NWSA 2019: Archiving Activism-Alternative Ways of Documenting and Engaging with Social Justice by bfloresca

ARCHIVING ACTIVISM:

Alternative Ways of Documenting and Engaging with Social Justice

NWSA 2019

Bios

The Women are Marching: Collecting Voices of Protest

The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Issues of Privacy and Community Participation in Preserving Digital Records of Organizing and Protest

Take Back the Archives: Exploring the Records of Sexual Violence prevention Activism in the Era of #METoo. Documenting Online Social Protest and Activism: Archiving and Providing Access to Web Content

The Women are Marching: Collecting Voices of Protest

Mattie Taormina, Director, Sutro Library

The 2017 Women’s March was the largest single-day protest in U. S. history. The Sutro Library’s collection of posters and ephemera collected from this day encompasses the largest physical collection of March materials in the state. Incorporating a feminist ethics approach, these posters represent a conscious decision by a government entity to collect women’s voices and ﬁll the archives with a community experience not traditionally part of the archival record. This paper will explore how these artifacts afford scholars a unique opportunity to study and examine modern-day protests. It will also discuss how the concept of radical inclusivity can be applied in a non-academic, government framework.

California Women’s March posters and ephemera, 2017

Sutro Library’s collection of March materials is the largest of its kind in California. The bulk of this collection consists of 288 posters collected from various Women’s Marches in California, plus ephemera and artifacts that accompanied or supplements the posters. The ephemera includes testimonials, photographs, and media coverage. The artifacts include pussy hats, sashes, and pin-back buttons. The marches represented took place in Albany, Chico, Los Angeles, Oakland, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Rosa. There is also a small amount of materials from Californians who marched in Washington, DC.The collection is processed and open for research:

https://oac.cdlib.org/ﬁndaid/ark:/

13030/c89029hh/ .

The Revolution Will BE Digitized: Issues of Privacy and Community Participation in Preserving Digital Records of Organizing and Protest

Bernadette Birzer, Newcomb Archives and Vorhoff Special Collections

The records of contemporary activism and organizing are increasingly digital. This paper looks at the Women’s March on Washington photograph collection and the Response to Travel Ban collection at the Newcomb Archives: how these “born-digital” collections were acquired and efforts to protect the privacy of individuals represented in the, particularly undocumented students. This paper will also discuss recent initiatives through which the Archives supports the digitization of activist and organizer materials with an emphasis on shifting records ownership away from the institution and back to the community, reimagining the role of the archivist in the preservation of social justice.

BTW:

The Newcomb Archives collects, preserves, and makes available records that document the legacy of Newcomb College and the history of women and gender in the Gulf South. The Nadine Robbert Vorhoff Collection is a non-circulating special collections library devoted to women's education, prescriptive literature, culinary history, Newcomb authors, gender and sexuality, third-wave feminist zines, and other topics.

Collections with Digital and/or Born Digital Components

Response to the Travel Ban Collection

This collection consists of approximately 115 notes of support and solidarity with those

aﬀected by Donald J. Trump's executive order of January 27, 2017, which banned entry to the United States for persons from Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for 90 days. The notes were written by members of the Tulane community who participated

in a peaceful demonstration in protest of the Executive Order. The messages were displayed in the Oﬃce of International Students and later at the Newcomb Art Museum.

Women’s March on Washington

Drag Kings Video Collection

and oral histories of several New Orleans drag king performers.

of the project begun by Cristina Hernandez, a librarian at the Newcomb Vorhoﬀ Library, which sought to expand the center’s information and holdings on local

BreakOut!

and postcards pertaining to the Women's March on Washington that took place This collection consists of digital photographs, protest signs, oral histories, buttons on January 21, 2017. The digital photographs were taken by Tulane University students who attended the March, and by Newcomb College Institute aﬃliates who also attended the march in Washington or in New Orleans. The New Orleans Drag King Collection Project records documents the performances harassment and discrimination against New Orlean's queer and gender non-conforming organization based in New Orleans, Louisiana whose mission is to end criminalization, This collection documents the history and activities of BreakOUT!, a youth-led consist of photographs, videos, planning documents, reports, promotional materials, community, with a focus on youth and communities of color. The BreakOUT! records emails and newsletters created, collected, and published by BreakOUT!

It contains the records drag king culture. 7

FYI: BornDigital Activist and Organizer Materials

Born digital and digital archives are a type of non-traditional resource that now make up a large portion of materials created by [activist] organizers of social movements. Born digital files are created using electronic [internet] technologies and can consist of files containing social media activity (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat); email correspondence; websites; digital photographs; graphic design files for posters, programs, etc…; digital audiovisual files (MP3, MP4, WAVE, etc…); and any other type of digital file (maybe even video games or 3D files) collected or created by an organization or person. Digital files have different acquisition, processing, and storage procedures/requirements than traditional archival materials. Storage and preservation of these materials happens virtually via servers, cloud storage, and portable devices instead of in acid-fee boxes and on shelving. Access to digital materials is also different because the files will exist and be shared in a virtual environment like a share folder similar to DropBox, a digital repository, or even via a website. But like all materials found in an archive, files collected and stored are maintained by the archivists who manage them and the policies that are enforced at some type of structural/organizational level.

Reimagining the role of the archivist in the preservation of social justice

Protecting rights of all citizens by promoting fair use of information but also protecting privacy

Following a code ofethics, for example, the ALA,SAA, and AHAhave ones thatencourage

being neutral and that emphasize fairness and privacy

Creating professional ethics policies that govern privacy on an institutional level

Using the archives as a site for activism (they have evidential value!) for descriptive metadata and other vocabulary

Utilizing activists and community leaders’ personal experiences and subject expertise

Respecting the “right-to-forget” and creating long term policies that uphold this right

Helping activists preserve their legacy for long term storage and access

Promoting digital collections as community spaces

Usingdigital collections as ways todiversify onlinevocabulary for subjects

Decolonizing the archives by means of education, inclusiveness, and diversity

Take Back the Archives: Exploring the Records of Sexual Violence Prevention Activism in the Era of #MeToo

Chloe Raub, Head of Archives Newcomb Institute

Several U.S. colleges and universities have conducted climate surveys on sexual violence and harassment, revealing high numbers of undergraduates who have experience sexual assault. These numbers elicit emotional responses, sparking initiatives to end campus sexual violence. However, student-driven prevention efforts are nothing new. At Tulane University, students have engaged with records of organizers and activists dating back to the 1970s, Through creative projects like educational websites and online exhibitions, students consider the history of sexual violence prevention activism within the context of contemporary movements like #MeToo.

Background: Jerri Geer TBTN Photo Album, 1980. Available online at https://bit.ly/2NL3k11

Mary Gehman’sFeminist Ephemera: Violence Against Women

Online exhibit by Zoe Miller (BA’17, MA’18)

This exhibit draws materials from the “Feminist Ephemera Series” from the Mary Gehmanpapers at the Newcomb Archives (NA-142). The exhibit displays items about not only rape and sexual harassment, but also domestic violence, disparaging representations of women in the media, the group Women Against Violence Against Women (WAVAW), and the Take Back the Night march, founded by WAVAW and still operative today. This exhibit depicts how the dialogue surrounding and the language used to describe these atrocities have changed greatly in recent years. Certain items in this exhibit show how the issue was discussed at the time, such as the item “A Study of Rape Booklet,” in which the activism focuses on prevention and coping on the part of the victim, rather than preemptive efforts to stop the perpetrators from committing the crimes. Though the discourse surrounding culpability and equality is changing for the better, it is imperative we look to the past to understand how we can change the future.

https://exhibits.tulane.edu/exhibit/feminist-ephemera/

Background: Jerri Geer TBTN Photo Album, 1980. Available online at https://bit.ly/2NL3k11

A History of Sexual Assault Activism at Tulane University

Website by Ariana Anhalt (BFA‘19)

The importance of gathering and compiling all of this related archival documentation of social action taken against sexual violence towards women on campus lays in the idea that the more we discuss a taboo topic, the less taboo it becomes. Sexual assault has always been and still is taboo in our society. Seeing the efforts of various women, faculty and students with regards to sexual assault activism at Tulane University throughout history reveals the importance of standing up for what you believe in, and fighting tooth and nail for beneficial outcomes. This fight is definitely not over, but using our historical fuel has the potential to get us one step closer to fully obtaining equality and protection for women.

https://www.saatu.info/

Background: Jerri Geer TBTN Photo Album, 1980. Available online at https://bit.ly/2NL3k11

Recommended Resources Collections at Newcomb Archives

1. Drake, J. M. (2016). Expanding #ArchivesForBlackLives to traditional archival repositories [Panel talk from the 2016 ALA Conference in Orlando, FL]. https://bit.ly/2qsJaRg

2. Evans, M. (2015). Documenting Ferguson [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from Process: A Blog for American History website https://bit.ly/2JWzCFf

3. Jimerson, R. C. (2007). Archives for all: Professional responsibility and social justice. American Archivist, 70(2), 252-81.

4. Punzalan, R., & Caswell, M. (2016). Critical directions for archival approaches to social justice. Library Quarterly, 86(1), 25-42.

5. https://takeback.scholarslab.org/

https://archives.tulane.edu/

1. Mary Gehman papers, NA-142

2. Mary Capps collection on Sexual Assault, NA-257

3. Tulane Extension records, NA-030

4. Ruth Chang papers, NA-169

5. Change Happens guide, NA-326

Digitized Collections:

1. Distaff newspaper https://bit.ly/2pDwt6l

2. Distaff photographs https://bit.ly/32qRwGd

Background: design & image by Sarah Gottesdiener. Available at https://modernwomen.bigcartel.com/

Documenting Online Social Protest and Activism: Archiving and Providing Access to Web Content

Kris Kasianovitz—-@govinfogal---krisk11@stanford.edu

“By documenting social justice movements online, archivists are discovering the need to create collections of born-digital materials related to current events from both the fringe and mainstream. Many of these digital materials contain controversial or sensitive content, and archivists face challenges related to collection scope, ethics, access, liability, contexts, appraisal, technology, and staff safety.”

~Brooke Morris-Chott, https:// www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news/ in-news/archiving-controversialdigital-materials

Who’s been included or left out of web archives? Who’s voices and views should we make sure are included?

Archive-it Collections

https://archive-it.org/explore?q=activism&page=1&show=Organizations

Inequality in Higher Education: 2013-2014

Collected by: University of Michigan, School of Information

Keyword: activism

27 Collecting Organizations, 265 Collections, 8979 Sites

URL: https://archive-it.org/collections/4477

Black Lives Matter Web Collection

Collected by: University of Texas, San Antonio

Keyword: protest

15 Collecting Organizations, 37 Collections, 2749 SitesCollection

URL: https://archive-it.org/collections/7885

“Unite the Right” Rally and Community Response web archive

Collected by: University of Virginia

URL: https://archive-it.org/collections/9318

#meetoo Web Archives Collection

Collected by: Schlesinger Library

Keyword: social movements

9 Collecting Organizations, 16 Collections, 862 sites

https://archive-it.org/explore?

Issues in Women’s Rights

Collected by McGill University School of Information Studies

Keyword: women

7 Collecting Organizations, 90 Collections, 6726 Sites

https://archive-it.org/explore?q=women&show=Collections

URL: https://archive-it.org/collections/9993

Tamiment-Wagner: Other Left Activism

Collected by: New York University

Keyword: feminist

7 Organizations, 12 Collections, 261 Sites

https://archive-it.org/explore?q=feminist&page=1&show=Organizations

URL: https://archive-it.org/collections/6351

Fun Resources!

Web Archiving Tools (not entirely DIY)

•Webrecorder.io https://webrecorder.io/

•Internet Archive WayBack Machine, Save Page Now https://archive.org/web/

•Archiving Websites with Wget https://www.petekeen.net/ archiving-websites-with-wget

•ArchiveNow https://github.com/oduwsdl/archivenow

•Social Feed Manager https://gwu-libraries.github.io/sfmui/

•Contact your Library and ask if they are doing web archiving!

Discover Web Archives

•International Internet Preservation Consortium (IIPC) Collaborative Collections

•http://netpreserve.org/projects/collaborative-collections/

•Archive-It Explore Collections https://archive-it.org/explore? show=Collections

•List of Web Archiving Initiatives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_Web_archiving_initiatives

•Memento Time Travel http://timetravel.mementoweb.org/

Archives for Change: Activist Archives, Archival Activism. (2010, September 29). Retrieved October 18, 2019, from WITNESS Blog website: https://blog.witness.org/2010/09/archivesfor-change-activist-archives-archival-activism/

Archiving Controversial Digital Materials. (2019, August 15). Retrieved October 15, 2019, from Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University website: https:// www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news/in-news/archiving-controversial-digital-materials

Costa, M., Gomes, D., & Silva, M. (2017). The evolution of web archiving. International Journal on Digital Libraries, 18(3), 191–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00799-016-0171-9

Milligan, I. (2016). Lost in the Infinite Archive: The Promise and Pitfalls of Web Archives. International Journal of Humanities & Arts Computing: A Journal of Digital Humanities, 10(1), 78–94. https://doi.org/10.3366/ijhac.2016.0161

Rollason-Cass, S., & Reed, S. (2015). Living Movements, Living Archives: Selecting and Archiving Web Content During Times of Social Unrest. New Review of Information Networking, 20(1/2), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614576.2015.1114839

Velte, A. (2018). Ethical Challenges and Current Practices in Activist Social Media Archives. American Archivist, 81(1), 112–134. https://doi.org/10.17723/0360-9081-81.1.112

Weigle, M. (2018, September 19). On the Importance of Web Archiving. Parameters, Social Science Research Council website: https://items.ssrc.org/parameters/on-the-importance-ofweb-archiving/

THE END

NWSA 2019: Archiving Activism-Alternative Ways of Documenting and Engaging with Social Justice

ARCHIVING ACTIVISM:

Alternative Ways of Documenting and Engaging with Social Justice

CONTENTS

The Women are Marching: Collecting Voices of Protest

Mattie Taormina, Director, Sutro Library

California Women’s March posters and ephemera, 2017

FURTHER READING

The Revolution Will BE Digitized: Issues of Privacy and Community Participation in Preserving Digital Records of Organizing and Protest

Collections with Digital and/or Born Digital Components

FYI: BornDigital Activist and Organizer Materials

Reimagining the role of the archivist in the preservation of social justice

Recommended Reading

Take Back the Archives: Exploring the Records of Sexual Violence Prevention Activism in the Era of #MeToo

A History of Sexual Assault Activism at Tulane University

Recommended Resources Collections at Newcomb Archives

Documenting Online Social Protest and Activism: Archiving and Providing Access to Web Content

Archive-it Collections

Inequality in Higher Education: 2013-2014

Fun Resources!

Web Archiving Tools (not entirely DIY)

Discover Web Archives