Archivist. Writer. Educator.
There is often a focus on negative emotions in archives. Historical records document the breath of humanity including trauma and pain. Traditional archival practices are rooted in colonial logics. There is a violence to the archives. Yet, there is also joy. There is the joy documented in the records. There is the joy experienced by archivists,…
Archives play an integral role in shaping public perceptions of Black life. Accessing the archives allows us to expand our understanding of the past and create new ways of seeing and connecting to Black people. However, archives are deeply rooted in settler colonialism. Archivists have privileged the voices and perspectives of white society in their…
For more information about reparative description, watch my presentation “Reparative Description: Confronting Anti-Blackness in Archives.” I also offer the workshop, “Description and Access for Anti-Black Archival Materials.” For inquiries, please contact me. As Meaghan Alston explains, the process to remediate description is known by many names, including, “reparative description, inclusive description, inclusive metadata, conscientious description,…
Completing a degree is daunting. Which classes are the most useful? Which skills are your profession looking for? How can you ensure you are employable? While I was completing my Master of Information Studies degree at McGill University, the Mentorship Program from the Association of Canadian Archivists (ACA) was the only mentorship opportunity I was…
This post inspired the creation of the workshop: “Description and Access for Anti-Black Archival Materials” which was delivered at the Association of Canadian Archivists Annual Conference virtually on June 8, 2021. This workshop is available to cultural heritage institutions. If you are interested in working with me, please contact me. There are many issues that…
Project Overview The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives has a collection of recorded interviews on audio cassettes that date from 1977 to 2010. The Church’s Committee on History has encouraged church congregations to conduct interviews with ministers, missionaries, and church workers to understand their experiences working for the Church. These interviews also serve as an…
The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives has a collection of recorded interviews that have been conducted with ministers, missionaries, and church workers to understand their experiences working for the church. These oral history interviews are recorded on audio cassettes and date from 1977 to 2010. The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives has agreed to work…
This summer, I worked as a Project Archivist for The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives. As part of my employment, I was responsible for processing the Mark Young Stark family fonds. Rev. Mark Young Stark served as the Presbyterian Minister in Ancaster, Ontario from 1833-1854 and in Dundas, Ontario from 1833 until his retirement in…
Last summer, I worked as an Archives Assistant – Digital Content for George Brown College Archives. In this position, I developed a collection on the Internet Archive to allow the archives to provide online access to recently digitized college newsletters, student newspapers, annual reports, yearbooks, and images. At first, I was asked to create a…
This post reflects on a Wikipedia lecture and workshop that took place at McGill University. Before this lecture, It had never occurred to me that Wikipedia was a powerful source of information. My education had conditioned me to dismiss Wikipedia as unreliable, and assume that it had no real effect on public knowledge. However, globally…
