Boston History

Box by Box: Inventorying the Nancy Walker Papers

Since last fall, the processing team has been focused on inventorying unprocessed collections. Inventories allow staff and researchers to learn more about what’s in a collection, help locate materials of interest, and help staff strategize further processing or digitization work, as resources allow. A previous blog post described inventorying the Stull & Lee records. Currently, processing assistants are inventorying more recent donations to the archives. Over the next few months, we will be featuring collections our staff has found particularly interesting to inventory in their own words.

The Nancy Walker Papers

By Samuel Edwards, Processing Assistant

Nancy Walker, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

The Nancy Walker papers, donated to the archives this past year, document the life of lesbian activist and writer/journalist Nancy Walker (1935-1996). Walker was a writer for the Gay Community News, Bay Windows, and the Boston Phoenix, and was a prominent figure in Boston’s LGBTQ+ community from the late 1970s to the ’90s.

Part of what makes this collection fascinating is not just Walker’s own writing, but also her dedication to collecting all manner of LGBTQ+ periodicals and ephemera. Her papers provide a glimpse into the beginning of the gay liberation movement through the eyes of someone who considered herself a political moderate. Her collection is a snapshot of an important time in Boston’s LGBTQ+ history, when the gay rights movement was starting to have real organizing power and institutions like Gay Community News were taking shape.

When I go through the collection, I imagine that I’m Nancy Walker herself, reporting on issues that matter to the gay community that few in the mainstream would cover at that time, and embroiled in a whole mess of loving yet intense intracommunity debate. As someone who has also been involved in LGBTQ+ activism, it strikes me how, in some ways, things have really changed, but in other ways, they haven’t at all!

One item that showcases that complex, interconnected, and exciting social world is the 14th Annual Boston Lesbian & Gay Pride Celebration Calendar of Events, with the iconic Lavender Rhino on the cover. I love these event calendars because it makes it even easier to envision what life was like in this community at the time. It shows many expected social groups and dances, as well as organizations that are still active today, like the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth (BAGLY). However, it also showcases some events you may have never considered, like a Lesbian Whale Watch.

14th Annual Boston Lesbian & Gay Pride Celebration Calendar of Events cover and page, 1984. Nancy Walker papers, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

The collection documents more than just Boston history and Walker’s own identities, and some items showcase unexpected LGBTQ+ history. One example is an article from Back/Chat, a newsletter for the Community Homophile Association of Toronto. It was written in 1974 by Lee Paul Anderson, a trans teenager, and describes some of his experiences and frustration with gender roles. This document reflects the history of trans youth prior to contemporary mainstream media attention.

An article from Back/Chat
Back/Chat first page, Volume 4 Number 3, 1974. Nancy Walker papers, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

This collection provides a window not into just Walker’s own life, but what the entire LGBTQ+ scene was like in Boston in the late ’70s, ’80s, and early ’90s. You can also get a glimpse of LGBTQ+ Toronto, as Walker lived there before moving to Boston, a fact that highlights how one individual’s life can be a useful avenue into multiple histories.

If you are interested in LGBTQ+ history both in the general and local sense, I highly recommend giving the Nancy Walker papers a look. While you do, I would also recommend listening to Nancy Walker’s interview with the Making Gay History podcast to learn more about her fascinating life.

Contact the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections by emailing them at archives@northeastern.edu to find out more about how to view Nancy Walker’s papers.

Box By Box: Inside Archival Processing of the Stull & Lee Records

Since October, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections processing assistants have been inventorying the records of Stull & Lee, a Boston-based architectural and urban design firm founded by Donald Stull in 1966. The firm is still active today, under the leadership of David Lee. The records held by Northeastern date from the 1960s to the early 2000s, spanning over 400 boxes and 700 tubes, and they document hundreds of projects, including the Southwest Corridor, Ruggles Station, and Roxbury Community College. Meet our processing assistants as they go through the collection, box by box.

A collage of images of the Stull & Lee collection, including boxes of documents, blueprints, and an image of two men posing in front of a building
A peek inside the Stull & Lee collection

Samuel

A smiling man wearing glasses and a gray hoodie holds a disposable camera while standing in front of an archival box

I’m Samuel Edwards (he/him). I just completed my Master of Arts degree in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archives Management at Simmons University, and I have a Bachelor of Arts in History and Playwriting from Hampshire College in western Massachusetts. Some of my interests in archives include the history of social movements, LGBTQ+ history, local history, and anti-racist archival work. Outside of my archival work, I enjoy creative writing, theater, and playing Dungeons & Dragons with my friends.

Working on the Stull & Lee records has been an enlightening experience. I didn’t have a lot of familiarity with architecture or architectural records prior to working on this collection, but it’s fascinating to realize how much goes into creating just one building. You don’t just have the architects, but also electricians, plumbers, and other trades that help create the building. I have a newfound appreciation for buildings that previously just blended into the background, especially the buildings I walk by daily on my way to Northeastern which were designed by Stull & Lee, such as Ruggles Station.

Julia

A smiling woman with glasses and a red shirt pulls a box from a shelf

I’m Julia Lee (she/her). I recently graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theatre, and my final co-op was as a digital assistant for the Massachusetts Archives. My archival interests include early American history, including the Revolutionary War, Asian-American history, and the history of Boston.

For me, working with the Stull & Lee records started with inventorying boxes of files belonging to several architects, including the firm’s namesakes Donald Stull and David Lee. It turns out that the two men had quite distinct organizational styles. While several of Lee’s folders included colorful titles patterned after the T’s Orange Line signs, Stull favored concise alphabetization for his files. I’ve enjoyed the greater understanding I’ve gained of Boston’s architecture, transit, and public works through working with the collection, especially about the area around Northeastern, where I’ve lived for over four years now. This is my second time working in an archive, and it has served to solidify my goal of obtaining a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science in the coming years.

Aleks

A smiling man sits at a table with a laptop and a stack of documents, surrounded by archival boxes

I’m Aleks Renerts (he/him). I am a current graduate student at Simmons University in the dual Master of Arts degree program in History and Library and Information Science, with a concentration in Archives Management. My academic background is in history, with a focus on the Hispanic world and histories of class, gender, and colonialism. I received my Bachelor of Arts in History from McGill University, and have since partially redirected my focus to archives and archival research.

Something I’ve found interesting in the Stull & Lee records is the massive degree of collaboration that every architectural project depends on. Memos, notes, letters, logs, and drawings are sent back and forth with revisions, showing the complex process that goes into completing a project. There’s an incredible level of detail for all the parts of a completed structure, from steel framing and floor tiles to the mechanics of a door lock. Working on Stull & Lee has given me an appreciation of just how much detailed work goes into every part of constructing a building.

Art and Organized Action in the Context of the AIDS Crisis

A group of protestors hold signs criticizing George HW Bush and demanding AIDS prevention and resources.
“ACT Up members protest George Bush’s response to AIDS,” ca. 1990-1999 ACT Up (Robert Folan Johnson) collection. Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

Nearly 30 years removed from the peak of the AIDS crisis, it is difficult for many young queer individuals to imagine not only the fear, but also the organized action that occurred throughout the LGBTQ+ community to rally support for those affected. The 1980s and ’90s especially were filled with opportunities for many within the community to find solace in one another and find their voices to try to change things and improve the lives of those dying from AIDS as well as those who had survived the infection.

But what happened to generate the steadfast work toward saving the lives of those affected by AIDS, or those who have been historically more susceptible to its spread? What finally pushed not only the government to authorize such work, but also pharmaceutical companies to pursue solutions?

Northeastern’s Archives and Special Collections (NUASC) holds a trove of valuable archival collections documenting the organizing efforts of the queer community in Boston during the ’80s and ’90s. The ACT UP/Boston (David Stitt) and ACT UP/Boston (Raymond Schmidt and Stephen Skuce) collections provide information on demonstrations and organizing by ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power). Administrative records exist alongside protest ephemera that can give present-day researchers an idea of the common talking points and demands that were being made regarding AIDS treatment and medication throughout the country at this time.

A bright orange ticket with VIOLATION on the right side. On the left it reads "TO OFFENDER: Reported violence against queers increased by 75% in Boston last year. What was the role of the Boston police in addressing this crime wave? Five serious anti-gay police incidents have been reported since September, and 11% of lesbians and 20% of gay men report being harrased or physically assaulted by POLICE OFFICERS. This notice serves to remind police serving the people of Boston of your responsibility to all citizens regardless of race, sex, or sexual orientation. We are SICK AND TIRED of being beaten up by the police, and we won't be silent. Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution? Failure to reform the police may subject Boston to queer rage." The address is "The Queer Nation, Every House, Every Street, Every City, Every Country."
“Ticket issued by Queer Nation against Boston Police Department,” ca. 1990-1999. ACT UP Boston (Robert Folan Johnson) collection, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

The ACT UP collections are also special because they display the intersection of art and organizing in ways that emphasize the importance of artists being involved in social movements. A striking example is this ticket issued to the Boston Police Department by the group Queer Nation, citing statistics of violence committed by individuals and the BPD against the LGBTQ+ community. Utilizing an item that so many recognize instantly, such as a parking citation, and subverting its purpose to convey information about the institution that issues such citations allowed organizers to gain attention and critically engage the public.

A drawing of three outlined people - one covering their eyes, one covering their ears, and one covering their mouth in the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" sign, with a question mark in the center. Around the edge, it reads "Is this the policy of the AIDS Action Committee"
“Is this the policy of the AIDS Action Committee?” Front page, ca. 1990. AIDS Action Committee, Inc., records, Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections.

Keith Haring, who has become a symbol of not only the AIDS crisis organizing but queer culture in general, is also present in NUASC’s collections, providing art that emphasized the AIDS Action Committee’s inaction from the perspective of the LGBTQ+ community. Haring’s art is often associated with queer joy and the nuance of queer experience. Seeing Haring’s familiar figures put into conversation with a demand for more action from within the queer community is a unique contrast.

June is a month to celebrate LGBTQ+ individuals and reflect on the past. To learn more about the social organizations working for justice for those with AIDS in Boston, NUASC’s Digital Repository Service and digital exhibition Boston’s LGBTQA+ History are great places to start.

Sources
“ACT UP members protest George Bush’s response to AIDS.” ACT UP Boston (Robert Folan Johnson) collection (Z15-005). University Library Archives and Special Collections Department.
“Ticket issued by Queer Nation against Boston Police Department.” ACT UP Boston (Robert Folan Johnson) collection (Z15-005). University Library Archives and Special Collections Department.
“Is this the policy of the AIDS Action Committee?.” AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts, Inc., records (M61). University Library Archives and Special Collections Department.

Archival Context: Freedom House at the Norman B. Leventhal Center

A faded flyer with red text reading "Clean Up Paint Up Join your neighbors Don your work clothes Get busy Make your town a better place to live in Safer too Start at home Make it bright Clean your streets Clean your yard Paint inside Paint outside Fix-up and repair Plant-up too

On March 18th, the Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center in the Boston Public Library (BPL) debuted their exhibit “More or Less in Common: Environment and Justice in the Human Landscape.” The exhibit examines how social justice and injustice are confronted in the study of the “human landscape” and how we can use questions of social justice to help us build healthier and better environments for the future.

Northeastern’s contributions to the exhibit come from our Freedom House, Inc., records and in particular, their records on urban renewal and neighborhood-led clean-up campaigns. The exhibit features two fliers calling Roxbury neighbors to action in various clean-up and maintenance projects. Neighborhood improvement programs designed to protect Upper Roxbury from urban blight began in 1949 when Freedom House joined with community members to organize neighborhood clean-up projects and playground construction.

A multi-colored guide with the title "Let's get M.A.D. and clean up Washington Park"

Freedom House worked closely with the city to improve the services provided to Roxbury. At the same time, Boston was beginning a formal urban renewal campaign that did not initially include Roxbury. A telegram from Freedom House founders Muriel and Otto Snowden to Mayor John F. Collins resulted in the inclusion of the Washington Park Urban Renewal Project in Boston’s campaign. By 1963, Freedom House had entered into formal contracts with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and the Action Boston Community Development to serve as a liaison between the planners and technicians and the residents of Washington Park. This relationship lasted until the BRA withdrew from Roxbury in the late 1960s, leaving much of its work undone.

The Leventhal Center’s exhibit takes our Freedom House records, and many other institutions’ records, and composes them into a complicated vision of how human landscapes were confronted and contended with in the past and how they can be reimagined for the future.

Visit the exhibit in person at the BPL’s historic McKim Building during the BPL’s visiting hours, which can be found here.

Or you can view the digital exhibit, along with lesson plans and resources for further study, here.

Find out more about the Freedom House records, the Snowdens, and Roxbury neighborhood history here.

The Equal Rights Amendment: A Journey for Women’s Liberation

On January 27, 2022, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) officially took effect two years after it was ratified with Virginia’s historic vote as the 38th state to support the amendment. The ratification of this version of the ERA, which was introduced to Congress in 1972, took 48 years to complete. The ERA begins:

“Women shall have equal rights in the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

A woman wearing sunglasses, a white button-down shirt, and a large button that says "ERA YES" holds her right fist in the air and yells.
A woman takes part in the ERA March to the Common in 1982. Photographed for the Boston Globe by Wendy Maeda.

Initially drafted in 1923 by Crystal Eastman and Alice Paul, the ERA was seen as the next step to take for women’s liberation following the passing of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote and prevented them (on paper) from being disenfranchised. Women’s suffrage movements occupied a great space in the American consciousness throughout the end of the 20th century and the first two decades of the 21st century.

Empowered by this, Bostonian women formed groups to keep advocating for women’s rights, even as the passage of the ERA throughout this period did not look promising. Organizations such as the Reproductive Rights National Network and individuals like Sondra Gayle Stein worked tirelessly to advance gender equality in the legislature and in the streets. The Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections (NUASC) is fortunate to maintain the records of many women’s rights organizations that have worked for change throughout the Boston area.

NUASC also holds the Boston Globe Library collection, which contains photographs of life in and around Boston and includes photographs of demonstrations and protests, including those featured in this blog post. More can be found through Northeastern’s Digital Repository Service.

A large group of protestors hold signs with messages of women's power and urging the stoppage of sex discrimination.
Equal rights demonstrators gather on Boston Common in 1970. Photographed for the Boston Globe by Elizabeth Jones.

Fortunately for the ERA, a sea change within the legislative branch took place in 1970, when more women than ever before were elected to Congress and were persistent in pursuing the ratification of the ERA. The ERA in its final form that we know today was brought before Congress for its next steps in 1972.

NUASC has a wealth of information on women’s organizations in Boston, such as the Women’s Educational Center, The Second Wave: A Magazine of the New Feminism, and the Women’s School, all of which were organizations that existed in the 1970s-1990s to further women’s rights, promote discussion of feminist theory, and organize for women and other marginalized groups in the Boston area. The records of these organizations and many more groups and people are available for research for all Northeastern students, faculty, and staff, and the greater Boston community, at the Archives and Special Collections.

Sources:
Codrington, Wilfred U., and Alex Cohen. “The Equal Rights Amendment Explained.” Brennan Center for Justice, October 9, 2019.

Equal Rights Amendment.” Equal Rights Amendment, 2018.

Wegman, Jesse. “Opinion: Why Can’t We Make Women’s Equality the Law of the Land?” New York Times, New York Times, January 28, 2022.

ERA march to common.” Boston Globe Library collection (M214). University Library Archives and Special Collections Department.

Equal rights women gather on Boston Common.” Boston Globe Library collection (M214). University Library Archives and Special Collections Department.