freedom house

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.

Restoring Agency with Subject Analysis: Daniela Saunders and the Freedom House Inc. Collection

The Freedom House digitization project has been an ongoing effort to make the archival records of the Freedom House Inc. Records available through the Digital Repository Service (DRS). Initially begun as a photograph-focused endeavor in 2007, the project has expanded to the print records of the collection with the aim to make broadly accessible the documentary evidence of Freedom House’s activities in community activism and urban renewal in Roxbury during the mid-to-late 20th century.

Introduction
Part of the digitization process includes the creation of metadata for each record so that people can find an individual item with the sea of documents. Metadata is the identifying information of a record, such as its title, author, creation date, and other components.

Recently, archivists have placed greater emphasis on the subject heading aspect of cataloging records.1 Archivists now recognize that the creation of subjects and descriptions as access points to a record is an inherently biased activity that can influence how one approaches and perceives the record itself and the topics it contains. While these access points are extremely helpful in improving search results, these pathways are created by archivists, i.e. people. Since archivists create metadata, the data reflects our perspectives, thereby making it imperative that we be mindfully aware of our unconscious biases. We must do the necessary self-evaluative work about ourselves, the power dynamics in which we function, and the multifarious impacts of our decisions on various groups.

Records are created within certain settings for certain purposes—whether political or social—and an archivist inserts the meta-narrative layer of collecting and making accessible those records. There is power in that process and traditionally the process has privileged dominant social systems, which then reinforces social inequities. The myth of neutrality in subject cataloging has led to subject headings that can reinforce biases, stereotypes, and offensive representations, as well as misrepresent and alienate marginalized communities. For instance, a reclassification project at GBH recognized the negative false equivalence of police only interacting with criminals in their legacy subject term “Law Enforcement & Crimes,” which they have changed to “Legal System.”2

Recently, many archivists have risen to the challenge of acknowledging the persistency of power dynamics and are actively seeking to infuse their metadata creation with inclusion, diversity, and social justice practices. I myself have recently undertaken the ethical reasoning behind the use of certain subject headings to achieve descriptions that not only increase searchability and accuracy but also are respectful and empowering to subjects previously ignored. It is my hope that by developing cultural competency, the records will be more accessible to the communities reflected in their content, which may be one small step towards actively dismantling oppressive systems.

The Collection and Daniela Saunders
As I digitized the Freedom House Inc. Records, I stumbled upon an eye-opening folder about the Police-Community Relations Committee. The records from this folder of items from 1960 to 1966 document a growing awareness in Roxbury of police-community relation issues. At the time, there were community memories of problems and instances a decade prior. Back in 1952, the murder of Rabbi Zuber sparked meetings calling for community action. However, the initial uproar dwindled and while close relations and neighbors continued to fight for change, it was a small endeavor.

Scanned image of a paper reading: "Co-operating Organizations: International Association of Chiefs of Police, Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association, Massachusetts Department of Probation, Massachusetts Youth Service Board, Massachusetts Department of Correction, Boston College Law School, Northeastern Region, National Conference of Christian and Jews. Purpose: The basic purpose of the Institute is to help improve communication between police and community leaders through the discussion of problems of concern to police, other law enforcement agencies, and public and private community agencies. Specifically, the TALKS AND DISCUSSION WILL BE IN THE AREAS OF HUMAN RELATIONS PROBLEMS, POPULATION CHANGES, JUVENILE-ADULT RELATIONSHIPS, THE POLICE ROLE, THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND IN RELATED AREAS.
Mission statement from “Program of Police – Community Relations Institute with notes about National Conference of Christians and Jews police – community relations, March 29 and 30, 1960.” February 29, 1968. Freedom House Inc. records (M16_B030_F1015_004) Northeastern University Library Archives and Special Collections Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts Box 30, Folder 1015

Some larger efforts did persist, including a Police-Community Relations Institute Conference held in 1960 that connected with religious organizations to discuss the relations between mass media, social work agencies, the judicial court system, civil rights, legislation, and the police. However, the improvements called for in the decade of discussions did not become sweeping real-world improvements. As a result, over the course of a year between the summers of 1962 and 1963, there were a number of stranglings of women in the greater Boston area.3

On January 5, 1963, 16-year-old Daniela Saunders was murdered in an alleyway between Warren Street and Elm Hill Park, just a few blocks from her home. The next day, 500 members of her community met with Otto P. Snowden and Freedom House to discuss what underlying social problems led to the tragedy. Initiated by a small group of mothers voicing the need to prevent such violence, the meeting expanded to the 500-person turnout. Many individuals voiced their perspectives on the issue:

  • Dewey Duckett outlined the general disinterest of the Boston Police Department Division 9 towards the community it was supposed to protect. He talked about how “the local police had clearly evidenced an incapacity to understand or respect either the local citizens themselves or their simple desire for minimal adequate protection.”4
  • Attorney Benjamin Johnson called for the creation of a 100-person auxiliary police of community members.
  • Mrs. Leona Tynes cited the practical issue of poor lighting facilities.
  • Mrs. Oswald Jordan recalled the aftermath of Rabbi Zuber’s murder and described the emotional toll of these types of meetings over the last decade since they had not led to any actual change.

At the end of the meeting, the goal was set to create a committee to meet with city officials, namely Commissioner Edmund L. McNamara, Captain Paul Sullivan, and Sergeant Kelly of Division 9. The other four main suggestions were to add foot patrolmen; ensure that police answered complaints with courtesy instead of their current lack of sensitivity; increase the effort to improve problem areas; and fire police that demonstrated bias towards the black community.

Scanned image of a report that reads: As a result of all of the foregoing, the following suggestions were made: 1. That foot patrolmen be assigned to certain designated trouble spots in the area such as: Warren St., Humboldt Ave., Blue Hill Ave., Grove Hall and Seaver Street. 2. That police take steps to clean up known areas of houses of ill repute and illicit operation. 3. That the police commissioner order policemen to answer citizens' complaints promptly and courteously. 4. No policeman be retained on the force who fails to accord Negroes the same prompt, courteous protection which is due all citizens of Boston. The people were specifically concerned with the attitude of the police toward the Negro citizens of Roxbury and their laxity in the performance of their duty. Four of the many cases presented which graphically illustrate these concerns will be cited now. The meeting adjourned at 11:50 p.m.
Suggestions from “Report from special community meeting about police issues, Daniela Saunders and Rabbi Zuber murders, and race relations held January 6, 1963.” January 6, 1963. Freedom House Inc. records (M16) Northeastern University Library Archives and Special Collections Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts Box 30, Folder 1015

Another meeting held January 8, 1962, at the Jeremiah E. Burke School further expanded the four main issues. About 1,500 citizens gathered to demand change. Kenneth Guscott, representing the NAACP, called for a Villante Committee similar to what the Peace Corps created in Harlem. Police Commissioner McNamara personally attended this meeting, although he was met with objections when he attempted to downplay his former neglect by referring to his personal connection with a black member of the police force.

The various efforts aimed to “promote a better understanding between the protected and the protector.”5 The end goal was a positive coordinated action program formulated and carried out by neighborhood associations in affiliation with the local police. Along with Mayor John F. Collins and Commissioner McNamara’s immediate pledges to increase training in criminal investigation and compulsory attendance of courses at Northwest University and the FBI National Academy, the events led to long-term communication between the Roxbury community, city officials, and the police. The Freedom House Inc. Records reflect and display these sustained efforts.

Two scanned pages of a document reading: Outline on Various Phases of Police Activities I. REASON - The need for a singular approach to a singular, many faceted problem of law enforcement, calling for the concerted efforts on the part of the many City departments, to bring about a coordinated action program as viewed by the man on the scene. II. PURPOSE - To contribute towards the above-mentioned coordinated action program, in outline form, positive constructive suggestions with an accent on the POSITIVE approach, rather than via negative destructive criticism. III. GOAL - A New Look Program IV. OBJECTIVE - Through a smooth cohesive combined movement of various City Departments in conjunction with the Police Department, to come forth with plans insured of maximum efficiency with a minimum amount of expenditures on the part of those involved. A. Coordination EXAMPLE NO. 1: Fire Dept. with Police Dept. a. Reduce number of false alarms; by pinpointing the trouble areas, operational City costs will be lowered, as each fire alarm, false or otherwise, costs the City approximately $600. EXAMPLE NO. 2: Sanitation Dept. with Police Dept. a. Law enforcement (A tow-way street). Strict enforcement of the sanitation laws; picking up all complaints of littering, improper disposal of trash from windows into lots or backyards and so forth. (In this way, the police will get to know the people he is dealing with; whether poor and law-abiding or poor, without regard for law and order). EXAMPLE NO. 3: Police Dept. with Social Agencies (UCS) a. Referral reports to be made where repeated calls complaining of disorderly conduct, and the like, bring the patrolman into family groups where it is very obvious that the home environment is so out of line as to very definitely evidence its adverse effects in the conduct, attitude, attire and educational status of the numerous children therein. This would also include where there was pointed neglect in the feeding, housing and guidance of these unfortunate youngsters, and where there was physical and mental distress of one kind or another. b. A short Referral form would put this case immediately under investigation of a social agency who will then endeavor to educate and guide the faulty member. c. This kind of follow through between the Police and the Social Agency would, in a definite way, meet the need on the home base, of preventative medicine in areas of juvenile delinquency, tuberculosis, etc. B. Cooperation - People and the Police Dept. a. Volunteer Police 1.) Strengthen the Auxiliary Police Branch, enlist more volunteer police. Recruitment requests to be made under advisement. C. Police Structure a. Expand subordinate levels of command 1.) Form a fine network for all trouble areas, starting right from the blocks to the streets, from the streets to the neighborhood, from there to the areas from areas to districts, from then on up to the precincts. (Auxiliary assistance.) 2.) Inspectors - A systematic step to insure the effectivity of a program of this type is through periodic inspection. If the crime rate has increased in one section, the responsible person, whether on a block level, or street, neighborhood, area, district or precinct, pinpoints the location and troubleshooters give a 24-hour kind of watch--he cleans up, makes his referral reports to said responsible person who does the same right on up to the man in the station under whom he falls. The total summation is then given to the head man--the Captain. This in no way changes the structure as it now stands but rather it puts subordinate authority under certain officers as appointed by the Captain of the station; this delegation of authority gives added strength to police operations, it means a sorting out of the problem that should be in the field of Sanitation Authorities, a Social Agency, Domestic Court, Truancy Dept. and irons out the hopeful method
Pages from “Outline on various phases of police activities.” April 28, 1964. Freedom House Inc. records (M16) Northeastern University Library Archives and Special Collections Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts Box 30, Folder 1015
Scanned newspaper photo of Daniela Saunders with the caption reading: DANIELA M. SAUNDERS, 16, MURDER VICTIM Suffered Terrifying Death in Dark Roxbury Alley
Photograph from “Photocopy of newspaper article, Neighbors of slain girl hit lack of cops.” (Boston Record American), January 7, 1963. Freedom House Inc. records (M16) Northeastern University Library Archives and Special Collections Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts Box 30, Folder 1015

Daniela Saunders’ Impact
The events of Daniela Saunders’ murder and the aftermath from Roxbury’s community response are integral components to the larger historic narrative of the police-community relations documented in the Freedom House Inc. Records. Her story may be limited to a folder in this vast collection but her impact disseminates through many boxes. So many activities were initiated by her tragic demise.

However, most metadata elements do not provide space for Daniela. She wasn’t the author or creator of the records, she was not included in the title of the records, and her name was often eliminated in the documents themselves. Within the records of Folder 1015, Daniela was more of a ghost, a whisper, trickled throughout the newspaper articles, letters, meeting minutes, and reports. She may have been the impetus for change, but she didn’t have agency in these metadata components.

Additionally, in the larger historic narrative, Daniela has been forgotten. She is currently not listed as one of the Boston Strangler’s 13 victims despite the connection to the “Phantom Strangler” made in 1963.6

Scanned image of a newspaper article reading: "Responsibility for the death of Daniela Saunders lies on the shoulders of every Roxbury resident. For it can be truly said that she is dead because she lived in Roxbury.
Quote from Kenneth I. Guscott, NAACP in “Photocopy of newspaper article, Peace Corps urged to aid hub police.” 1963. Freedom House Inc. records (M16) Northeastern University Library Archives and Special Collections Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts Box 30, Folder 1015

When making the metadata for items in Folder 1015, I wanted to allow Daniela to regain her own agency in being remembered. The power of remembering is enormous—it becomes public memory and informs current events. Therefore, archival records provide an opportunity to bear witness to an event when it has been lost to time. I knew I needed a way to provide a pathway to Daniela and link her to these records. I produced these conditions by making Daniela a Name Subject Heading, a practice that we are not often implementing in the Freedom House Inc. digitization project. Due to the large scope of the collection and the logistical issues of maintaining authorized subject headings over 83 containers, Name Subject Headings for individuals are a rare occurrence.

However, with the addition of this metadata component, Daniela’s story becomes accessible to the public. She is no longer a passive victim, marginalized and obscured, but is now an active agent at the forefront of police-community relations in 1963 Roxbury. People can now find the records related to Daniela and they can situate her contribution within the larger Freedom House and Roxbury narratives.

Additionally, the records can give the public a resource for holding historical agents accountable. The 1960s were fraught with many issues between communities of color and the police nationwide. The events of 1963 in Roxbury become a part of that larger context.

Scanned newspaper photograph of Boston Police Commissioner Edmund McNamara leaning forward and listening to a large group of citizens. The caption reads: McNAMARA AND CRITIC - Boston police commissioner listens to complaint of a finger-shaking Roxbury resident while others await their turn.
Image from “Photocopy of Boston Globe article, 1000 in Roxbury jeer McNamara.” (Boston Globe), January 9, 1963. Freedom House Inc. records (M16) Northeastern University Library Archives and Special Collections Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts Box 30, Folder 1015

Finally, by recognizing Daniela and the events of 1963, I hope that the records and their metadata have an enduring impact on our current society. Police brutality, racism, abuse, systematic oppression, and unnecessary force are all topics that we see in the news every day. Past calls for better training and systematic changes to the police force are similar to present-day news stories. We are constantly exposed to the reality of this violence and our nation collectively feels an emotional toll possibly similar to the one described by Mrs. Oswald Jordan in January 1963. Maybe these historic records can help inform our present discourse. By knowing what happened in the past, maybe we can make more informed decisions, and ultimately, be the change we strive to see.

For more information about police-community relations in the 1960s, you can visit the folders on Police-Community Relations Committee, 1960-1966; Police-Community relations, 1960-1966; and Police-Community Relations Conference of the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI), 1966. These folders 1015-1017 are newly available on the DRS website here.

1A non-comprehensive list of recent literature includes, Jillian Ewalt, “Toward Inclusive Description: Reparations through Community-Driven Metadata,” NEA Newsletter 46, no. 2 (April 2019): 4-7; Rosale de Mattos, “The Representation of Archival Information in Controlled Vocabularies: The Context of the Archival Institutions in Rio de Janeiro,” Knowledge Organization 47, no. 7 (2019): 548-557; Samuel J. Edge, “A Subject “Queer”-y: A Literature Review on Subject Access to LGBTIQ Materials,” Serials Librarian 75, no. 1-4 (Jul-Dec 2018): 81-90; Gracen Brilmyer, “Archival assemblages: applying disability studies’ political/relational model to archival description,” Archival Science 18, no. 2 (Jun 2018): 95-118.
2Miranda Villesvik and Raananah Sarid-Segal, “Making Metadata Inclusive to Marginalized Voices” (presentation, Archives for a Changing World, NEA Spring Conference, Virtual, March 27, 2021).
3The Boston Strangler continued to murder young women in the Boston area until 1964. For more information, see Ronald Lettieri, “Boston Strangler.” Salem Press Encyclopedia (2019); Jess Bidgood, “50 Years Later, a Break in a Boston Strangler Case,” New York Times, July 11, 2013; Paul Hoblin, Boston Strangler (Unsolved Mysteries). Abdo Publishing, 2012; Susan Kelly, The Boston Stranglers: The Public Conviction of Albert DeSalvo and the True Story of Eleven Shocking Murders. Secaucus, N.J.: Carol Pub. Group, 1995.
4“Report from special community meeting about police issues, Daniela Saunders and Rabbi Zuber murders, and race relations held January 6, 1096.” January 6, 1963. Freedom House Inc. Records (M16). Northeastern University Library. Archives and Special Collections Department. Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts. Box 30, Folder 1015.
5“Outline on various phases of police activities.” April 28, 1964. UASC identifier: M16_B030_F1015_005. Freedom House Inc. Series 3: Programs. Sub-Series B: Urban Renewal. Neighborhood Associations. Police-Community Relations Committee, 1960-1966.
6Jack Thomas, “Victims of the Boston Strangler,” The Boston Globe, July 11, 2013. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/07/11/victims-boston-strangler/CwbsZlSNcfwmhSetpqNlhL/story.html

University Archivist and Head of Special Collections Departs Northeastern

Joan Krizack, University Archivist and Head of Special Collections, will depart Northeastern University after 17 years since her arrival as the founding archivist. Joan resigned her position on July 7th to pursue a career as a freelance consultant. Joan leaves a legacy at the University of several hundred historical collections that document the struggles and triumphs of Boston’s African American, Chinese, Latino and GLBTQ communities. She has also received numerous awards; most recently the Champions of Freedom Award for her work managing Northeastern University’s collection of the historical records of Boston’s Freedom House and digitizing the Freedom House photograph collection. View the press release in its entirety below: http://www.lib.neu.edu/about_us/news_events/press_room/documents/JoanKrizackDeparts.pdf

Joan Krizack Receives Champion of Freedom Award

Joan Krizack, University Archivist and Head of Special Collections, received the Freedom House Champions of Freedom Award on April 5, 2011. The award recognized Joan for preserving the historical records of Freedom House in Northeastern University’s archives, including digitizing the Freedom House photographs and making them available online: http://www.lib.neu.edu/freedomhouse/. Freedom House was founded in 1949 by African American social workers Muriel S. and Otto P. Snowden to centralize community activism in the fight for neighborhood improvement, good schools, and harmony among racial, ethnic, and religious groups in Roxbury, Massachusetts. Freedom House Awards are given annually to outstanding individuals, non-profit organizations, and corporations in recognition of their commitment to diversity, educational achievement, and business development. To learn more Joan’s award, read this article from the Jewish Women’s Archive Blog: http://jwablog.jwa.org/Joan-Krizack-wins-Champion-of-Freedom-Award

Freedom House Collections featured in The Scout Report

Established in 1949 by two African American social workers, Muriel S. and Otto P. Snowden, Freedom House was created to centralize community activism in Roxbury, MA, a middle-class, racially mixed neighborhood. The hope of its founders was to link community members to existing services and to create new services in areas that were lacking by focusing on neighborhood improvement, good schools, and harmony among racial, ethnic, and religious groups. Eventually, archives from the Freedom House came to Northeastern University and were digitized creating the Northeastern University Libraries’ Freedom House Collection consisting of 2,265 photographs, negatives, and slides. These images document a variety of topics including the organization’s early activities to create an integrated Roxbury, to initiate citizen participation in the urban renewal of Roxbury, and the early oversight of Boston Public Schools desegregation.  The images also include representations of well-known figures like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Senator John F. Kennedy. More recently, on March 18, 2011, the The Scout Report listed NU Libraries’ Freedom House Collection as a featured research and education source. The article can be found here. The The Scout Report is a weekly publication that provides information on new or newly discovered online resources of interest to researchers and educators. To sign up to receive the The Scout Report in text or HTML format go to: http://scout.wisc.edu/About/subscribe.php To find out more about Northeastern University’s Digital Collections go to http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/digital_collections/