Collective Memory Database

The Black Ordinary’s Collective Memory Database features independent, community-based archives and archival projects focused on the preservation of Black-American history.

Please note that although museums are technically archival institutions, there are slight differences between the two: A museum's primary purpose is to display (art, artifacts, objects), and an archive's primary purpose is to preserve (documents, photographs, oral histories).

For a list of Black Museums, visit blackmuseums.org.

In an effort to preserve local stories by, for, and about the descendants of enslaved people with African ancestry, the following projects and community archives are not directly affiliated with an academic institution or public library.

Note: This list is perpetually growing and non-exhaustive.

Interested in adding your archive or archival project the database? Contact us!

The Philadelphia Black Metropolis is a city within a city built by more than 20,000 free Black people in Philadelphia in 1838. The 1838 Philadelphia Black Metropolis is also a movement to reclaim, rewrite and restore suppressed or forgotten Black Histories.

Afro Charities is a 501(C)3 organization that maintains and cares for the historic AFRO American Newspapers’ archives, and creates meaningful opportunities for our community to engage with this indispensable set of resources.

The ABAA exists to enhance the visibility of Atlanta’s African American archival collections in order to educate and empower diverse communities.

Community volunteers, "citizen archivists," are assisting staff in collecting primary sources related to Africans, African-Americans, and other persons of color who have resided in the Monadnock region of New Hampshire between 1730 and 1930.

The Beck archives are filled with over 50,000 objects spanning over 200 years of African American history and culture.

The mission of The Black Archives and Research Foundation of South Florida, Inc. is to collect, preserve and disseminate the history and culture of black South Florida from 1896 to the present.

The mission of the Black Archives of Mid-America in Kansas City, Inc. is to collect, preserve and make available to the public materials documenting the social, economic, political and cultural histories of persons of African American descent in the central United States, with particular emphasis in the Kansas City, Missouri region.

The Black Artists Archive creates a safe, supportive, and dynamic space for people to make, exhibit, learn, and preserve Black art history & visual culture.

The Black Beauty Archive's mission is to archive and preserve the rich legacy of Black Beauty Culture.

A community-driven media platform centering and amplifying the Black Detroit experience⁣⁣⁣.

The Society recognizes the importance for documenting the culture and heritage of Black people statewide, and advocates for saving places to uphold the notion that Washington State history is an essential link in the broader narrative that defines the story of our nation.

Black Image Center is a collective based non profit 501c3 founded by a group of young Black Photographers in Los Angeles. They aim to cultivate imagination through photography and economically empower Black storytellers and image makers.

The Black LGBT Archivists Society of Philadelphia (or ‘the Archivists Society’) was established in March 2007 as a vehicle for creating, collecting, preserving and exhibiting a rich and unedited history of Black/African-American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in Philadelphia, PA.

Created in 2020 in the midst of the global uprisings after the police murder of George Floyd, Black OC Archive is a project that works to highlight the experiences, issues, and radical traditions of Black and other oppressed communities in so-called Orange County, California and beyond.

The Black Scranton Project exposes our community to the historic narratives of the African American community of Scranton, PA and cultivates awareness and unity through arts and public history.

BWCC amplifies and contributes to storytelling about the history of Black communities, political organizing, and persistent racial inequity in Washtenaw County.

Taste of the Junction creates space for the community to come together to share, preserve, and celebrate the ever-changing, culturally-rich history of Valley Junction.

BlackPast is dedicated to providing reliable information on the history of Black people across the globe, and especially in North America.

To highlight African American stories and legacies and make visible those who have contributed to Bethlehem and Lehigh Valley local history.

The Flat Rock Archive, Inc is dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Flat Rock Community and the African-American Slaves and their descendants; and to sharing the experience of rural African-Americans from bygone eras with future generations.

Georgia Dusk is an intergenerational counter-narrative to the mainstream depiction of Georgia politics and the southern liberation movement.

The mission of the Hallie Q. Brown Community Archives (HQBCA) is to collect and preserve items of enduring historical value, primarily relating to the Rondo Neighborhood in St. Paul, Minnesota. HQBCA responsibly cares for the resources and Donated Items that have been entrusted to her, today and for future generations.

To preserve the historic legacy of Freedmen’s Town inspiring all through education and awareness of its unique story.

Centering the encounters of three Black communities with slow violence, suburbanization, and the expansion of Northern Virginia, this project hopes to highlight the work of Tinner Hill, Gum Springs, the village of St. Louis and other communities who have fought and continue to fight for access to homes, land, and the maintenance of their communities.

Oklahoma Black Living Legacy preserves Oklahoma City’s Black historical sites, legacies, artifacts, and builds awareness of Oklahoma City’s rich Black history to foster understanding and pride.