by Sarah L. Leonard
Walking into The History Project, an LGBTQ+ community archives in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood, one can’t help but notice the location. Their cozy fourth-floor space sits adjacent to Trinity Church and the Boston Public Library, imposing architectural monuments to the city’s established wealth and power. Facing down the Beaux Arts Façade of the BPL, The History Project claims space for Boston-area queer histories. Run by a small and innovative staff and funded by donations and grants, this grass-roots community archives collects, preserves and activates records associated with LGBTQ+ individuals and communities.
Matisse DuPont, Director of Engagement and Advancement at The History Project, describes their work as “getting people excited about the past.” Founded in 1980 by queer activists determined to document Boston’s queer histories, the primary purpose of the collection is to serve New England’s LGBTQ+ communities. For DuPont, this means drawing attention to the rich stories tucked away in archival containers. During my visit, they were eager to dive into these boxes. They showed me one that contains photographs of early Boston drag performers looking like 1930s movie stars. Flipping through the photos, DuPont narrated the complex life stories and social worlds surrounding the photographs.
The History Project wants to bring a broader range of people to the archives. DuPont explains: “We have this amazing collection, but for some reason it’s not out there.” Online initiatives seek to engage people in their 20s and 30s, who may be less inclined to make an in-person visit. As a community archives, it also documents the lives of people who are less likely to be represented in Boston’s institutional archives. DuPont explains: “We are working to reach out to people who are not white and cisgender [and] to enshrine the diversity of today into the collections of the future.”
DuPont came to The History Project with experience in writing, research, performance, institution building, and social media – and these skills are all necessary to their work. As the archives’ first Director of Engagement and Advancement, DuPont is tasked with inventing a new role funded by a three-year grant from the Mellon Foundation. Their approach to outreach involves three principal goals: communications; development; and programming.
Communications efforts are proceeding apace: the archives boasts a steady, recognizable, and engaging online presence. Content shared on social media, DuPont explains, “needs to be explicitly, carefully and clearly modeled; everything needs to be clear without reading the title.” As more users interact with the collections in digital spaces, the archives is working to strengthen their online resources and presence. One current initiative available online is the Boston Deejay Project, which gathers oral histories from Boston-area deejays who have worked in LGBTQ+ clubs and bars. The resulting histories stream on YouTube. While they were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, The History Project maintained ties to the community with the crowdsourced #QueerArchivesAtHome initiative. “Look through your boxes, closets, drawers, and bags,” they wrote, encouraging Boston-area people to share sources related to their own queer lives.
Grants and donations ensure the continued existence of The History Project. Development and programming efforts balance free events with fundraising events. DuPont asks: “How do we balance offering things for free with getting some money back?” The ticket structure for events includes opportunities for some to pay extra to subsidize free admission for others. Online programming like the popular and collaborative “Smut Share” brings visibility to The History Project. “Sex is everywhere in these archives,” DuPont tells me, a claim that cannot be made by every Boston-based repository! Other outreach events include invitation-based parties for donors, free and open Wikipediathons held at public libraries, and online talks highlighting striking archival holdings and histories. On the day of my visit, DuPont was preparing for that night’s online event highlighting The Fag Rag, an important Boston-based queer newsletter founded in the early 1970s.
Change is coming to The History Project in the form of a new and more immediately recognizable name and a revised board structure. After a year of consultation and self-study, The History Project decided to adopt a new (and still-not-unveiled) name. The change, DuPont explained, “is linked to getting things out in the world.” The archives will also create a new board structure consistent with current non-for-profit institutions. Increased visibility could mean more resources for The History Project, which would be used to hire more professional staff (two archivists and a public historian), increase programming, and bring more content online.
As the archives celebrates 45 years documenting Boston- and Massachusetts-based queer communities, it is poised for greater visibility. There is an urgency to the archives’ mission, as the federal government seeks to curtail the autonomy of queer people and communities. Facing down the institutions surrounding Copley Square, The History Project – like the community it represents – asserts its presence, importance, and élan.