Boston Scenes

Bob Herbert (right), a columnist for the New York Times, receives the David Nyhan Prize for Political Journalism from Alex Jones (left), director of the Joan Shorenstein Center at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Herbert has earned many awards for meritorious newspaper writing during a distinguished career that has included stints at “The Today Show,” NBC’s “Nightly News,” the New York Daily News and WCBS-TV. (Don West photo)

Giovanna Negretti (left), co-founder and executive director of ¿Oíste?, the Massachusetts Latino political organization, and Cory A. Booker (right), mayor of Newark, N.J., celebrate receiving the 2008 John F. Kennedy Jr. New Frontier Award from the late businessman’s sister, Caroline Kennedy (center), at a ceremony held Nov. 24, 2008 at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. (Don West photo)

The Blue Hill Boys & Girls Club and the Nexus Alliance helped make Thanksgiving brighter for Dorchester families by handing out some 400 free turkeys to residents on Nov. 23. (Photo courtesy of Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston) 

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., was the keynote speaker at the Theodore H. White Lecture on Press and Politics, held Nov. 20 at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Lewis spoke of his journey, which began as a sharecropper’s son in Alabama, spanned the civil rights movement and continues today in Congress. (Don West photo)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month recognized Roxbury-based nonprofit Urban Edge as one of five winners of a 2008 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. The award recognizes innovative approaches to community-building strategies that achieve smart growth. (From left): Urban Edge director of real estate Noah Maslan; EPA administrator Steve Johnson; Urban Edge CEO Chrystal Kornegay. (Photo courtesy of Urban Edge)

Charles R. Stith (left), former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania and current director of the African Presidential Archives and Research Center at Boston University (APARC), shakes hands with Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete during a recent meeting. Stith and Kikwete, who is also the chairman of the African Union, discussed the results of last month’s U.S. presidential election and the implications of the impending Obama administration for the nations of the African continent. (Photo courtesy of APARC)

Keerror Colquitt, a member of Boston College’s class of 2010, exhorts her fellow students to sign a petition supporting the reinstatement of a course called “The History and Development of Racism” during a recent campus rally. The popular class, which was originally instituted by Community Change founder Horace Seldon, was cancelled without notice to students or professors. (Don West photo)