16 Black Feminist Archival Projects You Need To Know About
Top row (left-right): Photograph shows Dorothy B. Porter, an African American librarian and curator at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, probably at the Library of Congress. June 2, 1970. Library of Congress, Photographer, Duplication Service, photographer via Wikimedia Commons; Southern Sisters: Heroines Making History published by International Women's Day Committee. Generated by "Southern Sisters: Heroines Making History," a project made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council (1985) via Wikimedia Commons; Kimi Gray and Marion Barry at an October, 1988 ceremony pledging tenant ownership for Kenilworth Courts. (© 1988, The Washington Post. Photo by James K.W. Atherton via Kenilworth Brochure.
Bottom Row (left to right): Black women protesting. Retrieved from Pinterest; photo of Roberta Flack cd cover by Photo by Mike Von on Unsplash; and Mary McLeod Bethune, ca. 1910, by State Library and Archives of Florida and Florida Memory via Wikimedia Commons. | Photo by Jaimee A. Swift
By Jaimee A. Swift
Black women and gender non-conforming and non-binary people’s histories, productions, leadership, and activism has often been overlooked, forgotten, and ignored in the United States and beyond. Here are 16 Black and Brown women-led archival projects that are reclaiming and restoring what white heteronormative patriarchal revisionist history tried to destroy and take from us.
Throughout history and even in the contemporary, Black women and gender non-conforming and non-binary people’s political, cultural, and intellectual productions have been chronically overlooked, ignored, and even erased. However, there have always been Black women and gender non-conforming communities who stood at the vanguard of uncovering our socio-political contributions, our collective , spiritual, and political memories, and more.
Below are 16 Black feminist community-based and collective, cultural, and political memory archival projects led and created by Black women and gender non-conforming and non-binary archivists, artists, activists, writers, and curators. Whether it is art and culture; vintage collectibles and curiosities; reclaiming Black joy; the power of Pan-Africanism; vintage Black glamour or hip-hop, these projects are critical tools in restoring and reclaiming past, present, and future understandings of the pivotal significance of Black and Brown women and gender non-conforming people as cultural, political, and historically custodians.
“We Been Essential”: Chronicles of Black and Brown Essential Workers
First-generation Dominicana-Mexicana artist and curator, Ayling Zulema Dominguez, and Collective Resistance, a collective of Black Womxn & Black Feminists from The Bronx, partnered to create the archive “We Been Essential.” The archive documents the stories and experiences of Black and Brown essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interested in sharing your story? You can submit here.
Fulton County Remembrance Coalition
Allison Bantimba (third from left in the photo) is a racial justice organizer & consultant. She founded & leads the Fulton County Remembrance Coalition (FCRC) which is in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative’s Community Remembrance Project. The project is an effort to memorialize the 36 Black men, women & children who were lynched in Fulton County, Georgia through soil collection. You can visit FCRC’s website and follow FCRC on Instagram.
Race Women
Created by nonfiction writer, editor, and producer, Maya Millett, Race Women is a “project honoring our Black feminist foremothers.” The project highlights the beauty, resistance, and strength of early Black feminist pioneers and how their work, leadership, and activism paved the way for current and future generations of Black feminists. You can follow Race Women on Instagram. You can read our interview with Maya Millett here. | Photo Credit: The Spelman College class of 1898. Retrieved & sourced from Race Women and rewire.org.
The Caribbean Archive
Created and founded by Zainab, the Caribbean Archive “is an Instagram page that will solely hold the purpose of education. This page will focus on Afro-Caribbean women and the ways in which they navigate different spaces with an intention of decolonizing the ways in which European empires have destroyed, conditioned and plagued the Caribbean nationally and globally.” You can follow the Caribbean Archive on Instagram. | Photo via the Caribbean Archive.
Not Ur Mammy
“Not Ur Mammy” is a “retelling of history through the voices of enslaved Black women.” The project was created by Crystal Des Ogugua, who is the Manager of Programs and Innovation at Black Feminist Future. Photos and interviews featured in the project are courtesy of the Library of Congress. | Photo Credit: Betty Simmons of Beaumont, TX. Library of Congress. Retrieved from Not Ur Mammy.
Black Women and the Archive
The Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) curated an important series focusing on Black women navigating the contours of archival research. Whether it is Black women’s experiences in conducting archival research in Argentina; the life and times of Ann Barramont, a Black Carib woman; and the critical work of archivist Beth Howse; you can read more about ABWH’s Black Women and the Archives series here. You can follow ABWH on Twitter here. | Photo Credit: Deborah Gray White, Nell Irvin Painter BI ’77, and Darlene Clark Hine RI ’04. Photo by Stephanie Mitchell, Harvard News Office. Retrieved and sourced from ABWH.
Archives on Black Women
Dr. Melissa Brown is the founder of Blackfeminisms.com, which is “centered on feminism and women of the African Diaspora.” Dr. Brown created an extensive list of collections on archives of Black women. You can follow Blackfeminisms on Twitter here. | Photo retrieved and sourced from Blackfeminisms.com.
Black Lesbian Archives
Created and founded by multimedia artist and archivist, Krü Maekdo, Black Lesbian Archives “was created on June 25, 2017 to bring awareness, build our community, educate and preserve our culture while bridging intergenerational gaps.” You can follow Black Lesbian Archives on Instagram. You can read our interview with Krü Maekdo here. | Photo retrieved and sourced from Black Lesbian Archives.
Black Archives
“Founded in 2015 by Renata Cherlise, Black Archives is a collaborative multimedia platform featuring archival histories and modern day stories from across the Diaspora.” You can visit Black Archives website here. You can follow Black Archives on Instagram. | Photo: “Minority Youngsters Who Gathered To Have Their Picture Taken On Chicago's South Side During A Community Talent Show, 08/1973” by John H. White. Retrieved from the U.S. National Archives. Sourced from Black Archives.
The Black Joy Archive Project
The Black Joy Archive Project was founded by Zoë Pulley, a designer based in Brooklyn, NY. The purpose of the project is to “serve Black people as a therapeutic practice in self-preservation and self-esteem, as we are continually asked to face painful imagery of folks who look like us.” You can submit to the Black Joy Archive Project here. | Photo retrieved and sourced from Zoë Pulley’s Instagram.
Bilphena’s Library
Bilphena Yahwon is “a Baltimore based writer, abolitionist and restorative practices specialist born in Liberia, West Africa. She is the creator of Bilphena’s Library, an online library dedicated to archiving free texts from Black women across the diaspora. Bilphena’s work uses a womanist approach and centers women’s health and well being, intersectionality and abolition.” You can follow The Womanist Reader on Instagram. | Photo retrieved from The Womanist Reader.
BLK MKT Vintage
Founded and curated by Brooklyn-natives Kiyanna Stewart and Jannah Handy in November 2014, BLK MKT Vintage “is a collection comprised of black collectibles, cast-off's and curiosities, representing the richness of black history and lived experience. the collection includes found items like vintage literature, vinyl records, clothing, art, housewares/decor, furniture and other goods.” You can follow BLK MKT Vintage on Instagram. You can also read their collecting while blk series, which is a “digital dialogue about the black folks' relationships with/to vintage curiosities and artifacts.” | Photo sourced from BLK MKT Vintage on Instagram.
Vintage Black Glamour
Nichelle Gainer is the creator of Vintage Black Glamour, which “showcases photographs and stories of inspirational women who epitomized black glamour.” You can buy the Vintage Black Glamour book here. You can also sign-up for the Vintage Black Glamour newsletter here. | Photo retrieved from The Vintage Black Glamour website.
SUNU Journal
The SUNU: Journal of African Affairs, Critical Thought + Aesthetics “is an independent, Pan-African, post-disciplinary, global, multimedia platform founded in 2015.” SUNU was created and founded by Amy Sall, a Senegalese-American cultural entrepreneur who serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal. You can visit the SUNU journal here. You can follow SUNU Journal on Instagram and Twitter. | Photo retrieved and sourced from SUNU Journal’s Twitter.
The Gates Preserve
The Gates Preserve is created and curated by art collector and archivist, Syreeta Gates, who “is committed to preserving hip-hop culture. As a collector, Syreeta curates collections that capture the music and movement of hip hop.” She is responsible for “creating productions like “Yo Stay Hungry” -- a live culinary competition that bridges hip hop with food and beverage and “Write On! The Legend of Hip-Hop’s Ink Slingers,” a documentary film featuring the never before told story about the writers and journalists that created and shaped the language for hip-hop culture.” You can visit Syreeta Gates’ website here. You can follow Syreeta Gates on Instagram.
Black Women Make Art
The mission of the Black Women Make Art Database (BWMAD) is “to open up eyes and minds to the rich vastness of Black women visual artists from the past to present, working in all disciplines--painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, digital art, performance, etc.” Artist, writer, traveler, and creator of AfroVeganChick, Janyce Denise Glasper is the creator of Black Women Make Arts. You can visit Black Women Make Art’s website here. You can follow Black Women Make Art on Twitter. You can follow Janyce Denise Glasper on Twitter and Instagram. | Photo Credit: Image credits: Sonya Clark (top left), Sungi Mlengeya (top right), Juana Valdez (bottom right), Frida Orupado (bottom center) and Billie Zangewa (corner right). Retrieved from the Black Women Make Art website.