The Southern Historical Collection's African American Collections and Outreach Archivist and Outreach Programming for African

FAIN: CH-233629-16

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1350)
Bryan Giemza (Project Director: May 2015 to October 2019)
Nicholas Graham (Project Director: October 2019 to present)

Endowment funding for an African American Collections and Outreach Archivist and associated outreach programming for African American History.

The Southern Historical Collection in UNC-CH Wilson Special Collections Library is applying to the NEH Challenge Grant program for a $500,000 matching grant. The SHC will raise permanent endowment funding ($1,500,000) in matching gifts from individuals and foundations. Income for the endowment raised will support the salary and benefits for the position of African American Collections and Outreach Archivist and will provide the resources needed for that person to conduct outreach programming to in African American history and archives. The long term goal is to strengthen community-driven archives and create sustainable curatorial partnerships with historically under-represented communities.

Media Coverage

UNC archivists are reaching out to communities that have been ignored by history (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Peaslee, Emma
Publication: Carolina Connection
Date: 4/6/2019
Abstract: UNC’s Wilson Library is renowned among scholars for having some of the best southern historical artifacts – photographs, letters, audio recordings used by researchers to write history. But there is a perception that you have to be a person of power or great importance to have your belongings stored there. UNC’s Southern Historical Collection is hoping to change that by rethinking the way archivists interact with communities.
URL: https://carolinaconnection.org/2019/04/06/unc-archivists-are-reaching-out-to-communities-that-have-been-ignored-by-history

Backpack-Sized Archiving Kit Empowers Community Historians to Record Local Narratives (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Meier, Allison
Publication: Hyperallergic
Date: 6/21/2018
Abstract: The new Archivist in a Backpack project from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill equips community partners with tools to start material and oral history archives.
URL: https://hyperallergic.com/444554/archivist-in-a-backpack/

Lost in the Stacks Episode 404: Community-Driven Archives (Media Coverage)
Author(s):
Publication: Lost in the Stacks: the Research Library Rock'n'Roll Radio Show
Date: 11/30/2018
Abstract: Discussion of community archives and the archivist in a backpack program.
URL: https://lostinthestacks.libsyn.com/episode-404-community-driven-archives

Chaitra Powell | Movers & Shakers 2017 – Innovators (Media Coverage)
Author(s):
Publication: Library Journal
Date: 5/13/2017
Abstract: Announcement of Chaitra Powell being named a Library Journal "Mover and Shaker" for 2017.
URL: https://www.libraryjournal.com/?detailStory=chaitra-powell-movers-shakers-2017-innovators

Wilson Library tells the story of 400 years of African American migration history (Review)
Author(s):
Publication: Daily Tar Heel
Date: 12/1/2019
Abstract: Review and Discussion of the "On the Move" exhibit.
URL: https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/12/wilson-on-the-move-1202-5de468df541cd

'Archivist in a Backpack' Makes It Easy to Record Local History on the Go (Media Coverage)
Publication: Mental Floss
Date: 6/25/2018
Abstract: Discussion of community archives and the Archivist in a Backpack program.

Associated Products

Tiny Paintings: Handmade Artist Cards from the Charles Alston Collection (Exhibition)
Title: Tiny Paintings: Handmade Artist Cards from the Charles Alston Collection
Curator: Powell, Chaitra
Abstract: Announcement for an exhibit of art by Charles Alston.
Year: 2016
Primary URL: https://library.unc.edu/past-exhibits/tiny-paintings-handmade-artist-cards-from-the-charles-alston-collection/

On the Move: Stories of African American Migration and Mobility (Exhibition)
Title: On the Move: Stories of African American Migration and Mobility
Curator: Powell, Chaitra
Abstract: The year 2019 marks 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were brought by force to North America in 1619. It’s an anniversary that caused Chaitra Powell, African American collections and outreach archivist at Carolina’s University Libraries, to reflect on other examples of physical and social movement in African American communities over time.
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://library.unc.edu/2019/09/on-the-move/

This [Black] Woman’s Work: Exploring Archival Projects that Embrace the Identity of the Memory Worker (Article)
Title: This [Black] Woman’s Work: Exploring Archival Projects that Embrace the Identity of the Memory Worker
Author: Powell, Chaitra
Abstract: Archivists who work on African American collections are increasingly more aware that traditional sites of African American agency and autonomy are becoming more unstable. The need to capture the perspectives and histories of these institutions is urgent. The challenges become more acute when communities recognize the need to preserve their legacies but do not have the resources or support to make it happen. African American material culture and history remains at risk of co-optation from large institutions and individuals seeking to monetize and profit from collecting Black collections. Endemic in that process is the risk of these institutions controlling the narrative and inadvertently or deliberately erasing the narratives of these diverse communities from that community’s perspective. Cultural memory workers focused on African American collections face numerous challenges: the risk of losing the materials or communities themselves; partnering with organizations and administrations with differing, and perhaps conflicting agendas; working on projects with limited or term funding; and the emotional labor of being a person of color in a predominantly white field trying to support communities that can often reflect their own experiences. How can libraries, museums, and archives bring these communities into the world of archives and empower them to protect and share their stories? How can archivists, particularly those of color, find support within their institutions and the archival profession, to accomplish this work of preserving African American cultural heritage? How can archives support genuinely collaborative projects with diverse Black communities without co-opting their stories and collections?
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://kula.uvic.ca/articles/10.5334/kula.25/
Access Model: Open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: KULA: knowledge creation, dissemination, and preservation studies
Publisher: KULA: knowledge creation, dissemination, and preservation studies

I was here. Don't forget me. A preeminent Southern historical archive at Carolina. (Article)
Title: I was here. Don't forget me. A preeminent Southern historical archive at Carolina.
Author: Ellis, Morgan
Abstract: Profile of Chaitra Powell and the Southern Historical Collection.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: https://stories.unc.edu/magazine/shc/
Access Model: Open
Format: Other
Publisher: UNC-Chapel Hill

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