Queer History Boston

For over four decades, we’ve safeguarded the stories of Boston’s LGBTQ+ community as The History Project. Now, we’re stepping into a new era with a name that better reflects who we are and what we do: Queer History Boston (QHB).

Love the new look? We do too! QHB highly recommends the services of graphic designer, Joelle Riffle.

Why the change?

When The History Project was founded in 1980, we had to live a little “closeted” ourselves. Our founders were advised that naming the organization with “Gay and Lesbian” in the title could jeopardize our nonprofit status — so the safer, quieter choice was made. For years, our  organization was difficult to find unless you already knew to look. “If you know, you know” became part of our reality.

Today, more than ever, we want to be visible, accessible, and open. Queer History Boston proclaims who we are proudly and inclusively. LGBTQ+ people have long since reclaimed the word queer — as a political rallying cry, an academic field, and a community identity. It’s fluid, expansive, and active in the language of our contemporary multigenerational community.

We know ‘Queer’ can still sting for some — it was once hurled as a slur. That history matters! But for over 30 years, activists, scholars, and communities have reclaimed queer as a word of power, pride, solidarity, and possibility. By choosing it, we embrace a name that welcomes people of all genders and sexualities who don’t fit into straight and cis norms, one that reflects both the struggles of our  past and our progress toward a more equal, inclusive future.

Most importantly: our mission hasn’t changed. We remain Boston’s community archives, dedicated to documenting, preserving, and sharing the lives and stories of local LGBTQ+ people.

We’re still us. Just easier to find.
Call us Queer History Boston, or QHB for short!