Preserving the History of Diversity: One University’s Efforts to Make Boston’s History More Inclusive

Abstract

In 1994, on the eve of its centennial, Northeastern University, located in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, hired its first professional to head the University Archives and Special Collections Department. What I inherited was an archivist’s nightmare. Every document had been cataloged like a book, with a unique catalog number. None of the manuscript collections had been processed. There was no collecting policy. The papers of a Massachusetts governor existed alongside those of an individual who was instrumental in developing insurance education; the records of an early swing-era orchestra resided next to those of Freedom House, a community activist organization: . . .