Community Archives news

Exhibit display with text and artwork including photography, prints and paintings

Black Collections exhibit celebrates Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. and Arizona Black artists

A new exhibit at Hayden Library on the Tempe campus is shining a light on the history of Black artists in Arizona.  ASU Library’s Black Collections presents a new exhibit featuring renowned artist, educator and community activist Dr. J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. (1918-2013) and h...

Two people sitting next to each other at a table looking at archival materials

Supporting the next generation of BIPOC community archivists

The ASU Library is embarking on a three-year project to nurture the next generation of community archivists currently attending community and Tribal colleges. With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, a $534,975 grant will establish the...

Myra Khan

Archiving Advocacy and Legacy - Myra Khan

I have always been a strong believer in the power of learning and legacy in activism. If we do not look to the strengths and weaknesses, the successes and failures of our predecessors, the hurdles before us become that much more difficult to surmount. Whether we fight for feminism, anti-racism, LGBT...

Five people sitting and standing with a bookshelf behind them

ASU Library archives initiative receives prestigious Archival Innovator Award

The Community-Driven Archives Initiative has been named a 2022 recipient of the Archival Innovator Award by the Society of American Archivists. The award recognizes creative approaches by archivists, repositories or organizations that have an extraordinary impact on a community through archives prog...

1925 yearbook photo

Photo album sparks discovery of ASU's first female African American graduate

Michele Neptune McHenry and her husband, Joseph McHenry, were slowly making their way through the photo album when they came upon the photos and name card. The card, gray in tone, was about 1-by-2 inches. On it was a name: Miss Stella McHenry....

Rashida Scott

Black Collections are Essential to the Learning Community - Rashida Scott Blades

Arizona State University (ASU) has over 559,300 alumni and has educated thousands more through certificate programs. With the continuous expansion of ASU, thousands more will be educated and have access to the library resources that ASU offers. This means that there has not been a Black Collection i...

Two women wearing masks sitting at a table talking and looking at photographic slides

Help Community-Driven Archives preserve diverse stories

For too long, most people have not been able to have their stories and history reflected in archives. “Seeing yourself in history, probably for the first time, and then reflecting on it leads to personal and collective healing. We humanize ourselves and others when we work with archives and share ou...

bell hooks, January 1999 (Margaret Thomas/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Idea: A reflection on bell hooks through ASU’s Black Collection - Rashida Scott

    “Whether the issue is ending racism, sexism, homophobia, or class elitism, when I interview folks about what leads them to overcome dominator thinking and action they invariably speak about love, about learning acceptance of difference from someone they care about. (h...

Eugene Grigsby

ASU Library event celebrates life of Black professor, community influencer

On Feb. 21 the ASU Library hosted an event to celebrate the J. Eugene Grigsby Jr. Papers, the first archive to join the library’s Black Collections, recently created as part of the university’s LIFT (Listen, Invest, Facilitate, Teach) Initiative. ...