Papers of Irene Monroe, 1955-2015

The papers of Irene Monroe document her leadership, outreach ministry for marginalized communities, and broader role as a commentator and writer on social, political and cultural issues impacting the nation. The collection includes awards and honors from colleges and universities, churches, and secular organizations; vital records; educational material; and personal correspondence containing invitations, greeting cards, and clippings. Monroe's clerical activities are documented in marriage certificates for same-sex couples, church bulletins, programs, and sermons. There is also substantial correspondence, programs, promotional flyers, and posters associated with her participation in annual events, national conferences, panels and forums, and other speaking engagements. The bulk of material consists of her writings, which include articles, nationally syndicated columns (on-line and print), related correspondence, and excerpts of essays published in edited volumes, anthologies, and scholarly journals. There is some duplication among the syndicated columns. There is also substantial publicity in the collection, including articles that discuss her social, cultural and political views; profiles and interviews that highlight her early life and accomplishments and document media appearances. There are some teaching papers in the collection. Audiovisual material featuring Monroe includes audiotapes, CDs, DVDs, and videotapes. Newsletters have been transferred to the Schlesinger Library Published Materials Division. Most of the papers were received without existing order. The archivist provided the arrangement for all series. The web site of Irene Monroe is being captured periodically as part of Harvard University's Web Archival Collection (WAX).

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1955-2015, n.d. (#1.1-3.5, E.1), includes an artist's portrait of Monroe; awards and honors from the Cambridge Peace Commission, the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the Young Women's Christian Association, a certificate of distinction in teaching awarded by Harvard University, and several citations from the Cambridge City Council. Vital records in this series include a foundling report describing the circumstances of Monroe's abandonment as an infant and her marriage certificate. Educational records include an autograph album from Public School 233 in Brooklyn, report cards and letters of recommendation related to her success in the College Bound Program during high school; school directories and yearbooks; papers related to her Ford Fellowship grant; and ephemera documenting alumni activities associated with Wellesley College, Union Theological Seminary, and Harvard Divinity School. This series also includes substantial personal correspondence, which includes invitations, greeting cards, and letters of support from former high school teachers, friends, and professional colleagues. Also included are many letters from lesbian women seeking advice and support, while others describe their conflict with religious teachings. Of particular interest is a letter describing the impact of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policies (#3.4). The series is arranged alphabetically and chronologically thereunder. Folder titles were created by the archivist.

Series II, PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES, 1988-2015, n.d. (#3.6-8.13), includes correspondence, programs, event flyers, speeches, and other material related to Monroe's role in organizing the Millennium March on Washington, and her participation in annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community events, including the Bayard Rustin Community Breakfast sponsored by the Cambridge City Council, the Fire and Ink Writers Festival, National Freedom Day to Marry, the Boston Women's Fund, and the Lambda Literary Awards. Monroe's commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities are also reflected in her clerical activities, which include licenses, invitations, and correspondence representing same sex marriages and civil unions she officiated; church bulletins and sermons she delivered as a guest preacher at various churches, PRIDE interfaith services, and inaugural events for the City of Cambridge. Booking requests from Monroe's agencies (the American Program Bureau, and Speakout!) and related correspondence, flyers, contracts, and itineraries document Monroe's popularity as a keynote speaker on topics that include marriage equality, the role of religion in discrimination, women's spirituality and healing, and misogyny and homophobia within the church. There are some syllabi, course evaluations, and other material representing classes on women and religious studies that she taught at the University of New Hampshire, Andover Newton Theological School, and Merrimack and Pine Manor colleges. This series also includes program brochures and correspondence related to workshops and retreats for lesbians conducted by Monroe at the Omega Institute and Kripalu; material related to organizations where she served in an advisory capacity, including Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the National Black Justice Coalition, and the Young Women's Christian Association; and papers related to Monroe's media appearances, which include interviews on Paula Zahn Now (CNN), Basic Black (WGBH), the Emmy nominated segment from In The Life TV, and The Bible Tells Me So (see also Series IV). The series is arranged alphabetically and chronologically thereunder. Folder titles were created by the archivist.

Series III, PUBLICATIONS AND PUBLICITY, 1977-2015, n.d. (#9.1-14.13), includes articles by Monroe published in The Witness, The Boston Spirit, The Gay and Lesbian Review, Open Hands, and other magazines; book submissions consisting of correspondence, proposals, and promotional flyers; and syndicated columns published in newspapers, on-line journals, and blogs, including In Newsweekly, The Boston Globe, The Black Commentator, L.A. Progressive, The Billerico Project, The Bay Area Reporter, Queerty, the Washington Blade, and the UK Gay News. There is substantial correspondence mainly consisting of readers responses to her columns. Monroe's contributions to edited volumes, anthologies, and scholarly journals, the critically acclaimed "Louis Farrakhan's Ministry of Misogyny and Homophobia" (Grove Press, 1998), as well as essays about growing up gay, and misogyny and homophobia in the church are included. There is some correspondence and outlines describing the early planning phase of Monroe's publication Let Your Light Shine Like a Rainbow: 365 Days a Year Meditation on Bible Prayers (2008). Other writings include book, art, and theater reviews, and encyclopedic entries. This series also includes substantial publicity consisting of articles published in on-line journals, blogs, and clippings from local newspapers, including the Boston Herald, Metro, and the Cambridge Chronicle. Profiles and interviews of Monroe, published in Oprah Magazine, Out Magazine, Boston Spirit, and other magazines are also included. The series is arranged alphabetically and chronologically thereunder. Folder titles were created by the archivist.

Series IV, PHOTOGRAPHS, OVERSIZED, MEMORABILIA, AUDIOVISUAL, 1969-2015, n.d. (#PD.1-PD.3, F+D.1-F+D.3, OD.1, 15FB.1m-15FB.5m, T-522.1, Vt-106.1-Vt-106.7, CD-104.1, DVD-124.1-DVD-124.5, E2), includes photographs of Monroe receiving an award, posing with her dog Mr. Midnight, and participating in a spring event hosted by the Diocese of New Hampshire. Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*]. Oversized material includes event flyers and posters publicizing various speaking events and signage representing Monroe's role as Grand Marshal in the 1998 Boston PRIDE Parade. There is some memorabilia in the collection, including high school varsity letters, a bronze medallion awarded to Monroe by the Old South Church, and a sash with Adinkra symbols made by students from Miami University. Audiovisual material consists of an audio tape of Monroe's sermon "Christian Sisterhood," delivered at Monumental Baptist Church in Jersey City, New Jersey; videotapes of Monroe featured in The Journey With Caroline Myss, In The Life, and The Millennium March for Equality. A CD of a Watch Night, a traditional New Year's Eve service featuring a sermon by Monroe. Also included are several DVD's documenting Monroe's participation on panel discussions, including A Community Conversation on Civil Rights: Policing Discretion, and Race in Cambridge, Not For Nothin', a weekly series produced by Susan Fleischmann, Executive Director of Cambridge Community Television; and Mass Matrimony, which depicts the first same sex couples to file for marriage licenses in the state of Massachusetts. This series is arranged by format and chronologically thereunder. Folder titles were created by the archivist.