The late Congressman John Joseph Moakley played an important role in moving El Salvador beyond repression and rebellion to peace.  In doing so, he forged a lasting relationship with the people of El Salvador.

Exhibit - Connections: Suffolk University Keeps Moakley Legacy Alive in El Salvador

Connections: Suffolk University Keeps Moakley Legacy Alive in El Salvador presents a look at the ongoing relationship between Suffolk University and the Salvadoran people and reprises the El Congresista exhibit (.pdf) to provide a context for today’s efforts.  The exhibit will be on display at Suffolk University’s Adams Gallery from November 1, 2008 to January 12, 2009.

Historical Perspective

Moakley’s involvement in El Salvador began in the early 1980s after he met a Salvadoran couple who had sought sanctuary from the Salvadoran Civil War in a local church.  Moakley spent six years working to ease immigration restrictions on Salvadorans, and was later chosen to lead a congressional investigation into the 1989 murders of six Jesuit priests and two women at the University of Central America in San Salvador.  During this time, the United States, fearing a leftist takeover, had been pouring funds into Salvadoran military operations, but when Moakley’s probe revealed that the murders had been directed from the upper levels of the Salvadoran armed forces, Congress cut off military funding.  Moakley’s efforts led directly to a U.N. peace accord in 1992 and democratic elections in El Salvador.

Research Information

The Moakley Archive at Suffolk University has many resources that help illustrate U.S. foreign relations with El Salvador during the 1980s and 1990s and in particular, Congressman Joe Moakley’s work related to El Salvador’s civil war, the investigation of the murders of Jesuit priests in 1989, human rights and immigration.  Here are some useful links for doing research on El Salvador:

Congressman Joe Moakley and El Salvador: A Research Guide outlines our resources and guides users to other secondary source materials. 

The Suffolk/Moakley Archives Research Tool, or SMART, allows users to search our collection of archival holdings. 

Our oral history collection contains several interviews with people who have been involved with various issues in El Salvador.

Trips to El Salvador

Since 2007, the Moakley Institute has partnered with Suffolk’s Organization for Uplifting Lives through Service, or SOULS, and Suffolk’s College of Arts and Sciences to sponsor service learning trips to El Salvador.  These trips are designed to provide Suffolk students with a unique opportunity to live and work in the communities that Moakley visited and to learn about the lasting effects of his work there.  Members of these delegations live with local families, attend presentations, and participate in community service projects that allow them to contribute directly to making El Salvador a better place. 

Ways to Help

In the spring of 2008, the Moakley Institute partnered with Suffolk’s Organization for Uplifting Lives Through Service, or S.O.U.L.S., to collect much-needed medical and school supplies to send to El Salvador.  Visit the El Salvador Supply Drive page to learn how to contribute to this ongoing effort.

Ways to connect to and support the Salvadoran community in Greater Boston:

• S.O.U.L.S. (Boston, MA)
• Centro Presente (Somerville, MA)
• Chelsea Collaborative (Chelsea, MA)
• Latinos Unidos en Massachusetts (L.U.M.A.) (Everett, MA)