Mining Memories: Black Radical Archival Practices
Each of the films in this program engage the archive in uniquely creative and engaging ways, going beyond conventional modes of presenting historical materials. These films push the boundaries of what an archive can be, and how it can activate Black diasporic memory. Mining Memories explore a wide range of themes ranging from collective memory to Queer identities, to Black musicality’s. Archives hold stories that reflect personal and communal identities, revealing deep-rooted truths and connections.
A question to ponder upon throughout this program is:
What does it mean to encounter oneself in the archive? Historically, institutional archives have devalued, silenced, displaced, left out, and or ruptured many narrative histories throughout the Black diaspora. Recognizing oneself in these records empowers individuals to reclaim their history and voice. Queer Black Woman. Black Historian. Black Father. We mine these memories to tell the necessary stories. Stories that have been withheld, misconstrued, or again straight up left out the conversation.
I want to leave with a quote from Jen Everett
“To affirm that I belong in this world, I look for us everywhere.”
