ROLL CALL: Researching the Men Behind the 1919 Boston Police Strike

Screen shot of landing page for ROLL CALL, the website and database about the 1919 Boston Police StrikeToday, September 9, 2019, marks the centennial of the 1919 Boston Police Strike, when more than 1,100 Boston Police officers went on strike for fair wages, decent working conditions and their right to organize.

This past Saturday, more than 450 community members, volunteers, and descendants of Boston police strikers gathered at UMass Boston to commemorate the centennial with the launch of ROLL CALL: Researching the Men Behind the 1919 Boston Police Strike. A full video of that event is available here.

Crowd of attendees at commemoration event.

The goal of the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project is to uncover, document and preserve the stories of the men who were involved in this highly influential labor strike — a complex historical event that would have lasting effects in the City of Boston and across the country. ROLL CALL represents the culmination of several years of research by 82 volunteers, students, and staff from the Boston Police Archives, the City of Boston Archives, and the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston. Researchers have devoted more than 90,000 hours to documenting the lives of the strikers through meticulous biographical research, resulting in a searchable database.

Explore ROLL CALL to learn more about the strikers and the history of the strike, the research project, and how you can get involved and support the ongoing work of the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project.

Share photographs and stories of strikers

In order to build an accurate picture of each officer’s life, we rely on volunteers, descendants, and community members to share information and photographs of strikers, and to support and assist in the ongoing work of the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project. Visit the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project site to learn more about how you can get involved by contributing information and photographs of strikers.

Support the Project

Support the next stages of the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project! To expand the volunteer research efforts and to support the development of an online search system that can handle complex queries and a wide range of user interactivity, we seek to raise an additional $80,000. Your contribution of any size will be warmly welcomed towards reaching that goal.

Stay in touch

Subscribe to this project site (in the sidebar) to receive updates about the ongoing work of the 1919 Boston Police Strike Project, or contact us if you have questions about the project.

Learn more about the 1919 Boston Police Strike

ROLL CALL includes a number of resources about the history of the 1919 Boston Police Strike, including an interactive map and a historical timeline. You can also read more about the strike and about this research project in an article from this Sunday’s Boston Globe.


The 1919 Boston Police Strike Project is a collaboration between the Boston Police Department Archives and University Archives and Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

Logos for Boston Police Department Archives and UMass Boston

 

July volunteer meet-up for 1919 Boston Police Strike Project

Black and white photo of police officers in uniform.

Courtesy of the Boston Public Library. From the Herald Traveler: “It took Commissioner Curtis only eight minutes to try these officers of the new policemen’s union today. Left to right, front row: George E. Ferreria, Hanover Street; James G. Butler, Mattapan; Stephen Dunleavy, Joy Street; Thomas Driscoll, Joy Street; James J. Peters, Fields Corner; and back row: Marshall Joyce, City Point; William Brown, Guardian, Back Bay; Philip Corbett, Back Bay.”

What: 1919 Boston Police Strike Volunteer Meet-up

Where: CALLI Room, 4th floor, Healey Library, UMass Boston campus

When: Friday, July 26, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m

RSVP: Kindly RSVP to bpstrike@live.umb.edu by Wednesday, July 24.

The 1919 Boston Police Strike Centennial Commemoration is right around the corner, and we need help with editing the auto-generated blurb about a striker and cleaning it up to produce a short, objective narrative of the striker’s life. These bios are one component of a striker’s full profile, which may also include a portrait and family stories or memories. It is a record of a striker’s life that may facilitate future, more focused research.

We have standardized this stage as much as possible to make the bio-writing process easy, and the bios relatively uniform. Please join us on Friday, July 26 to edit a few auto-generated bios. It is satisfying to see the hard work of research result in a short life story.

Screenshot of the auto-generated text (bottom) and finalized biographical profile (top) for striker Michael Alesi.

The auto-generated text (bottom) and finalized biographical profile (top) for striker Michael Alesi.

 

We will be working on iPads for this project, but please bring your personal laptop if you prefer to work on a more familiar computer.

Please remember to register for the centennial commemoration event on Saturday, September 7 from 3:00-5:00 pm. Seating is limited and reservations are filling quickly!

Click here to register for this free event.

Please note that we will be meeting in the CALLI room location: Healey Library, 4th  floor.

All current volunteers are welcome, including those in the process of taking the online training course. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

Directions to campus are available here, and a campus map is available herePLEASE NOTE: The exterior stairs from the plaza up to Healey Library are CLOSED. Please access Healey Library through the catwalk system.

We look forward to seeing you!

Save the Date:

1919 Boston Police Strike Centennial Event: Saturday, September 7, 2019, 3:00-5:00 p.m. (UMass Boston campus)

Boston in 1919: Setting the scene for the strike

Front page article from the Boston Daily Globe with photograph of molasses flood destruction.

“MOLASSES TANK EXPLOSION INJURES 50 AND KILLS 11.” Boston Daily Globe, January 16, 1919. The molasses flood was one of the major events of 1919, the year of the Boston Police Strike.

What: 1919 Boston Police Strike Volunteer Meet-up

Where: CALLI Room, 4th floor, Healey Library, UMass Boston campus

When: Friday, May 17, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

RSVP: Kindly RSVP to bpstrike@live.umb.edu by Wednesday, May 15.

Do you ever wonder what else was going on in Boston in 1919? What was daily life like for our strikers? Join us for our next meet-up on Friday, May 17, 2019, at UMass Boston to learn about the events that shaped the city and the strike.

We will kick off our meeting with a brief description of the commemoration event to be held on Saturday, September 7, 2019, at UMass Boston, then spend a few minutes trying our hand at recording our thoughts about the project (video/audio) in preparation for the event.

The highlight of our meeting will be an illustrated presentation by Margaret Sullivan, Archivist, Boston Police Department, discussing the major events of 1919 and how they shaped the life of the city and the nation.

We will also update you on progress regarding the upcoming stages of the project (reviewing/closing, data entry, biographical profiles, and 2019 culminating event planning), and will answer your questions and general research needs.

Please note that we will be meeting in the CALLI room location: Healey Library, 4th  floor.

All current volunteers are welcome, including those in the process of taking the online training course. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

Directions to campus are available here, and a campus map is available here. PLEASE NOTE: The exterior stairs from the plaza up to Healey Library are CLOSED. Please access Healey Library through the catwalk system.

We look forward to seeing you!

Save the Date:

Next volunteer meet-up: Friday, June 28, 2019 (UMass Boston campus)

Boston Police Strike Centennial Anniversary Commemoration: Saturday, September 7, 2019, 3:00-5:00 p.m. (UMass Boston campus)