History
“In the face of current threats to our liberties, this project is a reminder of the principles and guts of generations of Bostonians, and it is expressed on the same sites where our history has played out over the centuries.”
On the eve of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s fiery testimony before Congress Wednesday, a group of local artists projected a series of messages onto the Old State House in what they’re calling a celebration of “Boston’s legacy of resisting tyranny and injustice.”
Borrowing the pseudonym “Silence Dogood,” the pen name a young Benjamin Franklin used, the group gave a nod to Boston’s revolutionary roots with messages like, “We have a good track record against tyrants” and “Boston doesn’t back down” — the same defiant statement Wu shared ahead of her testimony in defense of the city’s immigration enforcement policies.
“We are creatives, historians, believers in democracy who, like many generations of Bostonians before us, feel called to speak out against injustice,” group member Diane Dwyer said in an email interview, explaining the project’s origins.
Dwyer said the Old State House was chosen for its association with the Boston Massacre, which occurred exactly 255 years prior to Wu’s testimony, as well as its significance as the site where Bostonians first gathered to hear the Declaration of Independence read.
“Although certain things have changed since the 1700s, history repeats itself in bizarre ways, and we are in precedented times,” she explained. “Democracy and the American experiment need our constant care and attention. The Old State House seemed a good place to start making a few declarations of our own.”
In an open letter shared online, “Silence Dogood” took a pointed jab at Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, who said last month he’s “bringing hell” to Boston in light of its so-called sanctuary policies.
“You can’t bring hell to Boston,” the group fired back. “It’s been here waiting for tyrants and aspiring despots since 1770.”
Now, with the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War’s outbreak fast approaching, “we are once again met with a government leader inclined toward despotism,” Dwyer said.
She added: “In the face of current threats to our liberties, this project is a reminder of the principles and guts of generations of Bostonians, and it is expressed on the same sites where our history has played out over the centuries. As George Washington once wrote, ‘the cause of Boston now is and ever will be considered as the cause of America.’”
According to Dwyer, “Silence Dogood” will be popping up around Greater Boston’s most iconic sites in the coming weeks, with a goal of shedding light on the region’s “rich history of diverse groups and communities harnessing our revolutionary spirit to ensure and protect our common values of independence, liberty, and justice.”
She added: “We believe art serves its purpose when it acts as an impetus for public discourse, and we make full use of our right to freedom of speech.”
“Silence Dogood” ended its open letter with a call to arms in the fight against injustice.
“To all who call Boston home: you belong here,” the group wrote. “To all who question our ‘eternal enmity to tyranny,’ read a history book.”
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