American community in Boston from the 1960s through the present. The Elders shared examples of how working in the community can be healing for the individual activists and the community.  

The Boston PAR Network first met in October to kick off this collaboration between three PAR practicing organizations: the Massasoit Community College Participatory Action Research Insititute, headed by Dr. Tara Gully-Hightower, Shinelle Kirk of The Healthy Neighborhoods Study, and Dr. Particia Krueger-Henney of the UMass Boston PAR community. This Network was founded to prioritize a participatory learning community for educators and housing activists. The PAR Network members are comprised of college faculty, K-12 educators, educational leaders, researchers, and members of community-based organizations. The network is a space where participants can be introduced to the theory, methods, ethics, and praxis of Participatory Action Research (PAR). Individuals or teams who would like to try using PAR, are invited to come to the network to ask questions, receive feedback from the PAR Network members, and learn more about the epistemology of PAR.  

Stay tuned for information about future meeting information.

Author: Dr. Tara Gully-Hightower

Tara Gully-Hightower is an educator committed to the academic success of urban youth as evidenced by over twenty years of teaching in Boston area colleges, high schools, and middle schools. She earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Urban Education Policy, and Leadership Studies at UMass Boston. Her dissertation work includes running a Participatory Action Research project with community college students to increase college completion rates, especially for students first in their families to attend college, low-income students, and students of color. Before teaching English, Writing, and Humanities in Boston, Cambridge, and Chelsea, she taught Literature and Humanities for The Transitional Year Program at Brandeis University. Presently, she teaches English at Massasoit Community College in Brockton. Tara earned an M.A. in English and American Language and Literature from The Harvard University Extension School and an Ed. M. in Education and Curriculum Development from The Harvard Graduate School of Education. She earned her B.A. in English and American Language and Literature from Brandeis University. She is a graduate of the Fenway High School in Boston. View all posts by Dr. Tara Gully-Hightower