One of the wonderful things about archival records is that they can “give voice” to people from the past: a civil rights activist from Alabama, a farm wife from Kansas, a Chicano politician from Texas, a World War I pilot, a factory worker from Detroit, a fly fisherman from Montana, a schoolchild in Alaska. What amazing voices exist in your archives?
This month we hope you’ll share some examples of individuals from the past who have a unique, surprising, or very compelling story to tell. They need not be “famous.” In fact, we hope you will tap into the diversity of voices and experiences that our records represent — the people who might normally go unheard but who have compelling stories that we can share.
Please take time in March to share with us at least one “voice” from your archival collections. Keep it simple and concise. In just a paragraph (or two), tell us the highlights of the individual’s life or role and indicate why you think his/her voice is important. You may want to include a quotation or photo if it helps to tell the story. Here’s the website link:
http://www2.archivists.org/living-dangerously/voices-from-the-archives
After you’ve submitted the story through the SAA website, think about how you can share this person’s life with others — maybe via a Facebook or blog post to your users, tweeting quotations from a diary, engaging a journalist to do an article in your local newspaper. Find a way yourself to give voice to the incredible people in your archival “neighborhood”!
Off the Record 