Papers of Kip Tiernan, 1944-2008

The papers of Kip Tiernan contain speeches; correspondence; writings; press releases; photographs; clippings, etc., related to Tiernan's work with organizations to aid the poor, homeless, and socially oppressed. The bulk of the collection arrived at the library in tightly packed folders; many of the folders were without headings. Folder contents were rearranged or combined, and folder titles were created by the processor, who also created the overall arrangement. Several cartons contained clippings, which arrived loose and unsorted. The processor weeded them extensively, and grouped them in folders, which were placed where most relevant. The catalogs with accompanying materials (#21.8-23.12) were maintained in their original order. Videotapes were removed and have been cataloged separately; see the Kip Tiernan Video collection (Vt-140, DVD-8). The collection is arranged in three series.

Series I, BIOGRAPHICAL AND PERSONAL, 1944-2005 (#1.1-6.3, PD.1, F+D.2, OD.2), contains biographical sketches and articles; resumes; an oral history (#1.5) and a draft interview (#1.6); several appointment and address books noting meetings, contacts, etc., related to Warwick House, Rosie's Place, Poor People's United Fund, etc.; personal and professional correspondence; photographs; clippings; and miscellaneous. Also included is a portfolio (ca.1950s) containing flyers, pamphlets, advertisements, articles, clippings, etc., of various products that presumably reflect Tiernan's early work in the public relations and advertising field (#1.12-1.14). Correspondence (#1.17-1.27) includes miscellaneous letters that do not directly correspond to the specific organizations, committees, etc., that are found in Series III, but may be related. Most of the correspondence is professional; there are a few personal letters interspersed. The awards and related materials (#5.1-5.9) contain program booklets, city proclamations/citations, certificates, invitations, correspondence, agendas, application material for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nomination (#5.6), digital printouts, clippings, etc. The folders are grouped by record type or topic.

Series II, WRITINGS, SPEECHES, AND RELATED, 1947-2005, n.d. (#6.4-23.12), contains Tiernan's musical and theatrical scripts and drafts for plays performed in Boston (including playbills, flyers and announcements, correspondence, production and rehearsal material, clippings, etc.); press releases and press kits; a substantial collection of speeches that include related material (i.e., correspondence, conference and lecture materials, flyers and announcements, clippings, etc.); statements and testimonies, which also include related material (i.e., correspondence, reports, notes, clippings, etc.); and a collection of writings and articles, which are comprised primarily of clippings.

The processor assigned numbers to the drafts and scripts (#6.4-6.18) for musicals and plays (e.g., draft 1, draft 2, copy 1, copy 2, etc.) to distinguish them from one another; they do not reflect the order of creation of the edited revisions. The press releases and press kits (#6.19-6.22, 7.1-7.9) include coverage of the 1966 through 1970 annual Boston Common Dairy Festival (including related material and the Moo News newsletters/program guides); announcements for Open Space: Clearing House for Creative Ministry, other religious organizations, and announcements for political activists (1968-1982); a series on the past history of the Boston Common (ca.1960s-1970s); coverage of the political trials of Daniel and Philip Berrigan and other political activists (1970-1982); etc.

Speeches (#8.1-19.10) were given at public events, meetings, and conference and academic settings, and include eulogies, sermons, commencement addresses, keynote addresses for charity events, etc. They address such issues as homelessness, poverty, healthcare, welfare, church and community, political agendas, women's rights, etc. Tiernan's testimonies (#19.11-20.11) were given to various committees of the Massachusetts General Court (state legislature) on such topics as homelessness, fair housing, poverty, taxation, mental health, treatment of prisoners, AIDS, social reform, healthcare, welfare, employment, care for the elderly, etc. The processor assigned numbers to the drafts and copies (e.g., copy 1, copy 2, etc.) to distinguish them from one another; they do not reflect the order of creation of the edited revisions.

Also included are three catalogs comprised of lists outlining various materials throughout the collection in chronological order; some material duplicated elsewhere in the collection is interspersed with the lists. These catalogs (attributed to Elizabeth "Betty" O'Connor) reflect the organization of material for the writing of two books: "An Acceptable Year of the Lord" (never published), with drafts for a preliminary catalog and secondary source catalog, and Urban Meditations, with drafts for a preliminary catalog. A publication of Urban Meditations was released by the Poor People's United Fund in 2006.

The series is arranged chronologically, within each grouping (musicals/plays; press releases; speeches; testimonies; other writings; and catalogs).

Series III, ORGANIZATIONS, COMMITTEES, AND OTHER ACTIVITIES, 1965-2006 (#23.13-37.7, F+D.1, OD.1), documents organizations with which Tiernan worked, as well as her year as a Fellow at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College. It is divided into six subseries.

Subseries A, Political and social action, 1965-1973 (#23.13-27.2), contains administrative records; membership and donation lists; correspondence; press releases and press kits; newsletters; interviews; trial records and defendant profiles; flyers, pamphlets, and other printed material; etc., related to the Boston chapters of two anti-war groups, the Camden (New Jersey) 28 Defense Community, and Milwaukee (Wisconsin) 14 Defense Fund. Members of St. Philip's Parish (Roxbury) were indicted in the cases for the burning of draft cards. Tiernan's work is reflected throughout. Also included are materials on the Boston 8; the Harrisburg (Pennsylvania) Defense Committee (material related to the Berrigan brothers); and a collection of political and anti-war literature, including some of Daniel and Philip Berrigan's writings and speeches (#26.21-26.22). The subseries is arranged alphabetically by name of organization.

Subseries B, Warwick House/St. Philip community, 1968-1982 (#27.3-28.20), contains administrative records including Parish profiles and statistics; correspondence; reports and meeting notes; the closing of St. Philip Parish (scattered throughout); press releases, newsletters, and other printed material; photographs; etc., reflecting Tiernan's work. Folders are grouped by record type or topic.

Subseries C, Rosie's Place, 1973-2006 (#29.1-31.18, F+D.1, OD.1), contains 20th and 30th anniversary materials; administrative records; bylaws and handbooks; reports; budgets; donor, staff, and volunteer lists; correspondence; press releases, pamphlets, fact sheets, posters, flyers, and announcements; clippings; and miscellaneous. Two issues of interest are the controversial sale in 1987 of a "bag lady doll" by a local retailer (#30.3-30.4), and the 1990 exclusion of men from Rosie's board of directors (#30.6). Rosie's Place newsletters were transferred to the periodicals collection; consult the library's catalog for holdings. General files on its history are followed by administrative records, correspondence, materials on fundraisers, and clippings.

Subseries D, Poor People's United Fund (PPUF), 1980-2005 (#31.19-32.11), contains administrative records; minutes and notes; correspondence; material from the Essentially Women's Coffeehouse group, including a 1984 poetry booklet (#32.2); pamphlets and flyers; fundraiser calendars; An Urban Meditation booklets; clippings; and miscellaneous. The PPUF newsletters (Poor People's United Fund, Equal Time, and Equal Time Observer) were transferred to the periodicals collection; consult the library's catalog for holdings. Folders in the subseries are grouped by record type.

Subseries E, Bunting Institute, 1988-1990 (#32.12-33.21), contains material from Tiernan and Froehlich while fellows at the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute, Radcliffe College, and includes their 1988 fellowship proposal entitled, "Sheltering: Scandal or Solution?" (#32.12); drafts for their book, "Cultural Acceptance of Homelessness" (never completed); transcriptions of core group meeting minutes (participants included Ann Bookman, Barbara Davidson, Matt Dumont, Nicki Flionis, Marion Glazer, Dr. Richard Malika, Sue Marsh, Laura Monroe, Dolores Pickett, Nancy Ryan, Rene Scott, and Julie Vaughn); correspondence; interviews; framework material for the Ethical Policy Institute; etc. The processor assigned numbers to the book drafts within folders (e.g., draft 1, draft 2, etc.) to distinguish them from one another; they do not reflect the order of creation of the edited revisions. Folders in the subseries are grouped by record type.

Subseries F, Other organizations and initiatives, 1970-2005 (#34.1-37.7), contains correspondence; meeting minutes and related; reports, proposals, and statements; lecture notes; press releases, newsletters, clippings, and other printed material addressing women's issues related to homelessness, poverty, welfare, health care, mental illness, religion, incarceration, etc.; and miscellaneous materials related to and reflecting Tiernan's involvement with other organizations and social issues; the treatment of women in prison; issues concerning mental health and psychosurgery; and Tiernan's lecture notes, course outlines, resource material, etc., from her Ethics, Moral Principles, and Social Policy class taught in conjunction with Froehlich at the University of Massachusetts. The resource material and clippings represent a sampling of social issues that have influenced Tiernan's work. A majority of clippings from readily available sources in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines (on such topics as poverty, welfare, homelessness, and hunger; healthcare and insurance; unemployment; affordable housing; business ethics; care for the elderly and disabled; mental illness; inner city hospitals; psychotherapy; children and teen violence; anti-war activities; the Catholic Church and society; women in religion; social reform; women's issues; treatment of inmates; politics and budgets; etc.), spanning the late-1960s through the end of the 1990s, were discarded. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by name of organization, activity, etc., followed by clippings.

A few of the photographs in this collection 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 [*].