Launched in March 2021, the HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium (HCAC) funded through the National Museum of African American Culture and History and partners is a 5-year pilot initiative that’s shaking up the cultural sector. Partnering with select HBCUs (Jackson State, Tuskegee, FAMU, Clark Atlanta, and Texas Southern University), HCAC aims to strengthen their museums and archives, emphasizing authentic partnerships, community building, and mentoring future cultural leaders. Here’s what they’re up to:
- Training: Game-changing internships and fellowships for underrepresented groups.
- Collections Inventory and Digitization: An open-source archive of digitized HBCU collections.
- Executive Leadership Training and Development: Enhancing communications and integrating museums and archives into universities’ missions.
- Traveling Exhibition and Publication: Showcasing vast HBCU collections and creating an international catalogue.
- Project Evaluation and Expansion: Assessing and expanding the community of practice.
The HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium (HCAC) comes at a time of global transformation, re-imagining, and re-building. The Consortium represents a commitment to sustainable HBCU cultural institutions, and we are proud to stand with them in our collective efforts to preserve and interpret African American art, history, culture, and memory.
I’m beyond grateful to the team at Lord Cultural Resources (Canada) for giving me the chance to be part of these transformative initiatives, enriching cultural heritage and empowering future generations.
Hello! from Houston. Part 1.
