Spring 2024 - 2.1 Black Archives/Archivos Negros

This year, as a community, we meditate on how archives inform public memory. How do we reclaim our voices within the archives of the dominant? Only through the act of careful listening and giving importance to our local narratives, can we begin to fill the gaps within our history books. For this issue, we give care and attention to Black stories as we hear from two generations who have lived and worked as artists in Riverside.

This year, as a community, we meditate on how archives inform public memory. How do we reclaim our voices within the archives of the dominant? According to data from the Society of American Archivists, only about 3% of professional archivists in the US identify as Black, and only 2% identify as Latinx. How do we bridge these gaps as a community and work to preserve what we’ve lost? Only through the act of careful listening and giving importance to our local narratives, can we begin to fill the gaps within our history books.