AIDS Memorial Quilt returns to UMass Boston in commemoration of World AIDS Day

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Click on the cover of the program book to read about events and planning related to the quilt display in June 1988.

Click on the cover of the program book to read about events and planning related to the quilt display in June 1988.

On Tuesday, December 1, UMass Boston will host a World AIDS Day Community Reception featuring a display of sections from the AIDS Memorial Quilt. The display runs from November 30 through December 4 and will be open daily in the Campus Center at UMass Boston from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm.

This will mark the third time that sections from the quilt have been on display at UMass Boston, according to records, photographs, and publications in University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library.

The NAMES Project: AIDS Memorial Quilt is a memorial to those who have died of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). According to a press release from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at UMass Boston, the department on campus responsible for arranging for the display: “The AIDS Memorial Quilt began with a single 3 x 6 foot panel created in San Francisco in 1987. Today, The Quilt is composed of more than 48,000 individual 3 x 6 foot panels, each one commemorating the life of someone who has died of AIDS. These panels come from every state in the nation, every corner of the globe and they have been sewn by hundreds of thousands of friends, lovers and family members into this epic memorial, the largest piece of ongoing community art in the world.” Learn more about the AIDS Memorial Quilt here.

The first display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at UMass Boston was in the Armory building in Park Square (which some refer to as “The Castle”) in June 1988.

View the program book to read about events and planning related to the quilt display, 1988
Letter from UMass Boston confirming schedule for the AIDS Memorial Quilt display, 1988
The NAMES Project’s AIDS Memorial Quilt display in the Community Arts Gallery, College of Public and Community Service, University of Massachusetts at Boston, 1988
Sections of the NAMES Project’s AIDS Memorial Quilt were briefly on display on Arlington Street, 1988

This 1988 display at the site of UMass Boston’s original Park Square campus was organized by the New England Chapter of the NAMES Project. Founded in late 1987, the New England Chapter changed its name to the Boston Chapter in 1989. University Archives & Special Collections in the Healey Library holds the records of the Boston Chapter of the NAMES Project. View the finding guide for this collection here.

In 1998, UMass Boston arranged for another display of the quilt in the Clark Athletic Center at UMass Boston. During the opening ceremony on April 23, volunteers unfolded the quilt and began reading aloud names of some of those lost to AIDS, according to an article in the May 18, 1998, edition of the University Reporter. Photographs from the 1998 display were digitized by University Archives & Special Collections as part of our Save Our History! campaign and are available here.

NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at UMass Boston, 1998
Graduating senior Stephen Cicirelli played a key role in bringing the quilt to campus in 1998
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at UMass Boston, 1998
Larry Kessler, Stephen Cicirelli and Chancellor Sherry Penney at the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt opening ceremony, 1998

The AIDS Memorial Quilt display runs from November 30 through December 4 and will be open daily in the Campus Center at UMass Boston from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm.

The quilt display is sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion; Campus Center; College of Nursing and Health Sciences; Student Arts and Events Council (SAEC); University Health Services; Anthropology Department; Bay State Stonewall Democrats; Division of Athletics, Recreation, Special Projects and Programs; and Boston Pride.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Special issue of New England Journal of Public Policy features selected writings by Shaun O’Connell

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CoverThe most recent issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy collects twelve essays and reviews written by UMass Boston faculty member Shaun O’Connell. Since the publication was founded in 1985, O’Connell has published articles, book reviews, and more in the New England Journal of Public Policy.

Shaun O’Connell has been a faculty member in the English Department at UMass Boston since the university opened in Boston’s Park Square in 1965. Describing the roots of his long connection to UMass Boston in a 1998 interview, O’Connell told the interviewer: “One of my former teachers at UMass Amherst told me that there was a Boston campus opening. This would have been in late 1964, and that I should call up Paul Gagnon and Al Ryan, who were the two people who were hiring at that time. They had set up shop in David Riesman’s house in Cambridge. And so, I called them and went for an interview, and shortly thereafter, I was offered a job, a one-year position. I had no idea at the time that it would last this long, but as I say, I am delighted that it did.”

Read a transcription and listen to the full interview here.

Professor_of_English_Shaun_OConnell

Professor of English Shaun O’Connell, circa 1970s

In his introduction to this Special Issue of the New England Journal of Public Policy, O’Connell reflects on the process of selecting essays for inclusion: “It has been a tense task, rereading essays I wrote some decades ago, but in the end satisfying, for they remind me of the times, tempers, and cultural contexts in which they were composed and they have things to say that I had forgotten I said. My hope is that these essays, granted a second time around, will have worthy things to say to current readers.”

And in his foreword to this issue, New England Journal of Public Policy founder and editor Padraig O’Malley writes about O’Connell’s history with the journal: “Throughout the tenures of five U.S. presidencies, eight UMass presidencies, six governors, and five UMass Boston chancellors, Shaun O’Connell has regularly produced scintillating essays distilling the essence of several books, ‘bundled,’ as it were, because of common themes that run through their pages, into masterful expositions—profound, reflective, social critiques that invariably tie knots between fiction and nonfiction and a range of pertinent public policy issues.”

The New England Journal of Public Policy has been published since 1985 by the John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. After folding in 2006 due to financial constraints, the New England Journal of Public Policy resumed publication in 2013 as an online, open access journal. Full issues of the entire run of the New England Journal of Public Policy are available on ScholarWorks.

Explore the Special Issue of the journal here and view all of O’Connell’s writings from the journal here.

You can also see photos and interviews with Professor O’Connell on the digital collections site for University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

ScholarWorks is the University of Massachusetts Boston’s online, open access institutional repository for scholarship and research. ScholarWorks serves as a publishing platform, a preservation service, and a showcase for the research and scholarly output of members of the UMass Boston community. ScholarWorks is a service of the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston.

Healey Library exhibit explores history of bicycling in the U.S. and beyond

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2015-11-13 -- BIKES Exhibit Poster -- 18 x 24 -- FINALUniversity Archives & Special Collections (UASC) in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston opened a new exhibit, “Bicycling: Highlights from University Archives & Special Collections,” featuring selected materials from the department’s bicycling collections. The exhibit—developed by Sara Davis, a graduate student from the School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College—showcases photographs, brochures, newsletters, postcards, publications, memorabilia, and ephemera related to cyclists, as well as materials related to bicycling inventions, innovations, and history from a number of bicycling-related collections currently held at UASC. And though modest in size (encompassing two display cases in the Healey Library’s Grossmann Gallery), the display offers a glimpse into the range of collections and materials related to bicycling and bicycling history in the department.

Browse the gallery below for a selection of items displayed in the exhibit.

The objects on display demonstrate America’s love of bicycling and bicycling’s place in American culture, as well as on the international level, from the late 19th century through to the present day. The exhibit reveals how bicycling shaped society and society has shaped the bicycling world by highlighting women in bicycling, inventions, social innovations, and ephemera and memorabilia from popular culture. In the advent of its popularity, socializing became a major component of bicycle culture, with social events such as scheduled bicycle rides, rallies, and competitions, as well as the creation of cycling groups such as the League of American Wheelmen and the Charles River Wheelmen.

Cycling enthusiasts also emerged as activists for change, especially for the greater good of communities. Women such as Kittie Knox, Phyllis Harmon, and Eva M. Bindrim tested society’s norms since bicycling’s height of popularity in the U.S. by introducing new fashions for women cyclists, participating in bicycle races and clubs despite gender, race, and age constraints, and holding key positions within national and local organizations. As a result, bicycle enthusiasts created and continue to create inventions to make bicycling safer and more enjoyable. Browse the gallery below for a selection of items on display.

David Porter Vincent, circa 1880-1899
David Porter Vincent, photograph, circa 1880-1899
League of American Wheelmen membership card, 1897
John Player & Sons 1839-1939 Cycling Card Set
Eva M. Brindrim pins, circa 1894
Bicycling postcard, “You Can Count On US, Solider ! We’ll Keep ‘Em Rolling!”, circa 1920-1950
American Youth Hostels, photograph of bicycling tour, circa 1950-1959. Pictured are a group of cyclists on a tour coordinated by the American Youth Hostels.
The Wheelmen, at League of American Wheelmen/Charles River Wheelmen Rockport Rally photograph, 1969

This exhibit offers only a sampling of the types of archival materials readily available for research. To view all the images from this exhibit, click here.

Some of the department’s bicycling-related collections are still being processed. To view our research guide for an updated list of collections available, click here.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Healey Library at UMass Boston holds a substantial amount of information for bicycling research and aspires to expand upon these collections and to become a national resource on bicycling history. For questions about these collections or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

The exhibit is on display in the fifth floor flat exhibit cases in the Healey Library at UMass Boston from November 2015 through June of 2016. The exhibit is free and open to the public during library operating hours. For a complete and up-to-date list of hours, visit www.umb.edu/library/about/hours.

Announcement prepared by Sara Davis.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.

Photographs, stories, and interviews from West End Mass. Memories Road Show now available

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West End Irregulars shirt. Worn picketing the developments in the West End during the 1990s. Contributor: Jim Capano.

West End Irregulars shirt.
Worn picketing the developments in the West End during the 1990s. Contributor: Jim Campano.

The images, stories, and video interviews gathered at the West End Mass. Memories Road Show on November 15, 2014 are now available for research.

Organized by the West End Museum and held at its location at 150 Staniford Street, the event was also sponsored by the Boston Public Library West End Branch, the West End Civic Association, and the Vilna Shul. Nearly twenty local volunteers collaborated with a team of UMass Boston staff members and “Roadies” from past Mass. Memories Road Shows to welcome adults and children with connections to the Boston neighborhood.

Both my parents are in this pictured. The club taught Yiddish. They had plays. Jewish "almost Communist" club. Contributor: Arthur Geller.

Social club on Causeway Street, 1930s. Both my parents are in this picture. The club taught Yiddish. They had plays. Jewish “almost Communist” club. It was above a cafeteria. Contributor: Arthur Geller.

Approximately 50 individuals contributed 76 photographs and 24 video interviews documenting personal memories of life in the West End. Most of these materials relate to late 19th and early 20th century when the neighborhood was home to a wide range of immigrant families–and before the it was completely razed in the late 1950s. A large number of contributors shared photographs of themselves and their relatives engaged in the neighborhood’s vibrant community life–attending social club meetings, participating in sports and other youth activities at the West End House, and celebrating first communions and other religious milestones. In addition, the collection includes photographs of families relaxing at home and at Charles River Park, and attending informal gatherings.

Several individuals contributed images and stories of the West End’s more recent history. These materials provide a record of efforts to remember the past and revive community as new residential developments were constructed in the 1990s.

Barcyn family on Charles River, 1956. Storrow Drive in background between Revere and Pinckney Streets (across from boat house). My family was part of the Ukrainian community in the West End. Contributor: Linda Barczyn.

Barczyn family on Charles River, 1956. Storrow Drive in background between Revere and Pinckney Streets (across from boat house). My family was part of the Ukrainian community in the West End. Contributor: Linda Barczyn.

Browse the West End Mass. Memories Road Show collection.

The Mass. Memories Road Show is a statewide digital history project that documents people, places and events in Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories. In partnership with teams of local volunteers, we organize public events to scan family and community photographs and videotape “the stories behind the photos.” The images and videos are indexed and incorporated into an online educational database. Since its launch, the project has gathered more than 8,000 photographs and stories from across the state. It is supported in part by the Patricia C. Flaherty ’81 Endowed Fund at UMass Boston.  

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities, including the Boston Harbor Islands. To learn more about University Archives & Special Collections, visit blogs.umb.edu/archives.

In the Archives: Eagle Forward, Newspaper of the 24th Infantry Regiment

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First issue of Eagle Forward. Originally titled Eagle's Flight. September 14, 1950.

First issue of Eagle Forward. Originally titled Eagle’s Flight. September 14, 1950.

The 24th Infantry Regiment was one of the last segregated units in the United States Army. It was formed in 1869 by consolidating the 38th and 41st Colored Infantry Regiments, and all of its enlisted soldiers were African-American. The regiment was engaged in a number of military conflicts and wars throughout its history, including the Spanish-American War, the Philippine-American War, World War II, and the Korean War. It was disbanded in 1951, and then re-instituted in 1995, and served in the Iraq War from 2004-2005. For a useful history of the 24th Infantry Regiment, see Black Soldier, White Army: The 24th Infantry Regiment in Korea, published by the United States Army Center of Military History.

During the Korean War, the regiment published Eagle Forward (originally called Eagle’s Flight in its first issue), a two-page newspaper known as a “foxhole daily,” which had a circulation of about 600 copies which were distributed to soldiers in the Army. From September 1950 until September 1951, Eagle Forward published news items from the Armed Forces Radio Services, the Armed Forces Press Services, the Associated Press (AP), the United Press (UP), and the International News Service (INS). The paper also ran stories about individual soldiers and companies, advice columns, cartoons, and humorous items. AP journalist Hal Boyle wrote of Eagle Forward, “[It was] put out by candlelight, Korean gaslight and flashlight. It has gone to press in bombed-out buildings, abandoned factories, in open fields, in tents and in creek beds… [I]ts editors sometimes have to melt the frozen ink on the stove to publish, but no difficulty yet has stopped them.”

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Newspaper article on Quentin Chavous. [Columbus Dispatch, 1951.]

Quentin Chavous was a member of the 24th Infantry Regiment and served as editor of the newspaper from May-September 1951. Chavous later joined the faculty of the Africana Studies Department at UMass Boston and a board member of the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of African American Culture and History. He donated a nearly complete run of Eagle Forward to University Archives & Special Collections in 2006. In addition to issues of the newspaper, the collection also includes Army reports and news clippings on Eagle Forward and Chavous. The entire collection has been digitized and is available on UASC’s website here.

View the finding aid for this collection here.

For questions about this collection or to schedule a research appointment, please contact library.archives@umb.edu or 617-287-5469.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at UMass Boston collects materials related to the university’s history, as well as materials that reflect the institution’s urban mission and strong support of community service, notably in collections of records of urban planning, social welfare, social action, alternative movements, community organizations, and local history related to neighboring communities.

University Archives & Special Collections welcomes inquiries from individuals, organizations, and businesses interested in donating materials of an archival nature that that fit within our collecting policy. These include manuscripts, documents, organizational archives, collections of photographs, unique publications, and audio and video media. For more information about donating to University Archives & Special Collections, click here or email library.archives@umb.edu.