“Everyone Has a Story . . . Will You Share Yours with Us?”

Black and white photograph of Alan and of Florence Dawson in the living room of their home at 5 Winchester Drive in Lexington, where they lived from 1971 until 2007. Photograph was taken in the late 1970s when the Boston Globe did an interview with Alan Dawson, who was a famous jazz drummer and percussionist.

Lexington Historical Society has a very clear mission: to be a premier interpreter of the events of April 1775, and the faithful steward of all of the town's history through time.  Working with events surrounding April 1775 has always, understandably, been very important to us and our mission.  However, particularly in recent years, we have made a conscious effort to better uphold the latter part of our mission statement. 
 
We are endeavoring to focus on areas of Lexington history that are more recent, more diverse, and less prominent, and we have been making this a priority going forward.  For example:

• In 2015, we opened an exhibit titled “Lextopia: Lexington Launches Mid-Century Modern,” which celebrated and explored Lexington's unique architectural legacy.  It highlighted the diverse group of young architects who came to Lexington after World War II and revolutionized home design.
• In 2018, we were one of several joint sponsors of “Lexington Remembers WWI,” a month long celebration honoring those men and women from Lexington who served in World War I 100 years earlier.  These events allowed us to showcase items in special collections and archives from an era that we don’t often get to explore, as well as to call for additional donations pertaining to this more recent period of history.  It also gave us an opportunity to highlight the eight men of the town who lost their lives in service through our small exhibit “Lexington’s Lost Generation: Soldiers of WWI.”
• In 2019, for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, we partnered with LexPride and Greater Boston PFLAG to host an event focusing on LGBTQ+ history.
• On March 8, 2020, we will be launching our newest exhibit at Buckman Tavern: “Something Must Be Done: Bold Women of Lexington.”  This exhibit is opening on International Women’s Day and will mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage.  It will explore the ways in which women from Lexington made their voices heard during key moments in American history.

In continuation of these efforts, this past Saturday, February 8, Lexington Historical Society had the honor of partnering with Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL) to co-sponsor an event during Black History Month: “The Black History Project of Lexington.”  The goal of this program was to endeavor to better document the history of the black experience in town by inviting individuals to stop by and tell us their stories.  We requested that participants either be willing to take part in an oral history interview and/or donate (or allow us to scan) some of their photographs and documents.  We described the event as an opportunity to “help historians build a clear and complete picture of Lexington’s multiracial history.”

Though it is not yet open for researchers, this was the first collections related event to officially take place at our brand new Archives and Research Center (ARC), and we were thrilled to be able to use the space publicly for the first time in such a meaningful and important way.  We plan for this to be the inaugural event for a further initiative and partnership with ABCL.  Also, stay tuned for details on the ARC's official opening later this spring!

-Elizabeth Mubarek, Archives Manager

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