What is the mission of The History Project?

The History Project documents, preserves, and shares LGBTQ+ history. THP is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1980 that holds LGBTQ+ historical records and ephemera, supports LGBTQ+ history research, and shares LGBTQ+ history through public exhibits and events. Our founders were archivists, activists, and historians who wanted to find and share LGBTQ+ stories from throughout Massachusetts’ history, today we hold over 250 collections in our archives!

What are some recent accomplishments for The History Project?

This year, we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first legal same-sex marriages in Massachusetts! Honey, Let’s Get Married! is a crowdsourced digital archive where anyone can share their marriage story. We’ve partnered with the Boston Public Library this fall to offer pop-up oral history interviews and to scan materials to be added to the Honey archives. Come visit us at our pop-ups – or at any of our upcoming events!

What is LGBTQIA+ History Month? Why is it celebrated? How does your work connect to this month?

LGBTQ+ History Month takes place each October. It was created in 1994 to celebrate the history of the LGBTQ+ community by sharing the stories of LGBTQ+ ancestors and uplifting the stories of LGBTQ+ role models. Most states still do not mandate that public education curriculum includes LGBTQ+ history (some states even prohibit it), so it’s important to us to be able to share and show that we are part of a lineage of activists, artists, politicians, and everyday people who paved the way for modern LGBTQ+ rights. LGBTQ+ History Month is celebrated in October in honor of the National Marches on Washington for LGBTQ+ rights (1979 and 1987). National Coming Out Day is also celebrated during LGBTQ+ History Month on October 11th.

The History Project was created to ensure that LGBTQ+ stories were uplifted and also available to anyone interested in our community’s history. The mission of The History Project and LGBTQ+ History Month are very similar – although we spend all year celebrating and sharing LGBTQ+ history.

You gave a wonderful presentation to the Trustees Pride Employee Resource Group (ERG). Can you explain how you partner and work with local organizations like the Trustees?

We love partnering with local organizations! We work with local organizations in a few different ways. Sometimes we’re contacted for advice or guidance on how to interpret or share LGBTQ+ stories at historic sites – it’s really amazing to see how many historic houses, museums, and other cultural heritage sites have included LGBTQ+ people’s experiences in their interpretation, tours, and exhibits. LGBTQ+ history was barely a field when we were founded in 1980 and the world has become so much more inclusive (and continues to become more inclusive!).

Another way we partner with local organizations is through events and programs – for example, our partnership with the Boston Public Library for Marriage Equality programming, or our 2023 series on the 50th Anniversary of Gay Community News with the Massachusetts Historical Society.

Finally, we also offer trainings and lectures exploring LGBTQ+ history – that’s what I did with the Trustees Pride ERG last May. Together we dug into how we find LGBTQ+ figures in history, talked about how language and labels have changed over time, and why we continue to document our community’s history. I had a lot of fun talking with the Pride ERG and beginning to brainstorm how to include more LGBTQ+ inclusive history at the Trustees’ properties.

What is your favorite part of Massachusetts’ LGBTQIA+ History?

Massachusetts has had a lot of political firsts! We were the first state to legalize same-sex marriage (2004), elect an out LGBTQ+ politician to state office (Elaine Nobel, 1974), and elect an openly lesbian governor (Maura Healey, 2022 – although she shares the honor with Tina Kotek of Oregon).

There are tons of stories of LGBTQ+ Bostonians (we have a book called Improper Bostonians that tells some of these stories). My favorite “Improper Bostonians” are the women who lived together in “Boston Marriages.” Fifty women’s colleges opened between 1836 and 1875, giving women unprecedented access to education and independence. Some chose not to marry, instead forming lifelong partnerships known as Boston Marriages, a term popularized by Henry James in The Bostonians (1886). He was inspired by his sister Alice James and her relationship with Katharine Loring.

One well-known Boston Marriage was between Katherine Lee Bates, author of America the Beautiful, and Katharine Coman, historian. Both women taught at Wellesley College and were in a relationship together for 25 years.

Anything else you’d like to share?

If you ever have an LGBTQ+ history question – please feel free to reach out to us at info@historyproject.org. Even if we don’t have the answer in the archives, we’re happy to point you in the right direction.