106-469: Political Research Associates ( PRA ), formerly Midwest Research, Chicago (1981–87), is a non-profit research group focused on social justice and the pursuit of building a just democracy. The PRA is located in Somerville, Massachusetts . PRA studies the U.S. political right wing , as well as white supremacists , and paramilitary organizations. It has a full-time staff of six. The Executive Director
212-738: A breakthrough for gays and lesbians, the case really represents a change in sentiment rather than a change in law. Gays and lesbians are still at the bottom of the equal protection hierarchy." The case, says Gerstmann, "has left the law of equal protection even murkier than before. ... This is not equal protection of the laws. It is the very opposite of equal protection. It is a loose conglomeration of stated legal principles that are, in fact, ignored, and unstated de facto rules that allow courts to apply different standards to different groups at different times based on judicial sentiment rather than judicial reason. The courts can do better than this." In 1993, Cincinnati, Ohio , passed Ballot Issue 3, an amendment to
318-569: A constitutional principle is symptomatic of a Supreme Court adrift in an age of judicial activism." Supporters of the decision, such as law professor Louis Michael Seidman , celebrated its "radical" nature, and hailed it as a revival of the Warren Court 's activism. According to law professor Evan Gerstmann, the Court in Romer left unmentioned and unconsidered many purposes of Amendment 2 that
424-499: A different rationale). Romer has been narrowly cited but influential within its niche, being cited in the cases of Lawrence v. Texas and Hollingsworth v. Perry , but the case has not had a much broader impact given the Court's assertion that it was conducting neither a "normal process of judicial review" nor a "conventional inquiry." In the same niche, Romer was cited in the decision of Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health , wherein
530-536: A force of roughly 260 British regulars from the 4th Regiment , under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George Maddison, were rowed in secrecy up the Mystic River from Boston to a landing point near Winter Hill. From there they marched about one mile (1.5 kilometers) to the Powder House, and after sunrise removed all of the gunpowder. Most of the regulars then returned to Boston the way they had come, but
636-458: A hold in the area after the railroads first arrived in the 1830s, Somerville's brickyards boomed through 1870. Meatpacking soon displaced brickmaking as the primary industry in the city, dubbed "The Chicago of New England". Additionally, Somerville's location adjacent to Boston and proximity to rail and road transportation made it an ideal location for distribution facilities. It was in this period that Irish immigrants moved to Somerville to work in
742-645: A major industrial center as automobile assembly surpassed meat packing as Somerville's most important industry. By 1930, 70% of Somerville residents had either been born outside of the United States or had parents who were. The population was then estimated to be 60% Catholic. Although Union Square and Davis Square continued to be the largest commercial areas during the first decades of the 20th century, smaller, less-developed squares grew as well. Ball Square , Magoun Square and Teele Square were developed with one- or two-story masonry commercial buildings, and
848-561: A number of squares that are centers for business and entertainment, as well as a number of other neighborhoods: Somerville has experienced dramatic growth since the Red Line of Boston's MBTA subway system was extended through Somerville in 1985, especially in the area between Harvard and Tufts. This was especially accelerated by the dot-com bubble of the late 90s, rising incomes, and concomitant rises in demand for urban housing. This growth did not, however, translate into an increase in
954-479: A petition was presented to the Legislature asking that a part of Charlestown be set off as a separate town, to be known as Warren. This petition was subsequently withdrawn. The desire for a separate township continued to spread, and by 1841, becoming impatient at the neglect of the government to adequately provide for their needs, the inhabitants again agitated a division of the town, and a meeting in reference to
1060-622: A poet and writer, and Chip Berlet , a journalist and photographer. When Hardisty was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma , she was referred to a medical center in Boston . Shinner chose to stay in Chicago with her partner. However, Chip Berlet and his spouse moved to the Boston area. After a few examinations in Boston, Hardisty was told her best treatment would be received in Oklahoma . She left
1166-478: A precursor to the United States Navy . The " Ten Hills " neighborhood, located in the northeastern part of the city, has retained the name for over 300 years. New research has found that less than a decade after John Winthrop moved to the farm in 1631, there were enslaved Native American prisoners of war on the property. Each successive owner of Ten Hills Farm would depend upon slavery's profits until
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#17327753495681272-529: A private immigration bill or a suspension of deportation". The "one-way ratchet" mentioned by Amar has been discussed by other authors as well. For example, law professor John Calvin Jeffries has argued that the Court in Romer was actually relying upon a principle of non-retrogression, whereby "The Constitution becomes a ratchet, allowing change in one direction only." Jeffries and his co-author, Daryl Levinson, conclude: "the revival of non-retrogression as
1378-560: A scouting party of 100 Puritans from the settlement of Salem to prepare the site for the Great Migration of Puritans from England . Graves was attracted to the narrow Mishawum Peninsula between the Charles and Mystic rivers, linked to the mainland at the present-day Sullivan Square . The area of earliest settlement was based at City Square on the peninsula, though the territory of Charlestown officially included all of what
1484-593: A small contingent marched on to Cambridge , seizing two field pieces from the Cambridge Common . The field pieces and powder were then taken from Boston to the British stronghold on Castle Island , then known as Castle William (renamed Fort Independence in 1779). In response to the raid, amid rumors that blood had been shed, alarm spread through the countryside as far as Connecticut and beyond, and American Patriots sprang into action, fearing that war
1590-545: A township in 1842 the area was primarily populated by British farmers and brick makers who sold their wares in the markets of Boston, Cambridge and Charlestown. As the markets grew, the population of Somerville increased six-fold between the years of 1842 and 1870 to 14,685. With the sharp influx of immigrants to the Somerville area, industry boomed and brick manufacturing became the predominant trade. Before mechanical presses were invented, Somerville produced 1.3 million bricks
1696-587: A turning point in the events leading up to war. First built by settlers for use as a windmill in the early 1700s, the Old Powder House was sold to the colonial government of Massachusetts for use as a gunpowder magazine in 1747. Located at the intersection of Broadway and College Avenue in present-day Powder House Square , the Old Powder House held the largest supply of gunpowder in all of Massachusetts. General Thomas Gage , who had become
1802-436: A year. Thereafter, production increased rapidly to 5.5 million bricks a year, and the success of the brickyards began to attract numerous other industries. In 1851, American Tubes Works opened, followed by meat processing and packaging plants. Other Somerville factories came to produce steam engines, boilers, household appliances, glass, and iron. Shortly thereafter Somerville incorporated as a city in 1872. The population growth
1908-450: Is Tarso Luis Ramos. Dr. Jean V. Hardisty was the founder and director from 1981 to 2004. Chip Berlet was the group's senior analyst from 1981–2011. Peggy Shinner (a poet) was the first archivist. PRA publishes a journal, The Public Eye , quarterly, which reports on specific and current movements or trends within the U.S. political Right, and also produces special reports, past examples of which include "Calculated Compassion: How
2014-579: Is any record was John Woolrich, an Indian trader who came from the Charlestown Peninsula in 1630, and settled near what is now Dane Street. Others soon followed Woolrich, locating in the vicinity of present-day Union Square . In 1639 colonists officially acquired the land in what is now Somerville from the Squaw Sachem of Mistick . The population continued to slowly increase, and by 1775 there were about 500 inhabitants scattered across
2120-462: Is designed to prevent piecemeal deterioration of the sexual morality favored by a majority of Coloradans, and is not only an appropriate means to that legitimate end, but a means that Americans have employed before. Striking it down is an act, not of judicial judgment, but of political will. The Court's opinion in Romer did not closely follow established equal protection doctrine (Amendment 2 "defied ... conventional inquiry" wrote Justice Kennedy), and
2226-403: Is known for. By mid-century, powerful social and economic forces precipitated a period of industrial and population decline that lasted into the 1980s. The postwar period was characterized by the ascent of the private automobile, which carried significant implications for Somerville. Streetcar lines that had crisscrossed the city since 1890 were systematically ripped out and commuter rail service
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#17327753495682332-559: Is listed in the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame . Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( / ˈ s ʌ m ər v ɪ l / SUM -ər-vil ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston , and north of Cambridge , in Middlesex County, Massachusetts , United States. As of the 2020 United States Census , the city had a total population of 81,045 people. With an area of 4.12 square miles (10.7 km ),
2438-441: Is not within our constitutional tradition to enact laws of this sort." Finding that "laws of the kind now before us raise the inevitable inference that the disadvantage imposed is born of animosity toward the class of persons affected," the Court inferred that the passage of Amendment 2 was born of a "bare ... desire to harm a politically unpopular group". The Court added: "[I]f the constitutional conception of 'equal protection of
2544-539: Is now Somerville, as well as Medford , Everett , Malden , Stoneham , Melrose , Woburn , Burlington , and parts of Arlington and Cambridge . From that time until 1842, the area of present-day Somerville was referred to as "beyond the Neck" in reference to the thin spit of land, the Charlestown Neck , that connected it to the Charlestown Peninsula. The first European settler in Somerville of whom there
2650-493: The Adirondacks . What emerged was "A Call to Defend Democracy and Pluralism", November 17, 1994. Hardisty testified as an expert witness in the court fight over Colorado’s Amendment 2 , described by human rights groups as "homophobic". She was accompanied by staff member Chip Berlet and numerous boxes of documents prepared for submission as evidence in the case. The case defending Amendment Two quickly collapsed. Hardisty
2756-714: The Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor (2013); and for the Court's ruling striking down state bans on same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). Justice Anthony Kennedy authored all four opinions, and was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer in every one. In 1992, Colorado voters approved by initiative an amendment to the Colorado state constitution (Amendment 2) that would have prevented any city, town, or county in
2862-737: The Fells Connector Parkways , originally conceived in the 1890s as a means for city residents to reach the metropolitan parks, evolved into congested commuter routes for suburban drivers. Highway projects were advanced in the wake of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 , in some instances displacing entire neighborhoods. The Brickbottom neighborhood was razed in 1950 to prepare for a proposed Inner Belt Expressway , and construction of Interstate 93 resulted in demolition of homes in The States neighborhood during
2968-618: The Massachusetts Institute of Technology are located and near Tufts University , which straddles the Somerville-Medford city line. The city is inhabited by blue collar Irish American , Italian American , Greek American , and Portuguese American families, who are spread throughout the city. In November 1997, the Utne Reader named Davis Square in Somerville one of the 15 hippest places to live in
3074-724: The Mystic River watershed as early as the beginning of the Archaic Period (8000–1000 BCE). At the time of English contact in the 1600s, the Somerville area was inhabited by the Mystic Tribe of the Naumkeag people , headed by the Squaw Sachem and her son Wonohaquaham . Though no archaeological sites within Somerville have been identified from this time period, an indigenous settlement near College Hill in Somerville can be inferred from contemporary written records. The Mystic River continued to be an important regional core for
3180-463: The North End through Charlestown towards East Somerville . In Revere's own written account of his ride, he mentions a specific location in Somerville (then part of Charlestown). The location was the site where the executed body of a local enslaved man known as " Mark ", owned by John Codman, was publicly gibbeted and displayed for several years after his execution. The location is probably near
3286-625: The gentrification period the city went through in the 1990s, and an influx of artists to the area, this name has mostly faded from use and the city has instead gained a reputation for its active arts community and effective government, including being named the best-run city in Massachusetts in 2006. Nowadays lobbying by grassroots organizations is attempting to revive and preserve Somerville's "small-town" neighborhood environments by supporting local business, public transit and gardens. For some Somerville residents, some of these efforts, such as
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3392-528: The seven hills of Rome ): These hills rise from the floodplain of the Mystic River, and generally run west to east, providing for beautiful vistas of Boston to the south and Medford/Everett to the north. Physical boundaries are also defined by prominent waterways: the Mystic River to the north, its tributary Alewife Brook to the west, and the Miller's River to the southeast. Land in early Somerville
3498-874: The "protection [afforded by] general laws and policies that prohibit arbitrary discrimination in governmental and private settings", which he said was confirmed by the Colorado Supreme Court and not disputed by Justice Kennedy's opinion. Scalia's dissent said Amendment 2 merely provided that homosexuals "cannot as readily as others obtain preferential treatment under the laws". His objections also included these: The dissent concluded as follows: Today's opinion has no foundation in American constitutional law, and barely pretends to. The people of Colorado have adopted an entirely reasonable provision which does not even disfavor homosexuals in any substantive sense, but merely denies them preferential treatment. Amendment 2
3604-439: The 1780s, when Massachusetts abolished the practice. In a short time, the settlers began laying out roads in all directions in search of more land for planting and trade with various Native American tribes in the area. Laid out as early as the mid-1630s, the earliest highway in Somerville was probably what is now Washington Street, and led from present-day Sullivan Square to Harvard Square . In its earliest days, Washington Street
3710-479: The 2022 Green Line extensions into Somerville, present a challenge for balancing accessibility of public transit and the need for affordable housing. According to the United States Census Bureau , Somerville has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km ), of which 4.1 square miles (11 km ) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km ), or 2.61%, is water. Somerville is bordered by
3816-514: The American Revolution. Shortly after Paul Revere set out on his ride, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and 700 British Army regulars landed near Lechmere Square . As it was nearly high tide, East Cambridge was an island and the troops, skirting the marshes, were obliged to wade "thigh deep" to reach Somerville. They probably came through Prospect Street into Washington Street, and through Union Square. Defeated and in retreat,
3922-455: The British army passed again through Somerville en route back to Boston. Upon reaching Union Square, the British marched down Washington Street as far as the base of Prospect Hill, where a skirmish took place. The handful of rebellious locals, having heard of the storied battles at Lexington and Concord earlier that day, caught an exhausted retreating British contingent off guard. As the story goes, 65-year-old minuteman James Miller lost his life in
4028-463: The Colorado Supreme Court acknowledged that Amendment 2 would not affect Colorado law that generally protects people from discrimination: Colorado law currently proscribes discrimination against persons who are not suspect classes. ... Of course Amendment 2 is not intended to have any effect on this legislation, but seeks only to prevent the adoption of anti-discrimination laws intended to protect gays, lesbians, and bisexuals. The dissenting justice on
4134-458: The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with upon review. Both times, the Colorado Supreme Court rendered 2–1 decisions. The state supreme court held that Amendment 2 infringed on the fundamental right of gays to participate equally in the political process. Regarding the trial court's finding that homosexuals were not a suspect class , the Colorado Supreme Court said: "This ruling has not been appealed and thus, we do not address it." The majority of
4240-469: The Colorado Supreme Court argued that neither a suspect class nor a fundamental right was involved in the case, and thus he would have applied a rational basis test instead of strict scrutiny. The case was argued on October 10, 1995. On May 20, 1996, the court ruled 6–3 that Colorado's Amendment 2 was unconstitutional, though on different reasoning from the Colorado courts. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote
4346-472: The Colorado courts had acknowledged as legitimate. "[T]here are no standards at all to restrict the [US Supreme] Court's discretion. ... But there are important reasons to be concerned about the Court's sloppy reasoning in Romer. While the Supreme Court's decision was widely viewed as a victory for gay and lesbian rights, it is a victory that is narrow and perhaps Pyrrhic. While Romer is something of
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4452-695: The Colorado legislature can repeal them by statute; and so too the people of Colorado can repeal them by state constitutional amendment (via initiative or referendum). To think otherwise is terminally silly. Still, Amar asserted that Amendment 2 violated the Equal Protection Clause (although he preferred an alternative argument based on the Attainder Clause ). Regarding the Equal Protection Clause, Amar wrote: Under Amendment 2, heterosexuals could win local ordinances and state laws protecting themselves from being discriminated against on
4558-482: The Court had held that laws criminalizing sodomy were constitutional. The Court ruled in a 6–3 decision that a state constitutional amendment in Colorado preventing protected status based upon homosexuality or bisexuality did not satisfy the Equal Protection Clause . The majority opinion in Romer stated that the amendment lacked "a rational relationship to legitimate state interests", and
4664-681: The Department's desire to deny marriage licences to same-sex couples was explicitly likened to Amendment 2's attempt to broadly restrict from seeking benefits a narrowly defined class of citizens. In 2007, fifteen years after the referendum on Amendment 2, the Colorado legislature amended its anti-discrimination law by forbidding discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in employment. In 2008, Colorado further expanded its LGBT protections to include housing, public accommodation, and advertising. Future Chief Justice John Roberts donated time pro bono to prepare oral arguments for
4770-609: The Ex-Gay Movement Serves the Right's Attacks on Democracy," authored by former PRA research analyst, Surina Khan, which details attacks on gays and lesbians , and "Decades of Distortion," which alleged scapegoating of welfare recipients. The group provides public speakers, and has staff on hand to answer queries from journalists, researchers, and activists. Its annual funding of approximately $ 700,000 per year comes from foundation grants, individual contributions, and
4876-486: The MBTA station, with connections to Cambridge and Boston. Retail vacancy rates around the square were close to zero as of 2013. The telecommunication and biotechnology booms of the mid-to-late 1990s significantly contributed to Somerville's revitalization. As with the housing boom a century earlier, the sudden increase in the number of jobs available in the cities of Somerville, Boston, and particularly Cambridge—as well as in
4982-465: The Millers River marsh was turned into railyards , slaughterhouses and other large-scale land uses. Somerville's commercial property is not concentrated in a recognized downtown central business district but instead is spread over many different nodes or corridors of business activity. The difference in character ranges from the vibrant nightlife, live music and theaters of Davis Square to
5088-626: The Naumkeag into the period of European colonization in the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1627, Mystic sachem Wonohaquaham reportedly gave permission for English settlement at Charlestown, which then included present-day Somerville. In 1639, his mother the Squaw Sachem deeded the land that would become Somerville to English settlers. The territory now comprising the city of Somerville was first settled by Europeans in 1629 as part of Charlestown . In 1629, English surveyor Thomas Graves led
5194-515: The Revolutionary War over, the residents of Somerville were able once again to devote their energies wholeheartedly to the business of making a living. From the 1780s until Somerville's separation from Charlestown in 1842, material progress was continuous, if a bit slow. As transportation infrastructure gradually transformed the area, new industries sprang up, such as brickmaking, quarrying and dairy farming. Transportation improvements in
5300-461: The U.S. Somerville is home to a thriving arts community and boasts the second highest number of artists per capita in America. Romer v. Evans Romer v. Evans , 517 U.S. 620 (1996), is a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with sexual orientation and state laws . It was the first Supreme Court case to address gay rights since Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), when
5406-400: The amendment imposed a special disability upon homosexuals by forbidding them to seek safeguards "without constraint". Instead of applying " strict scrutiny " to Amendment 2 (as the Colorado Supreme Court had done), Kennedy wrote that it did not even meet the much lower requirement of having a rational relationship to a legitimate government purpose: Its sheer breadth is so discontinuous with
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#17327753495685512-525: The amendment. Since Romer stood in obvious tension with the Court's earlier decision in Bowers v. Hardwick , it laid the groundwork for 2003's Lawrence v. Texas , which overturned Bowers ; like the Romer case, Justices Kennedy and Scalia would author the majority and dissenting opinions in Lawrence with all nine justices voting almost the same way as in Romer (Justice O'Connor concurred, but with
5618-524: The amendment. A former Colorado Supreme Court justice, Jean Dubofsky , was the lead attorney. A state trial court issued a permanent injunction against the amendment, and upon appeal, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that the amendment was subject to " strict scrutiny " under the Equal Protection Clause of the federal Constitution . The state trial court, upon remand , concluded that the amendment could not pass strict scrutiny, which
5724-432: The area declined from 68 in 1977 to 56 in 1987. However many non-retail uses, such as beauty salons and real estate offices, had already begun to fill the empty retail spaces. With the Boston area's emergence from its long recession, the area truly began to revive. Clearly, the community's vision of a rebirth of commercial and retail activity has, in the past few years, been fully realized. All benefit from their proximity to
5830-493: The area. Otherwise, the area was mostly used as grazing and farmland. It was once known as the "Stinted Pasture" or "Cow Commons", as early settlers of Charlestown had the right to pasture a certain number of cows in the area. John Winthrop , the first colonial governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony , was granted 600 acres (240 hectares) of land in the area in 1631. Named for the ten small knolls located on
5936-465: The basis of or entitle any person or class of persons to have or claim any minority status, quota preferences, protected status or claim of discrimination. This Section of the Constitution shall be in all respects self-executing. That amendment was approved by a vote of 53% to 47%. According to public opinion surveys, Coloradans strongly opposed discrimination based upon sexual orientation, but at
6042-437: The basis of their sexual orientation, but nonheteros could not win symmetric ordinances and laws. Putting aside the odds of discrimination against heterosexuals, Amar suggested that even if Amendment 2 had barred special protection for both heterosexuals and homosexuals, that still would have been unconstitutional because it would single out groups by name for harm, just like a law that says "Akhil Reed Amar shall be ineligible for
6148-464: The benefit of gays and lesbians. It is a fair, if not necessary, inference from the broad language of the amendment that it deprives gays and lesbians even of the protection of general laws and policies that prohibit arbitrary discrimination in governmental and private settings. ... The state court did not decide whether the amendment has this effect, however, and neither need we. While leaving that question unresolved by his opinion, Kennedy concluded that
6254-529: The brickyards and on the railroad. At the same time, older residents of East Boston and Charlestown moved to Somerville to seek a more bucolic setting than that of more densely populated areas. They also worked to maintain political control over immigrant groups, using slogans such as "Keep Somerville Republican" and establishing a local branch of the anti-Catholic American Protective Association . Between 1915 and 1930 population growth slowed slightly as Somerville's industries consolidated rather than expanded, and
6360-439: The cities of Cambridge , Medford , Everett , Arlington and the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown . It is located on the west bank of the Mystic River . Millennia ago, glaciation left a series of drumlins running west to east across the landscape of what would become Somerville. These ridges would later become known as the "Seven Hills" of Somerville (like many other cities claiming to be built on seven hills, following
6466-506: The city charter, which forbade the city from adopting or enforcing civil rights ordinances based on sexual orientation, the only municipality in the United States to pass such a restriction. The wording of Cincinnati's amendment was almost identical to that of Colorado's. The amendment was upheld by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1996. Later, the case was remanded by the Supreme Court for further consideration in 1997 in
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#17327753495686572-464: The city has a density of 19,671/sq mi (7,595/km ), making it the most densely populated municipality in New England and the 19th most densely populated incorporated municipality in the country . Somerville was established as a town in 1842, when it was separated from Charlestown . In 2006, the city was named the best-run city in Massachusetts by The Boston Globe . In 1972, 2009, and 2015,
6678-421: The city of Somerville and its neighboring cities of Boston and Cambridge has created an underlying tension between residents that has persisted for multiple generations. Due to Somerville's proximity to various institutions of higher education , the city has a constant influx of college students and young professionals, who reside in sections near Cambridge where Harvard University , Lesley University , and
6784-404: The city over $ 1 million in annual taxes, were gone. By the late 1970s, Somerville was losing population, revenue and jobs. Somerville also has a history of racial tension. It only hired its first black police officer, a person named Francis Moore, in 1974. Moore subsequently won a suit charging that the police department was "blatantly discriminatory" against him, including an episode in which he
6890-645: The city received the All-America City Award . It is home to Tufts University , which has its campus along the Somerville and Medford border. Tufts, alongside Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , makes up one corner of the Brain Power Triangle, which thus includes the city of Somerville. The area that would become Somerville was inhabited for thousands of years prior to European colonization , with multiple archaeological sites indicating habitation in
6996-579: The city. Almost thirty years after passenger rail service to Somerville was halted, the Red Line Northwest Extension reached Davis Square in 1984. The city and community used the creation of the new station as a catalyst for revitalizing the faded square, promoting new commercial development and sponsoring other physical and infrastructural improvements. However, when the new transit station opened, business around Davis Square did not immediately thrive. The number of retail stores in
7102-494: The dissent stated that the majority "evidently agrees that 'rational basis'—the normal test for compliance with the Equal Protection Clause—is the governing standard". The state constitutional amendment failed rational basis review . The decision in Romer set the stage for Lawrence v. Texas (2003), where the Court overruled its decision in Bowers ; for the Supreme Court ruling striking down Section 3 of
7208-536: The early to mid-1800s factored significantly in the growth of a more urban residential form and Somerville's incorporation as a City in 1872. These improvements included the opening of the Middlesex Canal through Somerville in 1803, various turnpikes such as Medford and Beacon streets, built during the 1810s and 1820s, and especially the introduction of rail lines. In 1841, the Fitchburg Railroad
7314-524: The first time. Despite the growth, however, discontent was growing steadily outside the "neck". The area's rural farmers paid taxes to the local government in Charlestown, but received little in return. By 1842, the area had no churches, few schools, no taverns, and suffered from poor and impassable roads. For many years after the Revolution the two parts of Charlestown styled "within" and "without
7420-595: The harbor had tremendous strategic value and the fortress became known as the "Citadel". Originally occupied by just 400 men, Prospect Hill became a primary encampment for American forces after General Israel Putnam 's retreat from the Battle of Bunker Hill . It is believed that on January 1, 1776, the Grand Union Flag flew for the first time at the Citadel, the first official raising of an American flag. With
7526-445: The large scale retail and highway access of Assembly Square . This spatial allocation is directly related to the early influence of rail and streetcar systems which caused economic activity to occur at stops. The other key factor in the creation of commercial squares is the area's topography. The numerous hills making up Somerville's landscape determined where road networks would allow neighborhood commercial development. Somerville has
7632-602: The late 1960s. In 1970, the state authorized rent control in municipalities with more than 50,000 residents. Somerville, Lynn, Brookline, and Cambridge subsequently adopted rent control. Rent control was repealed statewide in 1994 via ballot initiative. At the time, only Boston, Cambridge, and Brookline had rent control measures in place. Industry slowly moved outward to the metropolitan fringes, encouraged by highway access and cheap, undeveloped land. The Ford Motor Plant in Assembly Square , which had been one of
7738-406: The law is unprecedented in our jurisprudence. Kennedy did not go into depth in rejecting the claims put forward in support of the law (e.g. protecting the rights of landlords to evict gay tenants if they found homosexuality morally offensive), instead holding that the law was so unique as to "confound this normal process of judicial review" and "defies ... conventional inquiry." He elaborated: "It
7844-596: The laws' means anything, it must at the very least mean that a bare ... desire to harm a politically unpopular group cannot constitute a legitimate governmental interest."(emphasis added) The majority opinion in Romer neither mentioned nor overruled the Court's prior opinion in Bowers v. Hardwick , which allowed outright bans on homosexual activity. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the dissent, joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Clarence Thomas . Scalia asserted that Amendment 2 did not deprive anyone of
7950-516: The majority opinion, and was joined by John Paul Stevens , Sandra Day O'Connor , David Souter , Ruth Bader Ginsburg , and Stephen Breyer . The Court majority held that the Colorado constitutional amendment targeting homosexuals based upon animosity lacked a rational relation to any legitimate governmental purpose. Regarding the state's argument that Amendment 2 blocked homosexuals merely from receiving "special rights", Kennedy wrote: Amendment 2's reach may not be limited to specific laws passed for
8056-464: The matter was held November 22 in the Prospect Hill school house. A petition was accordingly drawn up and signed by Guy C. Hawkins and 151 others, and a committee deputed to further its passage through the legislature, then in session. A bill incorporating a new town was signed by the governor on March 3, 1842. The original choice for the city's new name, after breaking away from Charlestown,
8162-439: The mid-1870s meat packing plants were the primary employers and profit centers of the community. The Late Industrial Period (1870–1915) was a time of phenomenal growth for Somerville in all spheres including civic and commercial ventures. Infrastructure such as rail, water lines, telegraph and electricity were established and connected to surrounding towns. The population soared from 15,000 to 90,000. While brickmaking had taken
8268-535: The military governor of Massachusetts in May 1774, was charged with enforcement of the highly unpopular Intolerable Acts , which British Parliament had passed in response to the Boston Tea Party . Seeking to prevent the outbreak of war, he believed that the best way to accomplish this was by secretly removing military stores from storehouses and arsenals in New England . Just after dawn on September 1, 1774,
8374-479: The neck" were nearly equal in population; the former had by this time completely outstripped the latter. With this growth of population and trade came the need of city institutions, and consequently greater expenses were involved. Therefore, the rural part of Charlestown found itself contributing to the paving of the streets, the maintenance of a night watch, to the building of engine houses, and various other improvements from which they derived little benefit. In 1828,
8480-416: The opinion led to much discussion by scholars and lawyers. One article that received widespread attention was by Akhil Amar , a prominent law professor at Yale . Amar wrote: The Constitution does not require that "special" antidiscrimination rights, once extended, irrevocably vest via some magic and antidemocratic one-way ratchet. And if Denver, Aspen, and Boulder can repeal these ordinances, presumably
8586-489: The organization she founded in the hands of her staff. She later returned to resume her leadership position. The year 1994 saw a rising wave of violence against persons in (or even suspected of being supportive of) LGBTQ communities. Hardisty contacted nationally-known organizers and strategists Suzanne Pharr and Loretta Ross and raised funds for a national strategy meeting at the Blue Mountain Center in
8692-499: The other communities immediately surrounding Somerville—led to a new surge in the demand for housing. Additionally, the end of rent control in Cambridge coincided with the economic recovery in 1995, increasing demand for Somerville's affordable housing options. The city also had a very high car theft rate, once being the car theft capital of the country, and its Assembly Square area was especially infamous for this. However, after
8798-579: The period's most important enterprises were meat packing, dairy processing, ice and food distribution. In 1920, 73% of meatpacking in Massachusetts occurred in Somerville. Construction of the McGrath Highway in 1925 marked the turning point of Somerville as an industrial city, which accelerated when the Ford Motor Company built a plant in Assembly Square in 1926. In the years that followed, Somerville would see itself transformed into
8904-404: The population of the city overall, as seen in the table. Tensions between long-time residents/families and recent arrivals exist (often referred to as “yuppies”), with many of the former accusing the latter of ignoring problems such as drugs and gang violence. Incidents such as anti-" yuppie " graffiti , appearing around town in 2005, highlighting this rift. The economic and cultural clash between
9010-644: The property, Ten Hills Farm extended from the Cradock Bridge in present-day Medford Square to Convent Hill in East Somerville . Winthrop lived, planted, and raised cattle on the farm. It is also where he launched the first ship in Massachusetts, the " Blessing of the Bay ". Built for trading purposes in the early 1630s, it was soon armed for use as a patrol boat for the New England coast. It is seen as
9116-411: The public green at Gilman Square was surrounded by multiple four-story commercial buildings. Retail development and banking facilities also spread. During this time of industrial prosperity, continuing through World War II, the city of Somerville reached its population apex at 105,883 residents in 1940. The building boom continued until the 1940s, creating the dense residential fabric the "city of homes"
9222-547: The raid on the Powder House, the colonists took action to conceal arms and munitions of war in Concord . When General Gage found out, he was resolved to take the powder by force if necessary. The Americans learned that the British intended to start for Concord on April 18, 1775, and couriers Paul Revere and William Dawes set out on their famous ride to warn the farmers and militiamen in between Boston and Concord, including Sam Adams and John Hancock . That night, he set out from
9328-436: The reasons offered for it that the amendment seems inexplicable by anything but animus toward the class that it affects; it lacks a rational relationship to legitimate state interests. And: [Amendment 2] is at once too narrow and too broad. It identifies persons by a single trait and then denies them protection across the board. The resulting disqualification of a class of persons from the right to seek specific protection from
9434-490: The region's largest employers, closed its doors in 1958 with severe consequences for the local economy. From the late 1950s through the early 1970s, Finast Supermarkets used the building that had earlier housed the Ford assembly plant on Middlesex Avenue, but in 1976 it too closed its doors. By 1976, Assembly Square was becoming a ghost town: Finast Stores, the Boston and Maine Railroad , and Ford Motor Company, which had each paid
9540-755: The sale of research materials. Expenditures are directed toward staffing, general & administrative expenses, programs and fundraising. Among its major donors are the Public Welfare Foundation and the Ford Foundation . PRA is supported by a number of progressive and liberal activists, including Anne Braden of the Southern Organizing Committee , and Suzanne Pharr of the Highlander Research Center . Pharr has written that PRA "sets
9646-431: The same time they opposed affirmative action based upon sexual orientation, and the latter concern is what led to the adoption of Amendment 2. The governor of Colorado, Roy Romer , opposed the measure, but also opposed retaliatory boycotts against his state. Richard G. Evans, a gay man who worked for Denver mayor Wellington Webb , as well as other individuals and three Colorado municipalities, brought suit to enjoin
9752-488: The scuffle while standing his ground against the British. He was shot thirteen times after famously telling a retreating colleague, "I am too old to run." Somerville occupied a conspicuous position during the entire Siege of Boston , which lasted nine months, and Prospect Hill became the central position of the Continental Army's chain of emplacements north of Boston. Its height and commanding view of Boston and
9858-534: The settlement at Menotomy (present-day Arlington ). Initially bordered by farmsteads, Broadway would come into its own as a commercial thoroughfare after horse-drawn trolleys were introduced to the highway in 1858. Somerville was home to one of the first hostile acts of the American Revolutionary War . The removal of gunpowder by British soldiers from a powder magazine in 1774, and the massive popular reaction that ensued, are considered to be
9964-434: The site of the present day Holiday Inn on Washington Street. Revere wrote "nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on Horse back, under a Tree", which he then realized were two British officers stationed on Washington Street. They immediately pursued him, and Revere galloped up Broadway towards Winter Hill and eventually eluded them. His warning gave the militia enough time to prepare for battle, and launch
10070-417: The standard for researchers and political analysts of integrity," and describes the group's research as "thorough, thoughtful, carefully researched, and presented within a broad context of understanding of the complex relationships and activities of the Right." What is now Political Research Associates in Massachusetts began as a small progressive Chicago think tank called Midwest Research . The organization
10176-565: The state from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to recognize homosexuals or bisexuals as a protected class . The amendment stated: Neither the State of Colorado, through any of its branches or departments, nor any of its agencies, political subdivisions, municipalities or school districts, shall enact, adopt or enforce any statute, regulation, ordinance or policy whereby homosexual, lesbian or bisexual orientation, conduct, practices or relationships shall constitute or otherwise be
10282-476: The wake of the Romer decision. The Sixth Circuit upheld the amendment a second time, differentiating it from the state-level amendment on the grounds that it was a local government action of the type that Amendment 2 was designed to preempt. On October 13, 1998, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal, allowing the Sixth Circuit decision and the city amendment to stand. In 2005, Cincinnati voters overturned
10388-511: Was Walford, after the first settler of Charlestown, Thomas Walford. However, this name was not adopted by the separation committee. Charles Miller, a member of this committee, proposed the name "Somerville", which was ultimately chosen. It was not derived from any one person's name, and a report commissioned by the Somerville Historical Society found that Somerville was a "purely fanciful name". Before Somerville became
10494-624: Was at hand. Thousands of militiamen began streaming toward Boston and Cambridge , and mob action forced Loyalists and some government officials to flee to the protection of the British Army . This action provided a "dress rehearsal" for the Battles of Lexington and Concord seven months later in the famous "shot heard 'round the world", and inflamed already heated feelings on both sides, spurring actions by both British and American forces to remove powder and cannon to secure locations. After
10600-469: Was built between Boston and Fresh Pond in Cambridge, paralleling the route of Somerville Avenue. This led to the establishment of industries along its path. Soon after, in 1843 the Fitchburg Railroad commenced passenger service and enabled residential development along the southern slopes of Prospect and Spring hills. By the early 1840s, the population of present-day Somerville topped 1,000 for
10706-600: Was discontinued at the city's eight railway stations, one by one. Passenger rail service along the Fitchburg and Lowell lines had been declining for some time, and stations such as the Winter Hill station at Gilman Square were removed as early as the late 1940s. Passenger rail service stopped altogether by 1958. The number of cars on Somerville's streets continued to rise, and road construction projects proliferated. The Alewife Brook Parkway , Mystic Valley Parkway and
10812-474: Was due in part to improvements in pre-existing transportation lines, as well as a new rail line, the Lexington and Arlington Railroad , introduced through Davis Square in 1870. At its height, Somerville was served by eight passenger rail stations. Somerville's buoyant economy during this period was tied to industries that tended to locate at the periphery of the residential core, near freight rail corridors. By
10918-610: Was founded by Jean V. Hardisty , a professor of history. Hardisty had been hired by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois to conduct research on the rise of the anti-feminist and anti-abortion movements . She wrote her report for the ACLU, and then left academia to devote herself full time to defending democracy and human rights against organized attacks by right wing groups and movements. The first two people hired by Dr. Hardisty were Peggy Shinner ,
11024-469: Was known as the "Road to Newtowne" (renamed Cambridge in 1638). During the 1700s and early 1800s Somerville Avenue was "Milk Row," a route favored by Middlesex County dairy farmers as the best way to get to the markets of Charlestown and Boston. Laid out in 1636, Broadway was likely the second highway built in the area. Originally called "Menotomie's Road", it ran from the Charlestown Neck to
11130-468: Was told to patrol the East Somerville neighborhood of Glen Park at night without his issued firearm , night stick, Mace, or communication devices. Moore's name had been written on a barrel in the neighborhood and used for target practice by local youth. In the last years of the 20th century, the situation in Somerville stabilized and growth returned—first to West Somerville, and then the rest of
11236-491: Was used primarily as grazing commons and small farms. After the proliferation of the railroads in the area during the mid-1800s, industrialization transformed the landscape. In the 1800s, the Millers River was used as a sewer and dumping ground for local industry and would be ordered filled by the Commonwealth before the end of the century, for health reasons. As a result of landfill and the elimination of former Cobble Hill,
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