10/21/2024
PLEASE JOIN US ON OCTOBER 25, 2024 FOR A FREE SCREENING OF THE DOCUMENTARY FILM, THE BEST MAYOR WE (BOSTON) NEVER HAD AT THE CFE FARMSTEAD IN EASTHAMPTON, MA
(The CFE Farmstead is in a restored mill located at 180 Pleasant Street, Easthampton.)
With the support of Michael Sundel and Lystra Blake, we are pleased to be able to offer a free screening of the documentary film, The Best Mayor We Never Had, that traces the memoirs of Larry DiCara, the youngest ever elected member of City Council in Boston history. Larry’s memoirs, Turmoil and Transition in Boston...from the Busing Era, focuses on his personal journey chasing the American dream which led to his academic success at the Boston Latin School, Harvard College, and the Harvard Kennedy School and then to a distinguished political and legal career. Larry emerged from a strong Italian family and ethnic immigrant community to reach success as a policymaker, politician, lawyer and expert on state and local political history in Massachusetts.
DiCara, who was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Massachusetts, remains active as a dynamic commentator, and lecturer, on matters of local, state and national interest.
The documentary film traces the ups and downs of Larry’s political career including during the time of the federally ordered school busing plan in Boston in 1974. The film also develops themes showing the importance of race relations in Boston, the city planning/built environment legacy of the 50 year anniversary of the federal judge’s busing order in Boston, and the rebound of the Boston regional economy after the 1970s leading to its current day prosperity. Larry’s story shows that all politics is local, as famously noted by former House Speaker Tip O’Neill.
The schedule of the event is as follows:
5:00 p.m. Registration at the CFE Farmstead. 180 Pleasant Street, Easthampton, MA. Venue will be open to the public for the event. Ample free parking in the front and rear of the event site.
5:10 p.m.- 6:10 p.m. Light refreshments.
6:15 p.m. - 6:45 p.m. Panel discussion/overview of the movie with Larry DiCara, in person along with Tim McTaggart, co-producer, co-writer with Larry DiCara.
6:45 p.m. - 8:45 p.m. Screening of the movie.
8:45 p.m. Brief audience questions for the panel.
9:00 p.m. Conclusion.
Please rsvp to: [email protected] if you plan to attend.
