Queer (In)Time: Existing Organizations

Boston has a long and varied history of organizations dedicated to the health, welfare, social needs and legal needs of LGBTQ+ citizens. The following are event flyers, photographs and memorabilia from the history of local and locally-involved organizations that still exist today.

Text by Jess Bardio and Nate Brown

Boston Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (BAGLY)
Founded in July 1980 by LGBTQ youth, BAGLY is a youth-led, adult-supported social support organization, committed to social justice and creating, sustaining, and advocating for programs, policies, and services for the LGBTQ youth community. BAGLY continues to provide community-based leadership development, health promotion, and social support programs for Massachusetts queer youth.

BAGLY informational brochure, date unknown

BAGLY Halloween Party flyer, 1987

Bisexual Resource Center Celebrate Bi Day party flyer, 2002

Bisexual Resource Center (BRC)
BRC is non-profit educational organization headquartered in Boston that has served the bisexual community since 1985. Originally known as The East Coast Bisexual Network, it incorporated in 1989 as a nonprofit. The BRC has been described as “a long-standing role as a clearinghouse for bisexual information,” and publishes the biannual Bisexual Resource Guide.

Photograph of Boston Living Center staff, 1990s

Boston Living Center
Boston Living Center (BLC) was founded at the peak of the AIDS crisis in 1989 after Boston citizens living with the virus recognized a need for greater community involvement and support. The BLC is a nonprofit community and resource center set up to foster the wellness of all HIV positive people and respond to the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS community.
Fenway Health
Formally known as Fenway Community Health Center, Inc. Originally founded in 1971 by Northeastern students as a drop-in center in the basement of a building owned by the Christian Science Church, Fenway incorporated as an independent health center in 1973 and steadily grew. In the 1980s it became one of the first health centers to explicitly treat HIV patients, and is now considered a leading provider for LGBTQ healthcare.

Photograph of Fenway Health staff marching in a parade, 1980s

Mass Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus flyer regarding gay & lesbian civil rights bill, 1989

Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus
The Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus (the Caucus) was founded in 1973 to fight for social equality for the gay and lesbian community in Massachusetts.

Gay & Lesbian Labor Activists Network stickers, 1990s

Gay & Lesbian Labor Activists Network
GALLAN is a non-profit organization of trade unionists founded in 1987 by members of Boston’s LGBTQ community. GALLAN's main purpose was to support LGBTQ rights and oppose homophobia in the workforce, as well as push its unions to campaign for anti-discriminatory measures and benefits packages. They helped to form the national organization Pride at Work in 1994, and now functions as Boston’s chapter of said organization.