Tag Archives: archival collections

Six archival collections now available for research

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Open flat box with stack of newspapers

Jamaica Plain Arts News: volume 1, number 1, September 12, 1984

University Archives & Special Collections (UASC) in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston is pleased to announce that six collections of previously unavailable archival material are now open for research. This is the first of a series of posts to announce newly available collections, toward the goal of making all of UASC’s collections, both processed and unprocessed, open for research. Collections that have not been processed, or that are minimally processed, will be made available upon request to researchers in approximately two to three weeks, depending on the size and complexity of the collection. Contact library.archives@umb.edu for more information.

To learn more about the collections that were made available this week, click the collection title in the list below.

  • A New Place: A Narrative Photograph Exhibit of the Southeast Asian Refugee/Immigrant Experience, 1993: “A New Place: A Narrative Photograph Exhibit of the Southeast Asian Refugee/Immigrant Experience” was donated to University Archives and Special Collections in 1994 by Richard Lee Sheehan. Materials consist of photographs, personal narrative, and poems documenting the experience of five University of Massachusetts Boston students and one staff member, all Southeast Asian refugees or immigrants.
  • Jamaica Plain Art News collection, 1984-2000, bulk 1984-1999: The Jamaica Plain Art News collection was donated to University Archives and Special Collections in 2000 by Helen Hummel. The collection includes a full run of Jamaica Plain Art News and the records of the organization, as well as records related to the Jamaica Plain Art Council and the Footlight Club.
  • West family of Nantucket collection, 1860-1964: The West family of Nantucket collection was donated to University Archives and Special Collections in 2006 by Adele H. Ames, a descendant of the West family. The collection contains historic photographs (including nineteenth-century daguerreotypes) of African American residents of Nantucket. Additional items are West family photographs and newspaper clippings, collected historical items, and several personal and business-related items.
  • Roland Geist scrapbooks, circa 1930-1950: The Roland Geist scrapbooks were donated to University Archives and Special Collections in 2015 by Lorenz Finison. Roland Geist was a bicycle historian and collector during the 1930s and 1950s who compiled the scrapbooks in this collection. Geist, originally from New York, was active in cycling organizations and bicycle events.
  • Schlesinger Library peace movement newsletters collection, 1892-1997: The collection of peace movement newsletters were donated to University Archives and Special Collections in 1998 by the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America, a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. These collection documents the publication output of various peace movement committees and organizations, mainly in the Boston area.
  • Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Vietnam Movement ephemera, 1969-1971: The Vietnam Movement ephemera of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) was donated to University Archives and Special Collections in 2019 by Sean M. Fisher, DCR Archivist. The items in this collection were found by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in a review of the files of a former (and deceased) staff photographer who had a life-long personal passion for New England coastal defense military history, and personally collected in this subject area. This collection documents part of the anti-Vietnam War movement in the Boston area in the 1960s and 1970s.

For questions about these collections 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.

Massachusetts Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights study records now available

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The Governor's Special Study Commission Report, 1964 December 30

Massachusetts Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights: The Governor’s Special Study Commission Report, 1964 December 30

Guest post by Katie Burke, graduate student in UMass Boston’s History Department. Burke processed this collection.

University Archives & Special Collections in the Joseph P. Healey Library at the University of Massachusetts Boston is pleased to announce that the Massachusetts Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights study records are now processed and available for research.

The Massachusetts Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights advocated for the housing rights of minorities, people with disabilities, and other disadvantaged groups in Boston during the 1960s and 1970s. This collection reflects the University of Massachusetts Boston’s commitment to preserving Massachusetts history, supporting community involvement, and advocating for social justice.

Ma Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights: Report on MA Commission Against Discrimination Procedures, 1969 June

Massachusetts Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights: Report on MA Commission Against Discrimination Procedures, 1969 June

The collection contains business records, governance and legal records, photographs, press coverage, and other printed materials related to civil rights advocacy efforts of the organization over its tenure. The majority of material relates to a three-year project undertaken by the Massachusetts Federation for Fair Housing and Equal Rights between 1968 and 1971. The project documented cases involving housing discrimination in the Boston suburbs that were brought before the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, and investigated the practices of the agency to make recommendations for improvement. The resources within this collection will benefit researchers interested in suburban housing, housing discrimination, race and neighborhood demographics, and the fair housing movement, particularly in the Greater Boston area.

Materials in this collection are now available for consultation in the Archives Research Room (Healey Library, 5th floor). 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.

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.

In the Archives: Dorchester Recycling Volunteers Records

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Dorchester Volunteers newsletter. Volume 1, No. 1. August 1990.

Dorchester Volunteers newsletter. Volume 1, No. 1. August 1990.

I thought that it would be fun to highlight the records of a local community group that had ties to UMass Boston for my final Archives Month post. The Dorchester Recycling Volunteers was an all-volunteer organization that strove to educate the public on recycling issues, and worked with the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services and the City of Boston’s Environment Department to establish a recycling drop-off program in Dorchester. The DRV’s recycling program began at the University of Massachusetts Boston on July 15, 1989. A station was established in the Service and Supply parking lot for monthly drop-offs of recyclable materials. From a September 15, 1989 memo from Chancellor Sherry H. Penney to the university community:

Members of Dorchester Recycles Volunteers. 1992.

Members of Dorchester Recycles Volunteers. 1992.

“I am pleased to announce that the recycling project we implemented a short time ago has been very successful. Workers from the Dorchester Recycling Volunteers reported that 144 cars dropped off 16,000 pounds of newspapers and hundreds of glass jars and bottles during the six hour collection period on August 19th. That was up from 46 cars and 1000 pounds on our first collection day in July, an astounding 155% increase in the number of cars unloaded.” [folder 8]

The DRV ended its program when Mayor Raymond L. Flynn established a citywide curbside recycling program in Boston in November 1994.

The Dorchester Recycling Volunteers records span 1989-1994 and include internal meeting notes, minutes of meetings with the Boston Recycling Coalition, volunteer lists, operation files, the DRV newsletter, correspondence, and general recycling information.

Dorchester Recycles bumper sticker. Circa 1990s.

Dorchester Recycles bumper sticker. Circa 1990s.

View the finding aid for the records of the Dorchester Recycling Volunteers here.

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

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To celebrate Archives Month, I will be posting highlights from our collections throughout October. I hope that this will turn into a regular series. To learn more about Archives Month, visit the Society of American Archivists website.

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.

In the Archives: The Papers of an Antiwar Activist

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Perrin, Richard. G.I. Resister: The Story of How One American Soldier and His Family Fought the War in Vietnam. Trafford Publishing, 2001.

Perrin, Richard. G.I. Resister: The Story of How One American Soldier and His Family Fought the War in Vietnam. Trafford Publishing, 2001.

Massachusetts native Richard Perrin enlisted in the United States Army in 1967. Soon after his enlistment, he became an antiwar activist, and was particularly opposed to the Vietnam War. Perrin and several others in the Army began distributing antiwar leaflets and the publication The Bond. Perrin’s antiwar activities eventually resulted in a court-martial for a minor pass infraction. In September 1967, Perrin deserted the Army, traveling by train from Heidelberg to Paris. While in Paris, Perrin connected with other deserters and formed Resistance Inside the Army (RITA). This Wikipedia entry offers a brief summary of RITA’s history and activities. RITA published a newsletter, ACT, which is considered the first underground GI paper. ACT had a mailing list of about ten thousand and had a worldwide circulation. In Perrin’s own words, “it turned on a lot of guys and opened up a lot of avenues.”

"Cloak and dagger: U.S. deserters at Paris press conference." Newsweek. February 26, 1968.

“Cloak and dagger: U.S. deserters at Paris press conference.” Newsweek. February 26, 1968.

In 1969, Perrin left France for Regina, Saskatchewan, where he taught a university seminar on the US Army and founded the Regina Committee of American Deserters, which provided housing and other assistance to military deserters. In 1975, Perrin was granted amnesty in the United States. In 2001, he published his autobiography, G.I Resister: The Story of How One American Soldier and His Family Fought the War in Vietnam.

Regina Committee of American Deserters (RCAD) stamps

Regina Committee of American Deserters (RCAD) stamps

Richard Perrin donated his papers to University Archives and Special Collections via the William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences at UMass Boston in July 2001. A large portion of his papers comprises correspondence between Perrin and his family members, documenting his life after he graduated from high school, his experiences in the Army after enlistment, and his desertion to Paris in the fall of 1967. The collection also contains a newspaper-clipping scrapbook of Perrin’s activities which was assembled over the years by his mother, Betty Perrin; information on amnesty rights and specific amnesty organizations; information on the Regina Committee of American Deserters; and a copy of Perrin’s book.

Campaign flyer for U.S. House of Representatives election. [1998]

Campaign flyer for U.S. House of Representatives election. [1998]

One folder that may be of particular interest in light of the current US presidential race is a subject file on Bernie Sanders, who was mayor of Burlington, Vermont in the 1980s and a member of the US House of Representatives from 1991-2007. The file spans 1975-1998 and includes correspondence between Perrin and Sanders, press coverage, and campaign items.

View the finding aid for the Richard Perrin papers here.

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

aam_c_0To celebrate Archives Month, I will be posting highlights from our collections throughout October. I hope that this will turn into a regular series. To learn more about Archives Month, visit the Society of American Archivists website.

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.