In Arizona and across the country, Black, Indigenous and People of Color are underrepresented in history and archives. According to the 2012 Arizona Archives Matrix Project, Latinos, Black, Asian & Pacific Islanders, and the LGBTQ+ community make 42% of Arizona's population. Although BIPOC communities make up nearly half of Arizona, they are only represented in 0% to 2% of known archival collections.
Not only have BIPOC communities been nearly erased within archives in Arizona and across the nation, but when they are represented, the representation has been harmful at times. BIPOC communities in Arizona have historically faced trauma such as with gentrification, mass deportations, segregation and discrimination, racial profiling, and English-only language movements designed to assimilate them into American culture while robbing them of their cultural identities and heritage languages. The lack of archiving for these communities is not only erasing their identities, but also the struggles they have had to overcome.
The majority of marginalized communities are not familiar with archives or the role it can play in BIPOC memory keeping. This is why Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez, along with ASU Library’s Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative will reimagine and transform 21st century academic libraries and archives by dismantling racist power structures that lead to erasure and trauma for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. In order to address inequities and liberate archives from oppressive theory and practice, CDA is creating a podcast series that will tell the stories and history of BIPOC communities in Arizona. This will allow community members to tell their stories in their own voice and give them a platform to be represented on. This will help stop the erasure of BIPOC history in Arizona.
The episodes will be coming out soon and will be linked on this page. We cannot wait for you to hear them! We hope you enjoy!
Not only have BIPOC communities been nearly erased within archives in Arizona and across the nation, but when they are represented, the representation has been harmful at times. BIPOC communities in Arizona have historically faced trauma such as with gentrification, mass deportations, segregation and discrimination, racial profiling, and English-only language movements designed to assimilate them into American culture while robbing them of their cultural identities and heritage languages. The lack of archiving for these communities is not only erasing their identities, but also the struggles they have had to overcome.
The majority of marginalized communities are not familiar with archives or the role it can play in BIPOC memory keeping. This is why Adriana Gonzalez-Chavez, along with ASU Library’s Community-Driven Archives (CDA) Initiative will reimagine and transform 21st century academic libraries and archives by dismantling racist power structures that lead to erasure and trauma for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and LGBTQ+ individuals and communities. In order to address inequities and liberate archives from oppressive theory and practice, CDA is creating a podcast series that will tell the stories and history of BIPOC communities in Arizona. This will allow community members to tell their stories in their own voice and give them a platform to be represented on. This will help stop the erasure of BIPOC history in Arizona.
The episodes will be coming out soon and will be linked on this page. We cannot wait for you to hear them! We hope you enjoy!