The Mike Riegle Papers contain a variety of printed media, including newspaper articles, magazine clippings, whole newspapers and magazine issues, published essays, bibliographies, advertisements, pamphlets, newsletters, comics, fiction and poetry all related to the research and collective interests of Gay Community News journalist Michael Riegle. Although the collection consists primarily of clippings and other collected materials from various gay and mainstream media from 1973 to 1990, Riegle’s handwritten research notes on a variety of subjects can be found throughout, including those used in preparation for a review of Michel Foucault’s History of Sexuality for Gay Community News.
]]>A longtime community activist and educator, Scondras received nationwide attention for his work around arson prevention. In 1976 he co-founded the Symphony Tenants Organizing Project (STOP), whose work led to the conviction of a thirty-one member arson-for-profit ring in the Fenway area. In 1977 David helped draft and lobby for the first comprehensive anti-arson law in the country.
A lifelong advocate for the rights of tenants and senior citizens, Scondras is a noted lecturer on issues around human rights, anti-racism, anti-homophobia and arson prevention. He is an international human rights activist and has travelled to El Salvador and Nicaragua to observe, local and national elections and to speak on human rights issues. Scondras was chosen by the Harvard/ Radcliff Alumni Against Apartheid to be a candidate for the Harvard Board of Overseers; Bishop Tutu endorsed his candidacy. In 1971 Scondras along with numerous other community activists founded the Fenway Community Health Center and obtained federal funding to provide medical services to neighborhood residents.
David Scondras was elected to the Boston City Council in 1983 and became the first openly gay individual elected to that body. During his ten-year tenure, he advocated for the gay and lesbian community, opposing then-Governor Michael Dukakis' decision to deny gay couples the right to adopt. As a member of Boston City Council, Scondras worked on a variety of issues from; fair and affordable housing, minority rights, rat control, to developing a water table land trust to help endangered properties in the Boston area. He led a boycott of Coors Beer to end its funding of political extremist groups and introduced and won approval of a Human Rights Ordinance that, for the first time, protected the gay and lesbian citizens of Boston. He established a Human Rights Commission, and led an effort to bring about a coalition of community and political activists to pass the State's Gay Rights Bill. It was reported by the Boston Globe that Scondras, during his time in City Council, sponsored over 150 legislative initiatives.
Scondras was an early proponent of funding for HIV/AIDS research, and in 1987 founded The Boston Human Rights Institute, (BHRI) a not-for-profit organization. It was established and incorporated as a direct result of the Coors Beer Boycott Settlement. After Scondras lost re-election in 1994, the BHRI was unofficial renamed Search For A Cure, to refocus its mission dedicated to AIDS education, prevention and research not only locally, but around the world.
]]>Materials in this collection reach as far back as 1969, when Time Magazine published a cover story called “The Homosexual in America” which discussed, as part of its scope, lesbian and gay youth. A few years later, in 1972, High School Gays United (HSGU) formed in Boston to provide an outlet for gay and lesbian youth. HSGU is the first documented group of its kind in Massachusetts. From that point, and moving toward the present, the groups, organizations, and movements included in this collection reveal the varying issues that have shaped both the LGBT youth community and the LGBT community in general.
]]>The records of the organizations reflect the political and activist LGBT community during one of the Gay Rights Movement’s most active periods. Perhaps most importantly, these records, particularly the meeting minutes and discussion notes, are very relevant for any study of how gay and lesbian issues related to socialist and progressive politics, and how certain members of the community chose to approach this relationship. The group’s records represent an intellectual and economically progressive approach to LGBT issues. Lavender Resistance, a socialist-feminist voice in the gay community, was particularly invested in the study of the historic interactions between race, class, gender, and homosexuality in a capitalist environment, while BLAGMAR focused on current political trends and activism.
]]>The Boston chapter was founded in 1969 during a period when many homophile organizations were forming in Boston. Early leaders of the Boston DOB included Lois Johnson, Shari Barden, and Laura Robin/McMurry, who were prominent promoters of the group and its activities. Early on in the history of the Boston DOB, debate occurred over the group’s overall purpose, with an outcome emphasizing the original DOB mission of personal and social support for lesbians, education of the public on lesbianism, and the lobbying for the reform of laws limiting the civil and human rights of lesbians. Many younger, politically active feminist lesbians thought of the organization as old-fashioned and left to create new groups or join other, more radically activist, homophile organizations. The Boston DOB became the longest running chapter of the DOB, maintaining an office in Cambridge until the early 2000s, with 30 years of documented history present in this archive.
The Daughters of Bilitis collection consists of three archival boxes (1.5 linear feet). Box 1 contains a series of folders centered on the activities, organizational structure, and publications of the Boston chapter with some national publications, including the DOB journal, The Ladder. This collection also contains limited information about other activities of non-DOB homophile or feminist groups in the Boston area. The majority of the materials present date between 1965 and 1999, and include original documents as well as photocopies of newspaper and journal articles, event flyers, calendars, and correspondence. Boxes 2 and 3 contain the Boston DOB newsletter, originally entitled Maiden Voyage until 1971, when it was renamed FOCUS. The publication collection is arranged chronologically, beginning December 1969 and ending October 1983, with multiple issues filed together.
]]>Through the Daughters of Bilitis, McMurry also became involved in political action, including protesting anti-sodomy legislation. In the 1970s McMurry became involved in many Boston gay and lesbian organizations such as the Gay Speakers Bureau and the Gay Community News.
In spring of 1970, she participated in Come Help Us Celebrate, and spoke at the first Boston Pride Celebration.
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