86. Nashid Madyun Fights the Compression of Black History at the Meek-Eaton Black Archives
Welcome to Museum Archipelago in Your Inbox, which does exactly what it says on the tin. Museum Archipelago, your audio guide to the rocky landscape of museums, is hosted by me, Ian Elsner.
History professor Dr. James Eaton taught his students with the mantra: “African American History is the History of America.” As chair of the history department at FAMU, a historically Black University in Tallahassee, Florida, he was used to teaching students how to use interlibrary loan systems and how to access rare book collections for their research. But in the early 1970s, as his students' research questions got more in depth and dove deeper into Black history, he realized that there simply weren't enough documents. So he started collecting himself, driving a bus around South Georgia, South Alabama, and North Florida to gather artifacts.
That collection grew to become the Meek-Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum on FAMU’s campus. Today, museum director Dr. Nashid Madyun presides over one of the largest repositories of African American history and culture in the Southeast.
In this episode, Madyun describes how the structure of the gallery flights the compression of Black history, how the archive handles dehumanizing records and artifacts, and how a smaller museum can tell a major story.
I've been in museums for 20 years and when I came into museums, the majority were mainstream. There were only a few African American museums. If there was an African American museum, it was an African American historic house. - Dr. Nashid Madyun
SPONSOR: This episode of Museum Archipelago is proudly sponsored by SuperHelpful, an audience research and development firm dedicated to helping museum leaders create more equitable and innovative organizations through problem-space research. SuperHelpful just launched a new, private community for cultural leaders (and emerging leaders) who want to create more equitable and innovative organization called Museums-As-Progress (MAP).
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Gallery Continues ⏭️
One of the rarer aspects of the Meek-Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum is that the collection interprets Black history in general. It is not based around a single event in history. In 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) opened in Washington, D.C., also presenting the sweep of African American history.
In episode 14 of Museum Archipelago, we talked to some of the people who were part of the early interpretive planning team on that museum: Sara Smith and Andrew Anway.
🏖️Club Archipelago: Museum Archipelago Moved to Bulgaria!
Hello from Sofia, Bulgaria!
In my most recent episode recorded the day we took off, I discuss recording episodes in my hometown of Tallahassee, Florida, the preparations for the move, and what I hope to learn about the Bulgarian museum landscape.