Why is it important?

Starting in 2009 archivists attending the annual Arizona Archives Summit (AAS) began to address serious concerns from archivists around the state regarding a number of issues facing Arizona archives. Those issues were unprocessed backlogs, underrepresented communities/topics, and collection development. Specifically, the issue of underrepresented communities/topics was of great concern to the roundtable of archivists: “Of particular concern was the realization that several marginalized communities were not being properly supported in the historic record amongst the State’s archival repositories.” In 2012 the Arizona Archives Matrix project revealed startling data collected from a two-year-long process of data research conducted by archivists from around the state (click here to learn more about the history and methodology used to collect this data). The analysis reviewed 5,400 unique collection descriptions and provided results that led to preliminary discussions by the attendees regarding the future development of separate, culturally responsive tools that would assist this project going forward that would benefit Native American archives across Arizona.      

When you break down the results and apply demographic details regarding the  populations with the state of Arizona, you find archival records lacking in many areas. Currently, Latinos, Black, Asian and the LGBTQ+ communities make up over 42 percent of Arizona’s population but only account for 0-2 percent of known archival collections in the state. With the knowledge that a mere 0-2 percent of archival material in Arizona represents Latinos, Black, Asian and the LGBTQ+ communities, an urgent call was put forth by archivists from around the state to address this critical issue facing archives within Arizona.

These historically marginalized communities have a right to exist. As archivists of color, we understand the importance of the historical record of the communities we come from. With current and past legislation targeting communities of color here in Arizona, like SB 1070 or the 2017 ruling banning ethnic studies programs in the Tucson Unified School District, the continued dehumanization of these communities is a direct reflection of their erasure from the archives. Here at Arizona State University (ASU) Library, we are committed to moving forward with the knowledge that the ongoing preservation of stories from marginalized communities needs to be a top priority not just for ASU but for Arizona as a whole. This is why community archiving is important and why we are so committed to correcting the historical record here in Arizona. Join us in this mission by attending an Archives & Preservation Workshop or a Scanning and Oral History Days event or by joining our Community Advisory Committee or if you are a student attending ASU consider the Student Advisory Committee. 

  

Contact me, Jessica Salow, with feedback at Jessica.Salow@asu.edu, as I would love to hear from you your thoughts regarding the work we here at ASU are doing in community archiving around Arizona. We also want your feedback on what you would like to see from us in future blog posts. In next week’s post we will be talking in more detail about the Andrew W. Mellon grant ASU received in 2017. See you next week!