Spelman College has received a $327,000 grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation to create community-based archives cultivated through partnerships between historically Black colleges and universities and the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance. The award, spearheaded by Michelle Robinson, Ph.D., director of Spelman’s Writing Center and Comprehensive Writing Program and professor of English, will support “The HBCU/HBTSA Summit, A Call and Response: Cultivating Partnerships between Historically Black Colleges and Universities and the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance.”
Students, faculty and local leaders will participate in the 18-month community historic preservation initiative that includes a combined geo-mapping project. The goal is to recruit a new generation of activists and preservationists for historically cultural spaces. “Community-based archives in historic Black towns and settlements are vital to preserving the identities, histories and cultures of marginalized people whose voices have not been well-represented in traditional, mainstream archives,” said Dr. Robinson.