Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on Desegregation and Social Justice in Boston at UMass Boston

Interested in the history of segregation and desegregation in Boston? Want to learn some basics of creating new Wikipedia articles? Join us to increase Wikipedia's coverage of underrepresented groups in local Boston history. All participants, in-person and remote, welcome!
When: Tuesday, May 19th, 2015, 12:00pm-5:00pm EST Where: [1], Integrated Sciences Complex, room 01-1400, University of Massachusetts Boston Focus: Boston History, Social Justice, and Desegregation of Boston Public Schools Snacks? Yes! We will provide pizza and refreshments. Cost: Free

More Event Details

Participants: The event is open to anyone interested in the history of desegregation in Boston. No Wiki editing experience necessary; as needed, tutorials will be provided for Wikipedia newcomers. Can’t come for the whole time? No problem. Join us for as little or as long as you like.

Attendees should bring their own laptops and power cords if possible. Pizza, snacks, and drinks will be provided.

Registration: Please RSVP below so we know how many to expect.

The Integrated Sciences Complex is located on the UMASS Boston campus, 100 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, Massachusetts 02125. The event will meet in Room 01-1400. Campus is located near the JFK/UMass stop on the Red Line. Free shuttle buses run every 5-10 minutes to take you from the T stop directly to campus. More driving and parking directions are available here.

Schedule

If possible, create your Wikipedia account ahead of time. If you can't, that's not a problem: we will help you at the Edit-a-thon. On the day of, you will just need to bring a laptop and power supply.

12:00pm - 12:30pm: Check-in, welcome, light lunch

12:30pm - 1:00pm: Beginner intro to Wikipedia editing

1:00pm - 4:30pm: Edit-a-thon!

4:30-pm - 5:00pm: Wrap-up and thanks

s=Sign Up and Guest List=

Attending

Marilyn Morgan, Director of the Archives & History program, UMass Boston
Marta Crilly, Archivist for Reference and Outreach, Boston City Archives
Shane Landrum, Instructor, Department of History, Florida International University

Tentative

Online participation

If you cannot make it to the UMass Boston in person but would still like to participate, you are more than welcome to do so remotely. Suggested articles appear below, or you may add or contribute to one of your choosing. So that we can count you as having participated, please add your contributions under the Results section below.

Articles Needing Editing, Expansion, and External References Added

People (involved in the desegregation of Boston Public Schools)

Jean McGuire, executive director of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO, Inc.) and the first female African American to gain a seat on the Boston School Committee at Large right after the Boston busing desegregation.

Kevin White (mayor), United States politician best known as the Mayor of Boston, during the late 1960s and the 1970s. White won the mayoral office in the 1967 general election in a hard-fought campaign opposing the anti-busing and anti-desegregation Boston School Committee member Louise Day Hicks. --View guide to the records at Boston City Archives.

Louise Day Hicks, an American politician and lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for her staunch opposition to desegregation in Boston Public Schools, and especially to court-ordered busing in the 1960s and 1970s. View guide to the records at Boston City Archives.

Joe Moakley, a Democratic congressman from the Ninth District of Massachusetts. He won the seat from incumbent Louise Day Hicks in a 1972 rematch; -- View guide to the records at Suffolk University.

People (involved in general social justice issues in Boston)

Carmen Pola, Latina activist and civic leader, she directed the Project to Monitor the Code of Discipline at the Massachusetts Advocacy Center, she was liaison to Boston’s Hispanic community during Raymond Flynn's successful mayoral bid in 1983, and she was the first director of Constituent Services under Flynn’s administration and later served as his senior advisor on human needs. View guide to her personal papers.
Phyllis M. Ryan, (1927-1998), social justice and political activist, supported school desegregation, prison reform, welfare reform, the establishment of disability rights, and civil rights organizations, such as the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). View guide to her personal papers.
Muriel S. Snowden (1916-1988) and Otto P. Snowden (1914-1995), African American social workers, were the founders and co-directors of Freedom House (Roxbury, Massachusetts), a center for neighborhood improvement and community activism in Roxbury, Massachusetts. View guide to their personal papers.
Elma Lewis, founder and leader of national organizations for African-Americans in the performing and visual arts. View guide to her personal papers
Sara R. Ehrmann (1895-1993), a Boston-area civic leader best known for her regional and national work as an opponent of capital punishment, sparked by the Sacco and Vanzetti case. View guide to her personal papers
Byron Rushing -- well-known Boston-area activist, Massachusetts State Representative, and participant in Lower Roxbury oral history project.
Michael E. Haynes -- former pastor of Twelfth Baptist Church, Massachusetts State Representative, and participant in Lower Roxbury oral history project.
Gloria Fox -- Massachusetts State Representative, and participant in Lower Roxbury oral history project.

Businesses/Organizations

African American

Citywide Educational Coalition played an important role in the desegregation of the Boston Public Schools and advocated for school reform by providing parents with the skills necessary to participate in shaping education policy. View guide to the records.
Men of All Colors Together (Boston) engages in educational, political, cultural, and social activities which foster supportive environments to overcome racial and cultural inequalities. View guide to the records.
National Association of Black and White Men Together -- umbrella organization of a group whose papers are held at Northeastern.

Asian American

The Chinese Progressive Association, a grassroots community organization, was founded in 1977 to provide Chinatown residents a forum for their concerns and a way to communicate their vision for the community to officials of the City of Boston and of the Commonwealth. The Association provides support for workers and immigrants, particularly new Asian immigrants, needing translation services or other support. View guide to the records.

Housing

Founded in 1988, Cambridge Eviction Free Zone (EFZ) was a tenant-run community organization that worked for social and economic justice in the areas of housing and voting rights until its disbandment in 2007. View guide to the records.
Established in 1916, Travelers Aid Family Services of Boston provides services to increase homelessness prevention efforts and create affordable housing in Boston. View guide to the records.

Latino

Founded in 1968, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción is a grassroots organization in Boston’s South End that provides services for youth, families, adults, and the elderly through community organizing, educational, civic, cultural, and peer leadership. View guide to the records.
Established in 1968, La Alianza Hispana, the first Latino organization in Boston, provides education, family counseling, public health, and youth development programs to Boston’s Latino community. View guide to the records.
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción -- View guide to the records at Northeastern.

Government sponsored/affiliated

METCO - Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity. Founded in 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts, the program is the longest continuously running voluntary school desegregation program in the country and a national model for the few other voluntary desegregation busing programs currently in existence

Legal Cases

Morgan v. Hennigan - the case that defined the school busing controversy in Boston, Massachusetts during the 1970s. -- View the Morgan v. Hennigan Working Files at the City Archives View the Law Department records relating to Morgan v. Hennigan and related cases at the City Archives

Resources: Editing Wikipedia

After you create a new article, a Wikipedia editor will review it and OK it for inclusion in Wikipedia. This can take several hours or several days. Writing successful Wikipedia entries is somewhat of an art.