Community Organizations

Two men carry a banner reading "Boston black and white men together" while marching in a parade.

Bisexual Resource Center records

The Bisexual Resource Center is a Boston-based non-profit organization founded in 1985 as the East Coast Bisexual Network, Inc. [ECBN]. After attending the first conference on bisexuality in the northeast in 1984, Boston-area bisexual activists, including Robyn Ochs, Laura Sachs and Scott Lewis, organized a second regional conference the following year. With the profits from this conference, the East Coast Bisexual Network was founded as an umbrella group to facilitate organizing among bisexual groups on the East Coast. In the late 1980s, the East Coast Bisexual Network made HIV/AIDS education and activism a priority, as bisexual men and women were popularly accused of transferring the disease from gay males to lesbians and the straight population. In 1993, the organization expanded to include international bisexual organizations, and changed its name to the Bisexual Resource Center. During the 1990s, the organization worked to control misinformation as bisexuality gained visibility in the mainstream media. The Bisexual Resource Center continued to build alliances among and combat biphobia within the gay, lesbian, and transgender communities.

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Bromfield Street Educational Foundation records (featuring the Gay Community News)

The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation was originally established as the Gay Community News in 1973. Until the Bromfield Street Educational Foundation ceased operation in 1999 due to financial difficulties, the Gay Community News was one of the oldest, most progressive national newspapers in the gay community. Eight Boston gays and lesbians started the newspaper in 1973 to create a community voice for gays and lesbians in the Boston area. In 1978, the Gay Community News became national in scope and distribution. The Bromfield Street Educational Foundation also sponsored other projects, including the Prisoners Project, an effort between 1975 and 1999 to support gays and lesbians in prison; OutWrite, an annual conference between 1990 and 1999 for gay and lesbian writers; Off-the-Page, a monthly reading series between 1993 and 1995 in Boston of gay and lesbian authors; and the Queer Progressive Organizing School, a forum in 1997 to organize progressive gay activists.

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John E. Bush papers

Activist and educator John E. Bush is a co-founder of Men of All Colors Together (MACT) Boston, founded 1980, and a 1988 co-chair of the National Association of Black and White Men Together (NABWMT). In addition to serving as a national co-chair for the organization, he was the editor of the National Newspaper for Black and White Men Together, the National Association of Black and White Men Together Journal, and the Men of All Colors Together Boston Newsletter, and served for five years on the editorial board of the National Association of Black and White Men Together. Articles and essays he authored have been published in these and a number of other publications.

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The Theater Offensive records

The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abraham Rybeck "to form and present the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political orthodoxy to help build an honest, progressive community." The Theater Offensive mounts and produces festivals and individual productions by national and local queer performers, and also serves as a development environment for new theatrical work. In addition, The Theater Offensive works to build community through education, outreach, and political activism.

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Boston Gay Men's Chorus records

The Boston Gay Men's Chorus, founded in 1982, is a 175-voice ensemble focusing on creative programming and community outreach. Josef Bevins was its first conductor. It is considered one of New England's largest community-based choruses.

This collection is unprocessed. 

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Bromfield Street Educational Foundation (collector) Prison Newsletter collection

This collection was originally part of the Bromfield Street Educational Foundation (BSEF) records. As part of its Prisoners Project efforts, the BSEF collected newsletters that were sent to them from various prisons and organizations located across the country and Canada.

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Men of All Colors Together Boston records

Men of All Colors Together Boston is the Boston chapter of the National Association of Black and White Men Together. Men of All Colors Together Boston was founded in 1980, and is the oldest interracial gay group on the East Coast. As both a social and political organization, Men of All Colors Together Boston is committed to fostering supportive environments wherein racial and cultural inequalities may be overcome. They engage in educational, political, cultural, and social activities.

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Triangle Theater Company records

The Triangle Theater Company was founded in 1979 by David M. Hough. Named for the pink triangles used to mark gay men in Nazi concentration camps, Triangle Theater sought to provide a supportive environment in which gay men and women could work in theater. During each season, Triangle Theater staged multiple productions and held staged readings of scripts. Triangle Theater's first production, "3 in a Single Key," presented three one-act plays during Lesbian / Gay Pride 1980. Unable to locate a new theater to stage their productions, the Triangle Theater Company closed in 1996.

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William J. Canfield papers

William J. Canfield II was a gay activist in Boston and was involved in the Boston gay liberation movement between 1970 and 1975. In 1971-1972, Canfield was president of Homophile Union of Boston (HUB). The Homophile Union of Boston was founded in 1969 by Frank Morgan in order to broaden awareness of gay lifestyles and seek civil rights for gays and lesbians. Along with John C. Graves, Canfield was a primary force behind the second attempt at collecting materials for a Boston Gay and Lesbian Archives. Additionally, he was a co-founder and business manager for the Gay Community News at its start.

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