Community-Based Participatory Archiving
Honoring History, Uplifting Voices
The Brownsville Project is proud to partner with Solidarity Arts & Education Decolonial Initiatives (SAEDi) Collective on a groundbreaking community-based participatory archiving project. This collaboration is rooted in the belief that Black communities must have the power to reclaim, preserve, and tell their own histories—especially when official records fail to acknowledge the violence of displacement and erasure.
Many African American elders who lived through the dismantling of their communities have never had the opportunity to add their voices to the historical record. This project creates a space where Brownsville descendants can shape the narrative of their community’s past and future through storytelling, artistic interpretation, and archival research.
What We’re Doing
Through this partnership, we are:
Facilitating participatory archiving with Brownsville descendants to document family histories and lived experiences.
Supporting the interpretation of artistic and genealogical research that traces Brownsville’s history.
Developing best practices for community-led archiving, ensuring that descendants have agency in how their stories are collected and shared.
A Living Archive
This work is already coming to life. On May 18, 2024, Brownsville descendants gathered at the Frostburg Museum for a private event where they stamped their family names onto a commissioned art sculpture. This moasiac, informed by genealogical research from Backstories, represents the struggle and vibrance of the Brownsville community. The steel background maps the streets where families once lived, while colorful blocks symbolize the waves of displacement.
By bringing historical records, family photographs, and personal narratives into conversation with art, this project ensures that Brownsville’s legacy will not be forgotten—but instead, amplified for future generations. Community-based participatory archiving is more than preserving history—it’s about community repair and resilience. Through this work, we honor the past, strengthen intergenerational connections, and build a future where Black communities define their own histories.
