Week Twenty-Seven at the Maryland State Archives

I spent much of last week preparing for two major presentations that I was giving. I called upon many of the skills and knowledge that I developed in grad school to create what I hope were engaging and historically accurate lectures! I like using a lot of images of records in my presentation, and it can take quite some time to find just the right ones that are relevant, concise, and legible enough for introducing the public to history and archives. I think my hard work paid off as I got a great response to both presentations. The first, about African American life in Maryland during the 1860s-1880s, was held at the Laurel Historical Society. The society currently has an exhibit on display that details Laurel’s mill life during that era. Since African Americans were not allowed to work at the mill, the director invited me to speak in order to give a fuller picture of Laurel’s history in the decades after the Civil War. There was an audience of about twenty-five people, who were quite engaged. They enjoyed learning about historical methods for analyzing documents as well as learning more about Maryland’s history. Last Saturday, the Study of the Legacy of Slavery in Maryland held a program at the Banneker-Douglass Museum as part of their Harriet Tubman Day activities. I gave a presentation to coincide with our exhibition on flight that is on display at the museum. There were about a dozen attendees, and we had an active discussion about slavery and African American history in Maryland. These experiences reminded me once again how important cultural heritage institutions are in providing informal learning opportunities for the public.

Aaisha’s recent blog post also reminded me that the deadline for applying for a scholarship for the Rare Books and Manuscripts Preconference is approaching on March 30. I was able to attend a couple of years ago because I received a scholarship, and it was a great opportunity to learn about and meet new people associated with the rare books side of the field.

Krystal