Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Alexandra Mills, the Special Collections Archivist at Concordia University Library. Alexandra joins us to speak about her work activating Black archives.

Episode Resources:

Patrick Lejtenyi (August 31, 2021). Montreal’s Black history archives continue to grow at Concordia’s Vanier Library. Concordia University. https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2021/08/31/montreals-black-history-archives-continue-to-grow-at-concordia.html

Dana Isaac. (Curator). (July 5, 2022) Black women in Canada - Filling a role, finding a role (Exhibit). Concordia University. https://library.concordia.ca/about/news/#guid=https://library.concordia.ca/about/news/#i5_Jul_2022_10:06:00_EDT

Desirée Rochat and Alexandra Mills. (Curators). (October 26, 2022). 100 Years of Black Community Activism: The Intersecting Histories of the NCC and La Maison d’Haïti. Concordia University. https://library.concordia.ca/about/news/#guid=https://library.concordia.ca/about/news/#i26_Oct_2022_14:45:00_EST

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Stanley H. Griffin, former Archivist-in-Charge of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Archives. Stanley joins us to speak about Caribbean archives and his work as a Senior Lecturer in Archival and Information Studies in the Department of Library and Information Studies, UWI Mona Campus, Jamaica.

Episode Resources:

Stanley Griffin (2021). “Where Records Dance, Song, and Talk: Exploring Caribbean Record Forms and Archival Studies.” The Archival Education and Research Initiative (AERI). https://youtu.be/-jHZEIFr_9A

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Professor Dr. Charmaine A. Nelson from NSCAD University (Nova Scotia College of Art and Design) in Halifax. Charmaine joins us to speak about her work as Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery (renamed Slavery North).

*Please excuse the audio quality*

Episode Resources:

NSCAD University. (n.d.). Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery. NSCAD University. Retrieved June 20, 2022, from https://nscad.ca/research/institute-for-the-study-of-canadian-slavery/

University of Massachusetts. (August 16, 2022). Prominent Scholar and Art Historian Charmaine A. Nelson joins UMass Amherst History of Art and Architecture Department. https://www.umass.edu/news/article/prominent-scholar-and-art-historian-charmaine-nelson-joins-umass-amherst-history-art#:~:text=Prominent%20scholar%2C%20art%20historian%2C%20educator,Visual%20Culture%20in%20fall%202022

Slavery North. Retrieved January 13, 2024, from https://slaverynorth.com/

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Natasha Henry-Dixon, historian and president of the Ontario Black History Society. Natasha joins us to speak about the Ontario Black History Society's campaign to build their own archives.

Episode Resources:

Ontario Black History Society. Donate to our museum fund. https://blackhistorysociety.ca/museum-cultural-centre/

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome historian Dr. Mary Louise McCarthy-Brandt from Remembering Each African Cemeteries History in New Brunswick (REACH NB). Mary joins us to speak about her research locating and documenting forgotten and abandoned Black burial grounds. She also shares her experience collaborating with the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.

Episode Resources:

Lauren Bird (Nov 30, 2021). New nonprofit seeks to locate and record gravesites of Black people in New Brunswick. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/black-history-new-brunswick-1.6267214

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome archivist/librarian Rebecca Hankins from Texas A&M University Libraries. Rebecca joins us to speak about her experience working with racist archival materials as a Black woman.

Episode Resources:

Rebecca Hankins. Capturing Controversy and Digitizing Racism: Yearbooks at Texas A&M University. July 15, 2020. https://tamu.libcal.com/event/6860107

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Sean Smith, Senior Archivist at the Archives of Ontario. Sean joins us to speak about his experience building relationships with Black communities in Ontario.

Episode Resources:

Melissa J. Nelson, Lopez Matthews and Sean Smith. Roundtable: Activating Archives and Anniversaries. Mary Ann Shadd Cary in the Here and Now Symposium. Penn State’s Center for Black Digital Research. Virtual. October 2, 2021. https://bwoaproject.org/events/shadd-cary/shadd-cary-symposium/

Alvin D. McCurdy Fonds. Archives of Ontario GLAM Wiki. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Images_from_Archives_of_Ontario_-_F_2076_Alvin_D._McCurdy_fonds

Stay Connected:

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

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

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome listeners to Archives & Things and explain the concept behind the creation of this podcast.

Episode Resources:

The podcast logo features the photograph, "Street View from Family Home" from my family archives. It was captured in October 1974 in Independent City, Jamaica. This archive was accumulated by my grandmother Barbara. My mother Catherine is the keeper of these records.

Land Acknowledgement:

As you listen in, this podcast was recorded on the traditional territories of many Indigenous nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. The land I am on is covered by the Toronto Purchase Treaty 13, which was signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit. This place is now home to many diverse Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island. As a Black woman, I know that Black and Indigenous struggles and oppressions are deeply linked. The displacement and enslavement that came from settler colonialism were integrative processes. I also acknowledge that settler colonialism is a current and ongoing process in this land. As I stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, I am also grateful for the opportunity to live, create, and work on this land.

Stay Connected:

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

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