In the latest in a series of acquisitions from local grassroots organizations, University Libraries has received the historical records of Boston's Chinese Progressive Association, a community organization that works for equality and empowerment of the Chinese community.
"These organizations do not have the funding or expertise to preserve their own history," said Joan Krizack, the university's archivist and head of special collections. "Without the Northeastern program, the history of these organizations would be lost to younger generations, and the voices of these communities would be unheard."
Founded on July 17, 1977 in the Chinatown neighborhood, the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA) supports adult education, civic empowerment, workers' rights, youth leadership, and community information and referral services.
It also participates in citywide and regional coalitions, including the Asian Pacific American Agenda Coalition, Boston Tenant Coalition, Civic Engagement Initiative, Fair Wage Campaign, Immigrant Workers Center Collaborative, New Majority, and Whose Boston.
Among its early activities, the CPA helped found the Chinatown Housing and Land Development Task Force, worked with other activists to conduct voter registration and organize the first mayoral candidates' forum in Chinatown, and joined African-American and Latino community leaders to file a successful lawsuit against gerrymandering of state electoral districts.
In 1986, CPA organized with dislocated garment workers from P&L Sportswear and from Beverly Rose, another sportswear manufacturer, to win the first Chinese bilingual retraining programs in New England. The following year, the CPA Workers Center was established to continue organizing immigrant workers to advocate for their rights.
In 1993, CPA worked with other Chinatown organizations and the American Friends Service Committee to organize a plebiscite on the Parcel C parking garage proposed for the center of residential Chinatown, eventually winning the designation of the parcel for community development.
More recently, in 2005 the organization launched its Immigrant Workers Center Collaborative to build immigrant worker organizing and solidarity in the Chinese, Brazilian, and Latino communities. In 2006, CPA strengthened ties with communities of color, tenant organizations, and housing advocates to secure changes in Boston's Inclusionary Development Policy and its definition of housing affordability in an effort to stabilize Boston neighborhoods.
The 19 linear feet of material from 1977 through 2005 includes board and committee minutes, correspondence, grant proposals, newsletters, press clippings, and audio/visual material.
"This collection fits with the archives' mission to collect the records of Boston-area social justice organizations that serve the African American, Chinese, Latino, and GLBT communities," Krizack said.
She said the archives are being used not only by Northeastern researchers but by the organizations' own members, to prepare histories as well as exhibits and publications.
"Students and faculty from across the country use them as sources for papers, theses, dissertations and articles as well," Krizack noted, "and filmmakers have made quite a bit of use of images in these collections too."
For a list of all collections available for research in the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Department, please see: http://www.lib.neu.edu/archives/collections/manuscript_collections/.