As historians, much of our work and contributions to academia are focused on our use of archives. We rely on archives to find evidence of forgotten pasts, strengthen our understandings of identity, and enhance our theoretical frameworks. Archival research has the power to connect more people to our wider collective memory while broadly reimagining history for the current times. 

  Despite the vital importance of archives as historical chronicles and resources, the truths they house are being erased for the sake of politics. Recent attacks on the education system deeply affect how we teach and for underrepresented individuals, affecting how they exist on campuses in a climate that often denies their identity and presence.  Because we study history, we have seen this happen time and time again, and we know the consequences of these decisions.  

Many would say that we are living in a “post-truth” era, where “objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2016).  We are overloaded with information from multiple digital technologies and tools. The rise of misinformation can only prove the impact of records and archives.  

Let’s continue to value the authenticity, integrity, and reliability of archives as the guardians of objective historical truth. Perhaps, this time, we can advance our research to shape truth and drive change.  

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy,” Martin Luther King, Jr. said in the 1963 “Strength to Love” sermon series. As we honor and celebrate civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, there’s still much to do in the freedom struggle.  

Here are just a few of my favorite archives for research on diverse, marginalized communities and their publications: 

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem is one of The New York Public Library’s renowned research libraries. According to the website, ”It is a world-leading cultural institution devoted to the research, preservation, and exhibition of materials focused on African American, African Diaspora, and African experiences.” The Schomburg Center Scholars-in-Residence Program offers long-term and short-term fellowships to support scholars and their projects. The deadline is every December.  

The Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research in Los Angles was founded 60 years ago, the Library holds extensive collections of histories of community resistance in Los Angeles. For Black press scholars, Charlotta Bass, the editor/publisher of the California Eagle, has personal papers there as well as an extensive selection of Black publications and newspapers.  

Amistad Research Center in New Orleans is an independent community-based archive in partnership with Tulane University. According to the website, “the Center houses “15 million+ historical documents from the 1790s to the present and over 250,000 photographs dating from 1860 to the present. Amistad’s library collections include 30,000 books and pamphlets from as early as the 18th century and over 2,000 periodicals, including newspapers, scholarly journals, literary magazines, organizational newsletters, and general magazines.” 

The University of Florida Libraries’ Latin American and Caribbean Collection (LACC) is one of the leading research collections. According to the website, “It consists of over 500,000 volumes and includes all disciplines, although literature, the humanities and the social sciences are best represented.” Several publications and newspapers are digitized in English and Spanish. The Center of Latin America Studies offers travel grants to enable faculty researchers from other U.S. colleges and universities.