Smithsonian to Help Preserve African American History and Culture Here

Community members are invited to bring their photos, home videos, and family documents for free digitization services through the Community Curation program of the National Museum of African American History and Culture to certain locations in Chicago this month.

“Receive digitized files originating from a range of your items – from your great-grandmother’s high school diploma to photos from your sorority chapter’s annual gala to the videotape of your family reunion. At the end of the hour-long session, the Smithsonian will provide a USB flash drive with digital copies of your collections,” said Morris “Dino” Robinson, founder and director of Shorefront Legacy Center.

“Keep in mind that what you select to be digitized will be available for the world to see, so bring with you what you don’t mind being public. You do retain the rights to your images/film,” Mr. Robinson said.

The Community Curation Program provides free digitization services and preservation help across the U.S. The program aims to encourage preservation and intergenerational story telling throughout the African American community. The program also hosts a free Community Curation Platform, where everyone is invited to share their personal history.

Through an arrangement with Shorefront, the Smithsonian media truck will be at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sept. 21-28.  It is recommended that items be brought to ETHS on Sept. 21 and 22, with pickup of the items and a flash drive on Sept. 28.

Other digitalization sites at different times are the DuSable Museum of African American History and Chicago State University. Partnering organizations are the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, the DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago State University, the Vivian Harsh Archives and Shorefront.

Those wishing to register for one of the free digitalization sessions or to obtain additional information should visit https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/family-history-center/community-curation-program/community-curation-chicago.