reed peggram

When I discovered Reed Peggram, I knew there was something special and unique to his story and its place in my project. For one, there was the physical proximity to me. None of my subjects have ever lived anywhere near me in Mass, usually separated by an ocean. But Reed was born and spent most of his life in Dorchester, just 40 minutes from me. It has also brought me joy to represent a person of color in my project which is made of predominantly white people. Reed has been a breath of fresh air, and I haven’t read a book as fast as I’ve read his biography in many years. 

I want to especially thank Dr. Ethelene Whitmire, the author who told Reed’s life story in such rich detail, completing his dream of writing a novel of his adventures. Ethelene was very gracious in sending me an advance copy of the book so I could fully draw on Reed’s experiences for my research on him. 

Reed Peggram was born July 26, 1914 in Dorchester, MA. His father had served in WW I and suffered from mental health issues the rest of his life. When his mother remarried, Reed remained in Boston with his grandmother, Laura Reed. Even in MA, the family had to deal with racism and institutional obstacles.  

Reed’s aptitude for schooling revealed itself early on, and he was a very rare person of color that attended Boston Latin School, graduating in 1931. He loved reading, music, poetry, and languages, and was fluent in French, German, and Spanish. Reed was very charming, and studied others in order to try to fit in. Not only was Reed the first of his family to attend a traditional college, that college was Harvard, where he obtained two degrees, magna cum laude. Despite his success, letters of recommendation for him were always phrased in reference to his race “an unusually fine representative of his race.” Laura Reed spent the rest of her life working to support Reed’s education, utterly devoted to see her grandson succeed. It is because of Mrs. Reed’s collection of all of Reed’s letters that we have Dr. Whitmire’s account of his life. 

Reed had a strong crush on his friend Leonard Bernstein, who went on to become the famous composer. After Harvard, Reed studied at Colombia in NYC, but he dreamed of studying in Paris. He wanted to get away from the racism of the US and study and work where he would be treated more fairly, and he had heard that France was a place where black people could achieve this.

In 1938, Reed made his dream come true after receiving the Rosenwald Fellowship. Despite WWII looming, he proudly began his studies in Europe, picking up new languages as he went. During his travels, Reed met the Danish man Arne Hauptmann, and they fell in love. Arne was also a student of the arts and they became inseparable, hoping to move back to the US together. The war had broken out, and life became more difficult. They had many plans to escape but they were foiled over and over. They ended up in Italy, destitute and surviving off money Laura was sending and charity. Reed and Arne ended up stuck in Europe for nearly the entirety of the war. Harvard and the Rosenwald fund tried multiple times to get Reed out, arranging complicated and expensive transport. Reed refused over and over; without his Arne, he would never leave. While other queer people I’ve researched had to abandon lovers and partners during escapes, Reed bravely remained steadfast in staying with Arne, no matter the consequence. You can almost hear the desperation in his letters to the US begging for help, without revealing the true nature of their relationship. 

In northern Italy, Reed and Arne were being spied on by the fascist government. They were reported as “degenerates engaged in sexual perversion.” Both were interned in separate concentration camps in 1944. Horrible conditions plagued them; they were starving, freezing in the winter, living in filth with lice. After Arne’s camp was attacked by the allies, he was moved to Bagni di Luca and they were reunited. Reed faced a double persecution, as he was mistreated and placed in solitary confinement due to his race and connection to Arne. Reed stated that they were sentenced to death. Their luck suddenly changed when the allies bombed the camp. In the smoke and confusion, Reed desperately sought out Arne. Using the chaos and damage of the attack, they escaped together and fled into the mountains.

While surviving in the wild and in caves, they were helped by Italian partisans while hiding from the Germans. In December 1944, close to death, an incredible occurrence happened. The 370th Regiment of the 92nd Division, made entirely of black American soldiers, rescued them both. Reporters from black media were traveling with the Buffalo Soldiers Division, and interviewed Reed and Arne. One story written about them was cheekily titled “Boy Friends Scorn Bombs, Come out OK.”

I will leave the rest of the story for you to discover in the book. Reed died April 20, 1982 in Dorchester, MA. May his remarkable life forever live on in our collective memory of people of color and queer people who have had their histories erased or diminished.

Sources and Further Reading:

The Remarkable Reed Peggram, Dr. Ethelene Whitmire, 2026.

Resistance: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII, Avery Cassell 2018, pg. 147-149

Douglass Hall, "How Boston Lad Studying in Denmark Escaped Nazis: Rosenwald Student at University of Copenhagen, Reed Peg-gram Tells How He found Safety and Protection with the 92nd Division in Italy," Afro-American, March 17, 1945, 5.

Max Johnson, "Boy Friends Scorn Bombs, Come Out OK: Pal Scorns Money, Freedom to Stick," Amsterdam News, February 3, 1945, 1.

"Aided by Partisans," Rome Stars and Stripes, December 21, 1944, 5.

Max Johnson, "Two Scholars Flee Concentration Camp: Modern Damon and Pythias Story Revealed as Men Reach 92nd Lines," Afro-American, December 30, 1944, 1.

"A Modern Damon and Pythias Talk for the AFRO" Afro-American, December 30, 1944, 2.

John Jordan, "Two Men with Strange Story Walk Through Battle Lines," New Journal and Guide (1916-), December 23, 1944, 2.