Archives and Special Collections

Celebrate pride month by checking out digitized documents from some of these Boston LGBTQA organizations.  Northeastern’s Archives and Special Collections are home to the records of many Boston Area organizations. Visit library.northeastern.edu/archives-special-collections for more.

The Theater Offensive

The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abraham Rybeck “to form and present the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political orthodoxy to help build an honest, progressive community.” The Theater Offensive mounts and produces festivals and individual productions by national and local queer performers, and also serves as a development environment for new theatrical work. In addition, The Theater Offensive works to build community through education, outreach, and political activism.

           

AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts

The AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc. was founded in 1983 by a group of volunteers. Larry Kessler, one of the founders of the AIDS Action Committee, became its first Executive Director in 1983. The AIDS Action Committee began its life as a special committee of the Fenway Community Health Center and in 1986 became an independent entity. It is the oldest and largest organization in New England dedicated to helping persons with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).

           

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus

The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, founded in 1982, is a 175-voice ensemble focusing on creative programming and community outreach. The records document the administrative and concert history of the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus and consist of board minutes, committee minutes, programs, newsletters, press materials, financial records, subject files, photographs, and concert banners.

Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth

The Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth, Inc. known as BAGLY, Inc., was founded in 1980 as the first youth-run organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in Boston. Headed by Executive Director Grace Sterling Stowell, BAGLY is a youth-led, adult-advised social support organization that creates, sustains and advocates for programs, policies and services for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth aged 22 and under.

     

Written by Teresa de Costa, School of Journalism. Northeastern’s Archives and Special Collections have compiled the works of Catherine Allen, a prominent Boston educator and professor at Bouvé College. Allen’s collection includes her notes and pictures of life achievements throughout her career in Boston. Authors Diane LeBlanc and Allys Swan published the book “Playing for Equality: Oral Histories of Women Leaders in the Early Years of Title IX.” The bulk of the research which informed this work was done with the help of Northeastern’s Archives. Swan and LeBlanc examine Allen’s life as a musician, coach and teacher. During Allen’s time in Boston, she taught at Bouvé College and spoke all over the world as a coeducational advocate. According to Michelle Romero, Assistant Archivist, “In 1980 the Boston-Bouvé College merged with Northeastern University’s College of Education to form the Boston-Bouvé College of Human Development Professions. In 1992 the school merged with the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions and continues at Northeastern University as the Bouvé College of Health Sciences.” Allen observed Northeastern students in her notes and called them “Beautifully educated.” Her work with former Northeastern President Asa Knowles created a coeducational program ten years before Title IX. Title IX allowed anyone to be educated without prejudice. With Allen’s passing in 2002 her legacy still lives in the surviving students from Bouvé College. “They created a sisterhood where they share fond memories.” Said Romero “These women are real go getter’s.” The work of Catherine Allen and Bouvé Exhibit can be viewed at Snell Library.

Rare book from Northeastern archives selected for ‘illuminated manuscripts’ display November 15, 2016 by Thea Singer

A palm-​​size 15th-​​century book from Northeastern’s archives at Snell Library was selected to be part of the multi-​​venue exhibit “Beyond Words: Illu­mi­nated Man­u­scripts in Boston Col­lec­tions.” Described by its cura­tors as “the largest exhibit of pre-​​1600 man­u­scripts ever mounted in North America,” “Beyond Words” fea­tures more than 260 items span­ning the 9th to the 17th cen­turies donated by 19 Boston-​​area libraries and museums.

Northeastern’s con­tri­bu­tion is a Dominican Prayer Book of more than 500 pages, with text in Latin hand­written in the Gothic book­hand style. It has just a single illustration—a grotesque inside a large blue “R” on the first page—but red and blue text is sprin­kled throughout. The dec­o­ra­tions are what char­ac­terize it as “illu­mi­nated.” The man­u­script includes com­po­nents of a Book of Hours, prayers that were to be said at spec­i­fied hours of the day, and the prayer cycle Office of the Dead, among other devotions. Tiny tabs extending from the edges of cer­tain pages indi­cate where par­tic­ular sec­tions begin. [Read the Full Article]