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John C. Graves papers

 Collection
Identifier: M083

Scope and Content Note

This collection was amassed by John C. Graves, a Boston-area gay activist, educator, psychotherapist, and opera singer. The collection documents gay and lesbian community groups in Boston from the early 1970s through the 1990s. A large portion of the collection is related to the Homophile Community Health Service, and includes the mission statement, organizational charts, budgets, and reports. Organizational materials concerning the Gay Academic Union of New England and New York are also found in this collection. Also of interest are materials pertaining to religious organizations in Boston that served the gay community, including the Metropolitan Community Church, Dignity, and the Greater Boston Lesbian/Gay Interfaith Coalition.

Dates

  • Creation: 1971-1996
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1975-1980

Creator

Conditions Governing Access:

The collection is unrestricted.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:

Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the University Archivist.

Biographical Note

John C. Graves was an activist involved in the gay liberation movement in Boston in the 1970s. He was born in 1938 and raised in New York City. He received his undergraduate and doctoral degrees in philosophy from Princeton University. Between 1964 and 1974, he was a philosophy professor at MIT. After coming out of the closet in 1972, he became actively involved in mental health, educational, and spiritual assistance programs for Boston's gay community. He was also active in student organizations and founded the Gay Academic Union of New England in 1974. In that same year, Graves developed and taught the first Gay Studies course at MIT.

In 1974, he left MIT and became a psychotherapist at the Homophile Community Health Service in Boston, which served Boston's gay community with affirmative, rather than change-oriented, counseling. The Homophile Community Health Service provided services and educational programs to meet the mental health needs of the New England lesbian and gay community. During Graves' involvement, Homophile Community Health Service evolved from a volunteer, peer counseling service to a licensed and professionally staffed community mental health clinic. The Homophile Community Health Service was affiliated with the Boston University Mental Health Treatment, Training, and Research Center. The Institute of Homophile Studies (an educational division of the Homophile Community Health Service) offered college-level courses on homosexuality in literature, history, and contemporary society. The Boston Gay Hotline, a branch of Homophile Community Health Service, offered counseling, information, referrals and crisis intervention for the gay community, their relatives, friends and associates. Graves left the Homophile Community Health Service in 1980. Homophile Community Health Service became known as the Gay and Lesbian Counseling Services in 1983.

Graves was also involved in the formation of the Boston Center for Lesbians and Gay Men, serving as a steering and board member between 1987 and 1988. The Center closed in 1992. An opera singer with the Boston Concert Opera, he was also a member of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus in the late 1980s.

Graves moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1990.

Extent

1 cubic feet (1 container)

Language

English

Overview

John C. Graves was an activist involved in the gay liberation movement in Boston in the 1970s. Graves was born in 1938 and raised in New York City. Between 1964 and 1974, he was a philosophy professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After coming out in 1972, he became actively involved in mental health, educational, and spiritual assistance programs for Boston's gay community. He was also active in student organizations and founded the Gay Academic Union of New England in 1974. In 1974, he left MIT and became a psychotherapist at the Homophile Community Health Service in Boston. An opera singer with the Boston Concert Opera, Graves was also a member of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus in the late 1980s. In addition, he was involved with the formation of the Boston Center for Lesbians and Gay Men, serving as a steering and board member between 1987 and 1988. Graves moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1990.

Overview

This collection was amassed by John C. Graves, a gay activist, educator, and counselor in Boston. The collection documents gay and lesbian community groups in Boston from the early 1970s through the 1990s. A large portion of the collection is related to the Homophile Community Health Service, and includes the mission statement, organizational charts, budgets, and reports. Organizational materials concerning the Gay Academic Union of New England and New York are also found in this collection. Also of interest are materials pertaining to religious organizations in Boston that served the gay community, including the Metropolitan Community Church, Dignity, and the Greater Boston Lesbian/Gay Interfaith Coalition.

System of Arrangement:

Arranged in one alphabetical sequence.

Physical Location

68/4

Bibliography

  • Graves, John C. "Many Road Traveled: The Autobiography of John C. Graves." S.l. : Economy Printing, 2000. HQ 75.8 .G73 A3 2000.
Title
Finding aid for the John C. Graves Papers
Author
Finding aid prepared by Rachel Sandoval
Date
January 2003
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Snell Library
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02115 US