From roughly November 1894 to January 1897, 108 Charles Street was home to The Women’s Era, the first newspaper in the United States produced and funded by Black women. The newspaper played a key role in the holding of the first National Conference of Colored Women (which took place in Boston in 1895) and in the establishment of the National Association of Colored Women.
The newspaper grew out of the Women’s Era Club, an advocacy group for Boston-area Black women founded by Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and her daughter Florida Ridley Ruffin, members of a small, but significant Black, upper-class community on the north side of Beacon Hill. The club, which allowed white women to join, had a wide array of interests, but primary were issues affecting the well-being of the Black community and racial equality.
The publication’s first issue came out on March 24, 1894. Soon the newspaper went national and became the leading publication for Black clubwomen across the country.
Like the Women’s Era Club, the newspaper championed women’s suffrage, while also focusing on a broader set of issues. They ranged from the activities of local clubs and matters of health and literature to poverty and education. The publication was, according to historian Teresa Blue Holden, one that “broadcast the perspectives of black women nationally and linked their interests with those of white American women who were also contributors to the paper.” Animated by a spirit that rejected divisions of class, race, and religion, the paper advocated for the well-being of all women.
The first few issues of the newspaper listed St. Augustine’s Trade School, an Episcopal Church-related institution at 185 Charles Street, as the home of The Women’s Era. By November 1894, however, presumably because it now had its own office, the building at 108 Charles Street was listed as the publication’s address. This address endured until the paper’s last issue, which was published in January 1897. A combination of declining financial resources and differences with the national club movement (many within perceived the newspaper as too radical) led to the publication’s demise.
The four-story building (106-108 Charles Street) in which The Women’s Era’s offices were located today houses commercial space on the ground floor and private residences above.
Red Lines to Charles/MGH Station. 0.1-mile (3-minute) walk.
The home of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and the meeting place of the Women’s Era Club (founded in 1893, it existed until some point in the first decade of the 1900s), 103 Charles Street; it is diagonally across the street from the former offices of The Women’s Era.
To learn more:
Teresa Blue Holden, “Earnest women can do anything”: The public career of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, 1842–1904, Ph.D. dissertation, Saint Louis University, 2005.
A few months after the March 4, 1929, opening of the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) building on Clarendon Street, Boston Business featured an article about the new facility. The 13-story structure, gushed the Boston Chamber of Commerce publication, has “practically everything conducive to the welfare—physical, mental and spiritual—of the girl living away from home in a large city.”
Founded in 1866, the Boston Young Women’s Christian Association was the first YWCA in the United States. Its establishment was a response to the growing presence in Boston of single women working outside the home. At its initial location in Downtown, in a Congregational building at 23 Chauncey Street (where Macy’s now stands), it sought to support “the temporal, moral and religious welfare” of such women, So, in addition to assisting women to finding appropriate boarding, the YWCA offered classes in singing and the Bible and a prayer meeting every Thursday.
Soon thereafter, in response to many more requests for assistance in securing room and board than it could accommodate, the YWCA purchased two houses at 25 and 27 Beach Street in what is now Chinatown. When the refurbished houses opened in 1868, they provided housing for 80 women. The typical resident was under 25 years of age, and a little more than half of them worked as seamstresses. Within six years, the YWCA had to move again when the City of Boston widened Beach Street. The newly constructed building, at 68 Warrenton Street, accommodated 200 residents; an adjoining house on Carver Street (now Charles Street) served as the YWCA’s employment bureau.
It would be more than 60 years later when the YWCA moved to the building on Clarendon Street. As detailed by Boston Business, the YWCA’s new home had myriad amenities: “A gym and swimming pool, facilities for social and recreational activities, educational classes, and even a meditation chapel tucked away from the gaiety and laughter in the remainder of the building, are but a few of the attractions that careful planning has provided.” The building also housed “a cafeteria, bowling alleys, which are open to men, a men’s dressing room, public showers, a vocational guidance department, and a tea room [sic]. The tea room, like the bowling alleys, is open to men. And men may smoke in both.”
Among the important functions of the YWCA is that it served as a space for women-led organizing. One manifestation took place in September 1973, when a group of women rented a small office in the building. There, they published a newsletter, one launched the previous year, called 9 to 5 for Boston’s women officer workers—there were over 200,000 of them in the city at the time; they ran an organization by the same name as well. The initial goal of 9 to 5 was to inform women clerical workers of their rights, to stop sexual harassment in the workplace, and to compel Boston’s major employers to end discriminatory practices.
On the evening of Monday, November 19, 1973, in the YWCA’s auditorium, 9 to 5 had its first public meeting. More than 200 women attended. “Boston women are some of the worst paid office workers in the country,” declared Karen Nussbaum, along with Ellen Cassedy, one of the organization’s founders. According to 9 to 5, of the fifteen largest U.S. cities at the time, only office workers in Birmingham, Alabama and Memphis, Tennessee were paid less.
9 to 5 would soon grow by leaps and bounds, in part by organizing chapters throughout the Northeast—in cities such as Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, and Worcester. It also joined forces with other organizations of women office workers—in Cleveland, Dayton, New York, and San Francisco—and, in 1978, created a national entity, one which became known as 9 to 5, National Association of Working Women; at its height, it had more than 12,000 members in at least 22 city-based chapters in addition to at-large members in all 50 U.S. states.
In addition, as a way of formalizing its power and engage in contract negotiations with employers, 9 to 5 organized a Boston-area labor union. Founded in 1978, Local 925 was affiliated with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). And in 1981, Local 925 went national, becoming District 925.
Over the years, 9 to 5 made substantial gains for women clerical workers. Through lobbying, demonstrations, lawsuits, media work, public hearings and other pressure tactics, 9 to 5 brought about back pay and raises, improved working conditions, and better hiring practices—among other advances.
Today, 9 to 5 lives on—not least in popular culture due to the 1980 movie 9 to 5 with Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton (who sang the accompanying hit song), and Lily Tomlin. While SEIU District 925 did not last long for a host of reasons, 9 to 5, the national advocacy organization, endures, albeit as a smaller entity, one now based in Milwaukee. With an agenda that goes far beyond women office workers, 9 to 5 focuses on matters ranging from paid sick leave and childcare to equal pay and an end to discrimination; it also helps renters facing eviction.
As for the building at 140 Clarendon Street, the YWCA sold it in 2019. Via a public-private partnership, the building is currently undergoing a process of renovation that will lead to 210 units of affordable housing, 111 of which will be supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals who will receive services from the Pine Street Inn. When completed, the historic building will continue to house current tenants, including the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, the Snowden International School (a City of Boston school), and YW Boston, as the YWCA in the Back Bay is now known.
Orange Line to Back Bay Station or Green Line to Copley Station. The building is a 0.2-mile (3-minute) walk from Back Bay Station; it is a 0.3-mile (5-minute) walk from Copley.
To learn more:
Ellen Cassedy, Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, A Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie, Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2022.
Mnamo Novemba 1894 hadi Januari 1897, gazeti la The Women's Era lilichapishwa katika barabara ya Charles Street, na gazeti hilo lilikuwa gazeti la kwanza nchini Marekani kuchapishwa na kufadhiliwa na wanawake weusi. Gazeti hilo lilitumiwa sana katika kuanzisha chama cha National Association of Colored Women (NAWK) na kuanzisha chama cha National Association of Colored Women (NAWK). Gazeti hilo lilitokana na Women's Era Club, kundi la kutetea wanawake weusi wa eneo la Boston lililoanzishwa na Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin na binti yake Florida Ridley Ruffin, wanachama wa jamii ndogo lakini muhimu ya watu weusi wa tabaka la juu upande wa kaskazini wa Beacon Hill. Klabu hiyo, ambayo iliwaruhusu wanawake weupe kujiunga, ilikuwa na maslahi mbalimbali, lakini maslahi ya msingi yalikuwa masuala yanayoathiri ustawi wa jamii ya weusi na usawa wa rangi. Toleo la kwanza la gazeti hilo lilitolewa Machi 24, 1894. Punde si punde gazeti hilo likawa la kitaifa na kuwa gazeti kuu la wanawake weusi wa klabu kotekote nchini. Kama Women's Era Club, gazeti hilo lilitetea haki ya wanawake ya kupiga kura, wakati pia likielekeza fikira kwenye seti pana ya masuala. Zilichukua mambo mbalimbali kuanzia shughuli za vilabu vya mahali hapo na mambo ya afya na fasihi hadi umaskini na elimu. "Kulingana na mwanahistoria Teresa Blue Holden, gazeti hilo ""liliwasilisha maoni ya wanawake weusi nchini kote na kuunganisha maslahi yao na yale ya wanawake weupe wa Marekani ambao pia walikuwa wachangiaji wa karatasi hiyo."" - Teresa Blue Holden, Mkurugenzi wa gazeti la ""The New York Times.""" Katika toleo la kwanza la gazeti hilo, St. Augustine's Trade School, taasisi inayohusiana na Kanisa la Episkopali katika 185 Charles Street, iliorodheshwa kama nyumba ya The Women's Era. Hata hivyo, mnamo Novemba 1894, jengo la 108 Charles Street liliorodheshwa kama anwani ya jarida hilo. Ujumbe huo ulidumu hadi toleo la mwisho la gazeti hilo, ambalo lilichapishwa Januari 1897. Mchanganyiko wa kupungua kwa rasilimali za kifedha na tofauti na harakati ya klabu ya kitaifa (wengi ndani waliona gazeti hilo kuwa la kimapinduzi sana) ilisababisha kuanguka kwa chapisho hilo. Jengo la ghorofa nne (106-108 Charles Street) ambalo ofisi za The Women's Era zilikuwa ziko leo lina nafasi ya kibiashara kwenye ghorofa ya chini na makazi ya kibinafsi juu. Red Lines kwa Charles / MGH Station. Kutembea kwa maili 0.1 (minuti 3). Nyumba ya Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin na mahali pa kukutana kwa Klabu ya Enzi ya Wanawake (iliyoanzishwa mnamo 1893, ilikuwepo hadi wakati fulani katika muongo wa kwanza wa 1900), 103 Charles Street; iko diagonally katika barabara kutoka ofisi za zamani za Enzi ya Wanawake. "Theresa Blue Holden, ""Wanawake wa kweli wanaweza kufanya chochote: Kazi ya umma ya Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, 1842-1904, PhD, Chuo Kikuu cha Saint Louis, 2005.""" Mnamo Machi 4, 1929, baada ya kufunguliwa kwa Jengo la Chama cha Wanawake Wachina (YWCA) kwenye barabara ya Clarendon, Boston Business ilitoa makala kuhusu kituo hicho kipya. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika gazeti la Boston Chamber of Commerce, ""mwanamke huyo mwenye ghorofa 13 ana kila kitu kinachohitajika kwa ajili ya afya ya mwili, akili na kiroho ya msichana anayeishi mbali na nyumbani katika mji mkubwa,"" na ""Boston Young Women's Christian Association"" ilianzishwa mwaka 1866." Kuanzishwa kwake kulikuwa jibu kwa uwepo unaoongezeka huko Boston wa wanawake wasio na wenzi wanaofanya kazi nje ya nyumba. Katika eneo lake la awali katika Downtown, katika jengo la Kutaniko katika 23 Chauncey Street, lilitafuta kusaidia "ufahamu wa muda, maadili na kidini" wa wanawake kama hao, kwa hivyo, pamoja na kusaidia wanawake kupata bodi inayofaa, YWCA ilitoa madarasa ya kuimba na Biblia na mkutano wa sala kila Alhamisi. Baada ya muda mfupi, kwa sababu ya maombi mengi zaidi ya msaada wa kupata chumba na chakula kuliko ilivyoweza kukaribisha, YWCA ilinunua nyumba mbili katika 25 na 27 Beach Street katika kile ambacho sasa ni Chinatown. Nyumba hizo zilizojengwa upya zilifunguliwa mwaka 1868 na kuwa na makao ya wanawake 80. Wenyeji wa kawaida walikuwa chini ya umri wa miaka 25, na zaidi ya nusu ya watu hao walifanya kazi ya kushona. Baada ya miaka sita, YWCA ililazimika kuhamia tena wakati Jiji la Boston lilipopanua barabara ya Beach. Jengo hilo lilijengwa katika 68 Warrenton Street, na lilikuwa na makao ya watu 200; nyumba iliyokuwa karibu na nyumba hiyo katika Carver Street (sasa ni Charles Street) ilikuwa ofisi ya YWCA ya kuajiri watu. Baada ya miaka 60 ya kuanzishwa, YWCA ilihamia kwenye jengo la Clarendon Street. Kama ilivyoelezwa na Boston Business, nyumba mpya ya YWCA ilikuwa na vifaa vingi: Jumba la mazoezi na bwawa la kuogelea, vifaa vya shughuli za kijamii na za burudani, madarasa ya elimu, na hata kanisa la kutafakari lililofichwa mbali na furaha na kicheko katika sehemu iliyobaki ya jengo, ni chache tu ya vivutio ambavyo mipango ya uangalifu imetoa. Chumba cha chai, kama vile viwanja vya kucheza mpira wa magongo, ni wazi kwa wanaume. Wanaume wanaweza kuvuta sigara katika vyumba vyote viwili, na YWCA pia ina nafasi ya kuandaa wanawake. Mkutano huo ulifanyika Septemba mwaka 1973 wakati kikundi cha wanawake walipoajiri ofisi ndogo katika jengo hilo. "Mwaka wa 1959 walianzisha ""9 to 5"" kwa ajili ya wafanyakazi wa wanawake wa Boston, ambao walikuwa zaidi ya 200,000 katika mji huo wakati huo." Lengo la awali la 9-5 lilikuwa kuwajulisha wafanyakazi wa kibiashara wa wanawake haki zao, kukomesha unyanyasaji wa kingono kazini, na kulazimisha waajiri wakuu wa Boston kumaliza mazoea ya ubaguzi. Jioni ya Jumatatu, Novemba 19, 1973, katika ukumbi wa YWCA, 9-5 ilikuwa na mkutano wake wa kwanza wa umma. Zaidi ya wanawake 200 walihudhuria. "Wanawake wa Boston ni baadhi ya wafanyakazi wa ofisi waliolipwa vibaya zaidi nchini", alisema Karen Nussbaum, pamoja na Ellen Cassedy, mmoja wa waanzilishi wa shirika hilo. Kulingana na 9to5, kati ya miji kumi na tano mikubwa ya Marekani wakati huo, ni wafanyakazi wa ofisi tu katika Birmingham, Alabama na Memphis, Tennessee waliolipwa chini. 9 kwa 5 hivi karibuni itakua kwa kuruka na mipaka, kwa sehemu kwa kuandaa sura kote Kaskazini Mashariki - katika miji kama vile Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, na Worcester. "Mwaka 1978 shirika hilo lilijiunga na mashirika mengine ya wafanyakazi wa ofisi ya wanawake huko Cleveland, Dayton, New York, na San Francisco na kuunda shirika la kitaifa, ambalo lilikuja kujulikana kama ""9-5: Shirika la Kitaifa la Wanawake Wanaofanya Kazi"" (NWAW), na wakati wa kilele chake lilikuwa na wanachama zaidi ya 12,000 katika angalau sura 22 za mji pamoja na wanachama wengi katika majimbo yote ya Marekani." Kwa kuongezea, kama njia ya kuidhinisha nguvu yake na kushiriki katika mazungumzo ya mkataba na waajiri, 9 kwa 5 iliandaa chama cha wafanyakazi cha eneo la Boston. Shirika la Utumishi wa Umma (Local 925) lilianzishwa mwaka 1978 na kuanzishwa mwaka 1978 na Shirika la Utumishi wa Umma (Service Employees International Union). Mwaka 1981 eneo la 925 lilibadilishwa kuwa Wilaya ya 925 na kuwa eneo la kitaifa. Katika miaka ya hivi karibuni, 9-5 imefanya faida kubwa kwa wafanyakazi wa kibiashara wa wanawake. Kupitia lobbying, maandamano, kesi, kazi ya vyombo vya habari, mikutano ya umma na mbinu nyingine za shinikizo, 9 kwa 5 ilileta malipo ya nyuma na kuongezeka, hali bora za kazi, na mazoea bora ya kuajiri - kati ya maendeleo mengine. "Hata leo, ""9 to 5"" inaendelea kuishi katika utamaduni maarufu kutokana na filamu ya 1980 ""9 to 5"" na Jane Fonda, Dolly Parton (ambaye aliimba wimbo wa hit), na Lily Tomlin." Wakati SEIU Wilaya 925 haikuendelea kwa muda mrefu kwa sababu nyingi, 9-5 shirika la utetezi wa kitaifa, linadumu, ingawa kama chombo kidogo, moja sasa iko katika Milwaukee. "Kwa ajenda ambayo inaenda mbali zaidi ya wafanyakazi wa ofisi wa wanawake, ""9 kwa 5"" inazingatia masuala kuanzia likizo ya ugonjwa na utunzaji wa watoto hadi mshahara sawa na mwisho wa ubaguzi; pia inasaidia wapangaji wanaokabiliwa na kufukuzwa." Jengo la 140 Clarendon Street lilinunuliwa mwaka 2019. Kwa kushirikiana na serikali na sekta binafsi, jengo hilo linaendelea na mchakato wa ukarabati ambao utaongoza kwa vitengo 210 vya makazi ya bei nafuu, 111 kati ya hayo yatakuwa makazi ya msaada kwa watu ambao zamani walikuwa hawana makazi ambao watapokea huduma kutoka Pine Street Inn. Jengo hilo la kihistoria litakapokamilika, litaendelea kuwa makao ya wapangaji wa sasa, ikiwa ni pamoja na Lyric Stage Company ya Boston, Shule ya Kimataifa ya Snowden (shule ya Jiji la Boston), na YWCA huko Back Bay. Orange Line kwa Back Bay Station au Green Line kwa Copley Station. Kituo cha Back Bay ni umbali wa kilomita 0.2 kutoka kituo cha Back Bay na umbali wa kilomita 0.3 kutoka kituo cha Copley. "Kama ilivyoelezwa katika kitabu chake ""Kufanya kazi 9 kwa 5: Harakati ya Wanawake, Chama cha Wafanyakazi, na Filamu ya Iconic,"" Ellen Cassidy, Chicago Review Press, 2020."