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Preserving African American Historic
Records
by Karen Riles, Austin History Center, Neighborhood Liaison for
African American Outreach
Typically the word "preservation" evokes images of old buildings
in some historically significant neighborhood. But preservation
also includes historical records-family papers, diaries, letters,
legal documents, photographs, audio and video recordings, and computerized
data. These types of materials are important for their ability to
provide details about our Texas past. Unfortunately, like buildings,
historical records that document African American history are in
danger of being lost due to a lack of awareness of their intrinsic
value and deterioration through improper preservation practices.
The problem is widespread. For every African American family that
resides in this state there exists the potential for loss of a significant
piece of Texas' history. Materials as common as funeral programs,
photographs, scrapbooks, school albums, and personal diaries can
provide pertinent details about a person or an event in a family
or a community. These records possess the ability to transcend time
and outlive human memory. But they are often thrown away in "spring-cleaning"
or irreparably damaged in misguided attempts to preserve them.
Take for instance cherished family photographs. You know the ones.
They hang in prominent places in our homes; sit on tops of living
room tables in pretty frames or in those mass-produced "magnetic"
photo albums purchased at Wal-Mart. In some cases, they've been
tucked away under beds or in cardboard boxes in the attic where
they wait to be passed down to the next generation.
Unfortunately, you're not always able to pass them down. Why? Because
those one-of-a-kind black-and-white photographs of great-great grandma
being baptized in the Colorado River have been faded by ultraviolet
rays; rusted by paper clips; torn from bending; yellowed from the
adhesive used in the "magnetic" photo albums; riddled because you
stored them under the bed or in cardboard boxes in the attic where
they became bait for silverfish and bedding for mice.
How then do we start to address a problem that's so widespread?
For individuals, there are numerous books on preserving family photographs
and paper documents. Archival quality photo albums and other such
items can be purchased in most office supply stores if you know
what to look for.
For preserving the "collective memory" of African American communities,
perhaps we should follow the lead taken by the City of Austin. In
1999, the Austin City Council created a position for a Neighborhood
Liaison for African American outreach. This person solicits and
collects materials that document the history of African Americans
in Austin and Travis County from community members, businesses,
and organizations. The donated or copied materials are then added
to the collections at the Austin History Center, the local history
archive of the Austin Public Library, where they provide a wealth
of information to students and amateur researchers as well as scholars.
In addition, the liaison provides programs that include oral history
interviews, exhibits, and presentations based on the information
collected.
These preservation problems by no means are unique to African Americans.
Other groups, such as Mexican and Asian Americans, are losing their
historic records for similar reasons. However, through awareness
of the value of such materials we can begin to understand the need
to save them in the proper way.
For tips on preserving your family heritage, visit our Web site
at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/lbahcget.htm
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