Dr. Adelaide Cromwell of Brookline has been selected for a 2015 Massachusetts Historical Commission Historic Preservation Award.
“The Massachusetts Historical Commission is proud to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of this year’s awardees,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth William Francis Galvin, Chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission. “I am delighted to recognize Adelaide Cromwell with an Individual Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Cromwell has brought her vast knowledge, her keen intellect, and her passion for historic places to the Massachusetts Historical Commission for more than 20 years. Because African American historical sites are often more vulnerable than others to being lost or forgotten, Dr. Cromwell’s dedication to identifying, documenting, and saving them has been a priceless asset to the city of Boston, to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and to the nation.”
Cromwell is one of 11 individuals, projects, and organizations to be honored. For almost seventy years, Cromwell has made significant contributions to the study of African American history, particularly the previously neglected history of African Americans in Boston. Over her long career, she has been instrumental in the documentation and preservation of historic places and buildings associated with this history. Cromwell holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College, a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a certificate in social casework from Bryn Mawr College, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Radcliffe College.
She also holds honorary degrees from Southeastern Massachusetts University, George Washington University, Boston University, and, most recently, her alma mater, Smith College. In 1954, Cromwell became the first African American professor appointed at Smith, and then served for more than 30 years on the sociology faculty at Boston University. While teaching at BU, Cromwell co-founded the African Studies Center in 1959 and in 1969 was appointed director of the new African American Studies program, a position she held until 1985.
When Cromwell arrived in Boston in the 1940s, the African Meeting House on Beacon Hill stood abandoned, and there was no indication that a thriving black community once populated this prominent neighborhood or the nearby West End in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cromwell’s scholarship and her advocacy throughout her career have concentrated on raising awareness of African American contributions in Boston.
