The History and Legacy of Black Entrepreneurship in the United States initiative aims to provide the Keller Center community with an opportunity to learn from the country’s most prominent academic scholars.
Presentation: Archiving Black Entrepreneurship: Lessons in Provenance, Nomenclature, and Care
This presentation explores the work of preserving Black entrepreneurial histories by revisiting a volunteer archive project.
While working on her dissertation, Sylvea Hollis processed the papers of the Colored Knights of Pythias (CKOP) and the Court of Calanthe (COC) at the Birmingham Public Library. The CKOP and COC ran fraternal insurance programs, created private child-saving institutions, and founded venues for Black entertainment.
The presentation considers the granular process of researching and preserving records. It foregrounds lessons learned and considers the future landscapes of Black entrepreneurial histories.
About the Speaker
Sylvea Hollis, PhD is an Associate Professor of African History and African American History at Montgomery College, where she also teaches courses in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Her research and public humanities work explores the intersections between race, gender, sexuality, archives, and memory. She is from Birmingham, Alabama.
Who can attend?
Open to the public, the campus community, students, postdocs, research scholars, faculty, staff, and alumni.