One of the exciting outcomes of empowering people to become community archivists is seeing how those tools impact them. This week our student worker, Preetpal Gill, shares an example of how archives resonate with her. We’d love to hear more about what archives mean to you. Please contact Jessica Salow (jessica.salow@asu.edu) if you have a story you’d like us to feature on our blog.
A Love Letter to Reclaiming Identity for Archivists of Color:
Identity is the voice and layers of our vulnerabilities from the body and skin that we wear to the rhythm and hunger of our minds and to the spirit that blooms and grows with every step that we take. It is our story, our voice and the beauty of our existence. It is not still, singular or uniform. It is the expression of chaos and movement that we live each and everyday.
The feeling of trying to grasp your own identity is endless, and feels like it's never tangible, never expressible especially in a world where you need to always know who you are, where boxes and labels are slapped on. But it sort of leads you to a comfort and understanding when you release your inner thoughts and confront who you are. To know who you are seems like it's impossible in the chaos of the world but it is important to be vulnerable and be open to expressing it with others. Identity is fluid and magical. It is rooted in the realities that you live that seemingly feel so isolated. We may seem like a product of labels, but there is power in being who you are and claiming it. Reclaiming my identity has brought so much relief to my anxious self of trying to fit in and belong. As much we want to escape labels, there is power in reclaiming parts of identity and vocalizing our own narrative.
Our identity is our story. It is our voice. From the body that we wear, to the rhythm of our minds, the spirit of every individual is bloomed by an experience that we may or may not share but we can listen and understand. The beauty of each and every single person is their narratives.
