Boston (19 folders), 1981-2000

The Men of All Colors Together Boston records document the activities of the chapter from its inception in 1980 through 1999. The collection also contains information about the activities of the national organization, particularly during the mid-1980s, when John E. Bush, a founding member of Men of All Colors Together Boston, was a national co-chair. As an early chapter, and one with such personal ties to the national organization, members expressed a desire to document their history both locally and nationally.

The collection includes Men of All Colors Together Boston newsletters, 1980-1999, which contain news, calendars, editorials, and calls for both political and social involvement. These provide the most comprehensive documentation of the chapter's activities, as well as its developing political agenda.

The majority of the collection is found in six scrapbooks, assembled by the late Nelson P. Rivera. The scrapbooks contain clippings, letters, photographs, flyers, and memorabilia. Of particular interest are the fourth scrapbook, made in memory of Men of All Colors Together Boston members who passed away in the last 20 years, and the fifth scrapbook, containing materials relating to the 1988 national convention in Boston. For preservation, the scrapbooks were disassembled and contents were removed from the pages and placed in folders, maintaining their original order.

The remainder of the collection includes similar materials that were not bound into scrapbooks: certificates, clippings, photographs, bylaws, meeting minutes, and ephemera. Of particular interest are two internal position papers, outlining the chapter's stances on urban gentrification and the definition of racism, and three bound documents: a 1984 Boston Bar Study, documenting the levels of institutionalized racism in Boston nightlife; "Reflections," a collection of meditative essays produced in the first five years of the organization; and a memoir, recounting the life story of an unidentified intersexed individual who was connected with Men of All Colors Together Boston.