Summary:

It's the last episode of the Archives & Things podcast. In this bonus episode, I say goodbye to the last chapter of my journey and move forward into openings. I also bring light to the current Archivaria Editor Team’s acts of violence as a “humiliation ritual” and means for exclusion, gatekeeping, and destruction. I call on the Association of Canadian Archivists to honour their commitment to address the culture of white supremacy and violence against Black people in the archival profession. 

Episode Resources:

(Editors) Rebecka Taves Sheffield and Mario H. Ramirez. Call for Papers for Archivaria 100: Legacies of Critical Theory in Archives (Fall 2025). https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/announcement/view/83 

Dr. Carol Anderson. “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.” Youtube. ⁠https://youtu.be/YBYUET24K1c?si=RDXrdc9qgSoROmT4 

Association of Canadian Archivists’ Statement condemning racism, injustice, and violence against Black people (June 2020). https://archivists.ca/resources/EmailTemplates/!SC_2020_06%20ACA%20Scope%20and%20Content%20Volume%201,%20Issue%206%20June%202020/index_preview.html

Roger NMcKenzie, "The Rebirth of the African Phoenix a View from Babylon." https://www.manifestopress.coop/product/roger-mckenzie-the-rebirth-of-the-african-phoenix-a-view-from-babylon

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my website at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at [email protected]. 

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Petrina Jackson, Executive Director of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University. Petrina joined us to speak about advocacy and navigating the politics of white institutions.

Episode Resources:

W.E.B. DuBois, "The Souls of Black Folk." https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-Souls-of-Black-Folk/W-E-B-Dubois/Enriched-Classics/9781416500414

Ruha Benjamin (2024). Imagination: A Manifesto. https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto

Black Portraiture[s] Conference. https://www.blackportraitures.info/ 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at [email protected].

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Shane Laptiste and Tura Cousins Wilson, leading architects of Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). Shane and Tura joined us to speak about Black geographies and Black built environments as sites of remembrance.

Episode Resources:

Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). https://socadesign.ca/ 

(Eds.) Katherine McKittrick and Clyde Woods. (2007). Black Geographies and the Politics of Place. https://btlbooks.com/book/black-geographies-and-the-politics-of-place 

Tura Cousins Wilson and Shane Laptiste. (2025). “Conjay's First Walk Home.” In, Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/messy-cities-zahra-ebrahim/1146454519 

Amanda Nkeramihigo (June 27, 2025). Afrofuturism and Postapocalyptic Subjectivity. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09593543251347548 

Michael McMillan. (2024). AGO. The Front Room: Diaspora Migrant Aesthetics in the Home. https://ago.ca/events/michael-mcmillan-front-room 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ or contact me at [email protected]. 

Summary:

Welcome to the opener for season 4! In this episode, I welcome Audra A. Diptee, an Associate Professor of History at Carleton University. Audra joined us to speak about her research on the weaponization of colonial archives to rewrite history. 

Episode Resources:

Audra A. Diptee. https://www.audradiptee.com/ 

Audra A. Diptée. (Apr 27, 2023). The records the British Empire didn't want you to see. YouTube. https://youtu.be/oPGVGckn7kQ?si=CnHTyoE6T6WH6DOG 

Alex Williams. (2016). The Pass System. http://thepasssystem.ca/ 

Donald J. Trump. Executive Order. Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. (March 27, 2025). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/ 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at [email protected]. 

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Gabrielle Miller, a Program Specialist and Archaeologist for the Center for the Study of Global Slavery at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. Gabrielle joined us to speak about the Slave Wrecks Project, which searches for slave ships and tends to watery graveyards. 

Episode Resources:

Omnia Saed (August 26, 2024). For Black Archaeologists, the Atlantic Ocean is an Ancestral Graveyard. https://atmos.earth/for-black-archaeologists-the-atlantic-ocean-is-an-ancestral-graveyard/ 

Slave Wrecks Project. Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. http://slavewrecksproject.org  

In Slavery’s Wake. Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.https://www.searchablemuseum.com/in-slaverys-wake/ 

Christina Sharpe. (November 2016). In the Wake: On Blackness and Being. https://www.dukeupress.edu/in-the-wake 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and Instagram⁠ or contact me at [email protected]. 

Summary:

Welcome to the opener for season 4! In this episode, I welcome Camille Turner, an artist and scholar whose work combines Afrofuturism and historical research. Camille joins us to speak about her Afronautic Research Lab, a performance and social practice project that approaches colonial archives from the point of view of a liberated future.

Episode Resources:

Camille Turner. “Afronautic Memory and the Archive.” 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13534645.2022.2073691 

Camille Turner. https://www.camilleturner.com/ 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ or contact me at [email protected]. 

Summary:

It’s the last episode of the year. In this episode, I welcome Cheryl Foggo, an author, filmmaker, playwright and community historian. Cheryl joins us to speak about her work recovering Black Prairie histories through film and storytelling.

Episode Resources:

Cheryl Foggo (January 24, 2022). Here: The Prairies are rich with the collective memories of the Black people who came before us. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/here 

Cheryl Foggo (2020). Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. https://bookpublishers.ab.ca/titles/pourin-down-rain-2/ 

Cheryl Foggo (2020). John Ware Reclaimed. (Film). https://www.nfb.ca/film/john-ware-reclaimed/ 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my website at⁠ ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠⁠. You can connect with me on⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ or by email at ⁠[email protected].

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Phil Vassell and Donna McCurvin, co-founders of Canada Black Music Archives. Phil and Donna join us to speak about this digital archive which aims to research, preserve, and amplify the rich, largely untold music history of Black Canadians. 

Episode Resources:

Canada Black Music Archives. https://thecbma.com/ 

Kayla McLean (August 10, 2024). A walk through time: New tour spotlights Little Jamaica’s music history. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/10690013/toronto-little-jamaica-tour/amp/ 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my website at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ or by email at [email protected]. 

Summary:

In this episode, I was joined by my colleagues Désirée Rochat, Dr. Elizabeth Shaffer, and Aaron T. Francis of the Black Memory Collective. We presented virtually at the Association of Canadian Archivists Annual Conference. Our roundtable, “Black Dreams & the Archives” reflected on current/future possibilities within traditional archive spaces. 

Episode Resources:

Ruha Benjamin (2024). Imagination: A Manifesto. https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto

Robin D.G. Kelley (2003). Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/206173/freedom-dreams-by-robin-dg-kelley/ 

Black Memory Collective. https://blackmemorycollective.com 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠ or contact me at [email protected]

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Kadeem Dunn, a video game creator at Diaspora Games. Kadeem joins us to speak about his work recreating memory through historical video games. 

Episode Resources:

Diaspora Games. Games for us, by us. https://www.diasporagames.ca/index.html 

Channon Oyeniran (February 8, 2019). Sleeping Car Porters in Canada. Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sleeping-car-porters-in-canada 

Replika https://replika.com/ 

Hirun Cryer (May 17, 2024). Who is Assassin's Creed Shadows' protagonist Yasuke? The history behind the first Black Samurai explained. Games Radar. https://www.gamesradar.com/games/assassin-s-creed/who-is-assassins-creed-shadows-protagonist-yasuke-the-history-behind-the-first-black-samurai-explained/ 

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠ or contact me at [email protected].