Archives and Special Collections

Northeastern’s Special Collections and Archives preserves The Theater Offensive Records, a prominent gay theater troupe that has long been a defining presence with the Boston gay community. Founded by Abe Rybeck in 1989, the Theater Offensive boasts that they are “Twenty-Five Years BOLD” this year. From  the OUT on the Edge festival, to championing AIDS Awareness in the Fenway in the early 1990’s, to the queer cabaret band, Adult Children of Heterosexuals, the Theater Offensive celebrates their fearlessness and has never shied from political activism and social justice, making this collection wholly unique and incredibly modern – even with its quarter century time stamp.

                   Political stickers from the late 1980’s, from the United Fruit Company Series.

This collection offers a backstage look at what it takes to run a gay theater troupe in Boston. This includes not only the fights for funding, but the overwhelming social justice obligation of being a member of such a massive and vocal community. For over twenty years, the Theater Offensive has taken that responsibility in stride, which is showcased in this collection’s festival posters, photographs, strategic planning for outreach, and demand for community presence.

           Posters for plays depicting black gay life, from the Other Festivals and Production Series

People of color, especially people of color within the LGBTQA community, deserve and need to have their stories told. The Theater Offensive collection showcases how they have been boldly telling these stories for years and makes one realize how we are only just now starting to listen. As this collection reflects, the Theater Offensive will continue with the message they have chanted, sung, and marched for since 1989: #BlackLivesMatter, #BlackGayLivesMatter, #BlackTransLivesMatter as they did proudly at Boston’s Annual Gay Pride Parade in June, 2015.

In the past few weeks, the nation has had a number of politicians announce their intentions to run for the presidency. Soon the television, radio, and internet will be flooded with political advertisements, and our lawns and billboards will be plastered with the slogans and faces of the candidates. The information overload which accompanies a presidential race is not a new phenomenon. Past elections show the same intensity and fervor from the politicians and political parties. I was recently reminded of this intensity while processing Michael Aronson’s Papers (M206), for Northeastern’s Special Collections and Archives.

Michael Aronson Papers (M206), FF4/D4

The collection offers a behind the scenes look at a presidential campaign through items collected from Michael Dukakis’ presidential campaign against George H. W. Bush during 1987-1988. Michael Aronson was a member of Dukakis’ speech writing team, leaving him with numerous items from the campaign including: • Speeches • Speech Drafts • Correspondence • Campaign Posters • Itineraries Even though Dukakis did not win the presidency, these materials represent an impressive campaign, and demonstrate the difficulty and challenges which accompany such an endeavor. The items, particularly the posters, also represent some of the less wholesome parts of a presidential campaign. The satirical and accusatory posters are interesting pieces of cultural and political history, which demonstrate the fine line that politicians tread when running for office.

Michael Aronson Papers (M206), FF4/D4

This collection offers a great opportunity to learn about political elections in the U.S. through primary evidence, and through a behind the scenes perspective, which media coverage does not always provide.

The records of the New England chapter of the American Composers Forum (ACFNE) are now available for research in the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections. The collection documents the role of ACFNE in promoting local composers and their music, and includes administrative records for the organization, as well as scores and recordings of original compositions. The collection also provides some interesting intersections with the Archives’ existing social justice collections. During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, ACFNE’s Community Partners Program provided funding to place composers in diverse non-musical community settings in the Boston area, with the goal of integrating community participants in the making, playing and enjoyment of new music. Program participants in the Boston area included City Year, Casa Myrna Vasquez, and Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción.                 A flier for “Know the Ledge: An Expression of Afro-Caribbean Culture Through Hip-Hop,” sponsored by Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción and ACFNE.