Waltham Queer History

Waltham has been an important place for LGBTQ+ people in New England since at least the early 1980s, as the home of one of the oldest trans rights organizations in the US, Trans Community of New England, founded in 1978. Originally known as the “Tiffany Club,” it began as a support group and safe house for trans women and male cross-dressers, with a spin-off called the “Adam Club” for trans men and female cross-dressers. In the 1990s, Waltham was also home to Vernon’s, a store on Moody St. that specialized in clothing for trans women and male cross-dressers. In the 1980s-1990s, the group “Way Out Waltham” organized gatherings for the local LGBTQ+ community, including a local party after Boston Pride.

Waltham High School has had a GSA club since at least 2006. In June of 2019, the Waltham City Council passed its first-ever resolution recognizing Pride month. It was introduced by Councilor Kristine Mackin, who also shared that she is bi, making her Waltham’s first out elected official. In the 2021 election, we had two out candidates for city council. In 2020, Waltham got its first little free library focused on LGBTQ+ books, the Little Queer Library.

In 2020 we created the “LGBT Waltham” Nextdoor group. Then, in early 2021 we started a “Queer Waltham” Facebook group, which grew quickly, and we started discussing an outdoor event so we could meet in person. Boston Pride was planned as an online-only event due to COVID, and was also facing a boycott supported by most of the LGBTQ+ groups in the area. So it seemed like the time was right for Waltham to have its own Pride. Our first event took place in June 2021 at a private home in the Highlands neighborhood.

Although a lot has changed since the 1980s, in 2022 LGBTQ+ people, especially trans and nonbinary people, are facing an intense backlash against our recent gains in visibility and acceptance. Bigots have chosen schools and libraries as their battlegrounds, claiming LGBT-inclusive education is part of a conspiracy to “groom” or “indoctrinate” children, and unfortunately Waltham has not been immune to this trend. Earlier this year the Waltham LGBTQ+ community came together to defeat an attempt to ban two books from the WHS library, and to respond to apparent attempts to censor the Little Queer Library.

Waltham Pride 2022 focused on visibility, solidarity, and education, and took place for the first time on Waltham Common. Hundreds joined for music, speeches, tables, and an opportunity to show the entire city that there is a community of LGBTQ+ people and allies in Waltham that will continue to welcome, support, and defend each other. It was a huge success!