In addition to its larger exhibits, Exploring The Boston Teacher Union Collections also publishes blog posts: short snapshots of different stories within the BTU collections. Browse them for inspiration and an idea of the content within the union holdings!
During Spring 2022, the HIST 682: Topics in American History - Digital Public History: Teacher Organizing in Boston graduate course, led by UMass Boston Professor Nick Juravich, launched a collaboration with the Boston Teachers Union. The course aimed to bring graduate students in contact with the Boston Teachers Union collections held at the university, engaging with the history of the BTU, creating blog posts, and publishing digital exhibits on the union's long history. The ongoing digital history project, Exploring The Boston Teachers Union Collections, serve as access points to the BTU's history and its collections, and the fruits of the Spring 2022 Digital Public History can be found here. The goal is that more students and researchers can contribute blog posts and exhibits in the future, making the website living and adaptable to changing scholarship and understanding of our history.
This exhibit is an exploration of teachers' opinions and advice in the Boston Union Teacher.
1974 was one of the most tumultuous years in the history of Boston Public Schools. Click here to find out how the fight to desegregate Boston's schools impacted students, teachers, and the BTU.
This exhibit holds up the voices and experiences of Black educators during the contentious 1981 lay-offs. Image from the 50th anniversary celebration of BEAM.
This exhibit focuses on the women of the Boston Teachers Union through their own voices, including the issues in the classroom and the struggles of paraprofessionals.
Click here to explore the different moments when the Boston Teachers Union worked with and supported other labor movements.
From 1980 to 1982, tensions between BTU leadership and the Boston City Mayor Kevin White heated to volcanic proportions. BTU President Kathleen Kelley fought Mayor White as well as Judge Garrity's Affirmative Action mandates. Mayor White fought the BTU's approved budget increase in court and overstepped his mayoral power. All of this fell under the devastation of Proposition 2 1/2 which cut Massachusetts property taxes to 2.5% of real estate value and cost the city of Boston millions in revenue. Click here to learn more about the impact of this fight.