Boston Urban Archive

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This is a letter penned by Jaylen Brown to the U.S. Senate. His care for the Boston extends beyond the Celtics organizat...
07/03/2026

This is a letter penned by Jaylen Brown to the U.S. Senate. His care for the Boston extends beyond the Celtics organization.

Earlier this year, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, alongside Senator Ed Markey and other colleagues, introduced the SPARK (Strengthening Place-based Access, Resources, and Knowledge) Act to expand investment in small businesses through grants, affordable financing, and other resources that help entrepreneurs grow and succeed. Brown endorsed this Act.

Through the Boston XChange incubator, Brown helped create pathways and thousands of dollars in funding for some of your favorite local entrepreneurs and innovators to build businesses and generate generational wealth. He has set the standard for our young people that champions + success goes hand in hand with education. He founded The 7uice Foundation where he partnered with institutions such as MIT to inspire, educate, and empower the next generation through STEM.

Thank you for handling Boston with care. ☘️

Established in Boston, this pioneering Black-owned periodical was as a blueprint model for African American magazines ac...
06/30/2026

Established in Boston, this pioneering Black-owned periodical was as a blueprint model for African American magazines across the nation. The Colored American Magazine was published by the Colored Co-operative Publishing Company in 1900.

Prior to The Colored American Magazine, there were newspapers and publications that existed like the abolitionist paper The Liberator (1831–1865) and Freedom’s Journal, which stood as the initial Black-owned and managed newspaper in America, established in 1827. The Colored American Magazine distinguished itself by integrating Black portraiture and creative prose to uplift the middle-class African American community, emphasizing their social triumphs, scholarship, and prestige.

Between 1900 and 1909, this publication set the precedent for Black culture in print, which inspired The Crisis, a magazine established in 1910 by W.E.B. Du Bois and the official flagship magazine of the NAACP. Premier Black magazines like Ebony founded in Chicago in 1945 by John H. Johnson, and later Jet magazine in 1951.

Pauline Hopkins, who went to Boston Public Schools, served as literary editor, was a playwright, novelist who is a pioneering figure in African American literature who wrote innovative stories surrounding Black identity, and some of the first science fiction and horror related stories by a Black woman. She went on to publish New Era Magazine years later.

The Colored Co-operative Publishing Company was originally located in a boarding house at 232 West Canton Street moving to 5 Park Square in Boston, and 82 West Concord Street with the purpose of championing the “race literature” movement in Boston and on a national level.

Sources: Colored American. Early Black Boston Digital Almanac. Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins: A Biographical Excursion into Obscurity.

This Thursday join us at the Museum of African American History in Boston for a conversation. This live, dynamic convers...
03/15/2026

This Thursday join us at the Museum of African American History in Boston for a conversation.

This live, dynamic conversation focuses on Black Boston history and the new ways information is shared today. Moderated by historian , the panel features creators Ebony Gill (), and Jazz Dottin ( ) who will explore how social media amplifies untold stories, engages new audiences, and invites community participation.

Free and open to the public. Register on eventbrite. See you there!

02/01/2026

9.9, a group from Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood topping the music charts in 1985.

Consisted of three women: lead singer Margo Thunder, Leslie Jones, and Wanda Perry. They met while attending Madison Park High School and gained local notoriety by performing on corners in Boston’s Downtown area in the late 1970s and early 1980s before transitioning to performing at shows. It’s reported they went under the names Steppin Out, Intrigue, and Thunder until settling on the official name “9.9”, once signed.

In 1985, they achieved significant success with their hit song “All of Me for All of You,” which topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song was featured as a regular BET rotation and they performed on popular TV shows like American Bandstand, as seen in this clip.

For reference, the #1 top-selling song on the 1985 charts in its category was Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love For You.” They reached the #7 position on their release week in July!! By November they remained in the Top 100 Billboard Charts.

Their producer, the renowned singer Richard “Dimples” Fields, known for his 1982 hit “If It Ain’t One Thing, It’s Another,” discovered the group while looking for local vocalists for background singers during his performance with The Whispers in Boston.

Their debut album, titled 9.9, reached #79 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 1985.

They disbanded in 1987. Sadly, Leslie Jones passed away in 2013, while Margo Thunder continued with successful solo projects. Wanda Perry, on the other hand, dedicated her talent to vocal coaching and education in Boston.

Clip Source: American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark, was a weekly live show that featured audience involvement in rating performances, dancing, and interacting with artists. RCA Records. Billboard.

Go on a museum date, grab a friend and catch me at the Museum of Fine Arts tomorrow evening! ☕️Boston — Dec. 4th I will ...
12/04/2025

Go on a museum date, grab a friend and catch me at the Museum of Fine Arts tomorrow evening! ☕️

Boston — Dec. 4th I will be on a panel at the Museum of Fine Arts discussing Boston Urban Archive + archival preservation work I do alongside artists.

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