Archives & Things podcast brings to the forefront the experiences of Black people who create, work with, and care for archival materials across North America. Your host, Melissa J. Nelson, is an archivist and educator based in Toronto, Canada. In these episodes, Melissa interviews members of her network who come from diverse backgrounds. What connects them is their interest in Black cultural memory, archives, and history. These episodes amplify the significance of archival possibilities and liberatory work for creating alternative futures. Learn more: www.melissajnelson.com
Summary:
It's the last episode of the Archives & Things podcast. In this bonus episode, I say goodbye to the last chapter of my journey and move forward into openings. I also bring light to the current Archivaria Editor Team’s acts of violence as a “humiliation ritual” and means for exclusion, gatekeeping, and destruction. I call on the Association of Canadian Archivists to honour their commitment to address the culture of white supremacy and violence against Black people in the archival profession.
Episode Resources:
(Editors) Rebecka Taves Sheffield and Mario H. Ramirez. Call for Papers for Archivaria 100: Legacies of Critical Theory in Archives (Fall 2025). https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/announcement/view/83 (https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/announcement/view/83)
Melissa J. Nelson. (2025). “Archives Association of Ontario’s virtual conference. Critical Hope in a Time of Uncertainty.” https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hd3Ae6epKudfk36YOz89Vq-a7U9nZTzq/view?usp=drive_link (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hd3Ae6epKudfk36YOz89Vq-a7U9nZTzq/view?usp=drive_link)
Dr. Carol Anderson (2016). “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.” https://www.professorcarolanderson.org/white-rage (https://www.professorcarolanderson.org/white-rage)
Jarrett M. Drake (2017). “I’m Leaving the Archival Profession: It’s Better This Way.” https://medium.com/on-archivy/im-leaving-the-archival-profession-it-s-better-this-way-ed631c6d72fe (https://medium.com/on-archivy/im-leaving-the-archival-profession-it-s-better-this-way-ed631c6d72fe)
@joixlee [Instagram] Ubuntu. “What dehumanizes you, dehumanizes me.” https://www.instagram.com/reel/DM71LZ1Io7E/?igsh=MTcyeGpndDV0bXM3aQ== (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DM71LZ1Io7E/?igsh=MTcyeGpndDV0bXM3aQ==)
@black.memory.co [Instagram] “Archival Turn. The Future is decentralization and redistribution. The Future is communal. The Future is repair.” https://www.instagram.com/p/DPMKSOYkeSD/?igsh=YXdtdG1qemx2dnlt (https://www.instagram.com/p/DPMKSOYkeSD/?igsh=YXdtdG1qemx2dnlt)
@Kathomi Gatwiri (2025). [LinkedIn] “Have you ever read the peer review feedback of a manuscript you spent months if not years working on and you literally had to shut down your laptop immediately…because the reviewers (your *supposed* peers) were just so of-the-scale unhinged, hostile and vile?” https://lnkd.in/p/g-QYfWwr (https://lnkd.in/p/g-QYfWwr)
Roger McKenzie (2025). “The Rebirth of the African Phoenix: A View from Bablyon.” https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rebirth-of-the-african-phoenix-a-view-from-bablyon-roger-mckenzie/1147334742# (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rebirth-of-the-african-phoenix-a-view-from-bablyon-roger-mckenzie/1147334742#)
Stay Connected:
If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1L2wadHsEHFv52o5VBFpmP), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/archives-things/id1608090727), and Amazon (https://www.audible.ca/pd/Archives-Things-Podcast/B0CM3PTZPB?eac_link=rsrraeNkkSc1&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0CM3PTZPB&qid=BmhEoBkYL4&eac_id=136-5209279-3982127_BmhEoBkYL4&sr=1-1&fbclid=PAAaYIe_Rpyt7W1_i0w4aVC4XbZquUxNSfnTdYoltRMndfqbwHLa5jXvFmTo8_aem_AdqXJSchGtbpK7R3tWqtxc8k7xgGMbHC64-FsE_OTbi0chq93qC1W2LkxrYWfstuHzY).
To learn more about my work, visit my website at https://melissajnelson.com (https://melissajnelson.com/). You can connect with me on LinkedIn (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissanelsonja) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mel_j_nelson/) contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com. (mailto:melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com)
29 Sept 2025
32 | Petrina Jackson, Schlesinger Library, Harvard University
Summary:
In this episode, I welcome Petrina Jackson, Executive Director of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University. Petrina joined us to speak about advocacy and navigating the politics of white institutions.
Episode Resources:
W.E.B. Du Bois (1903). The Souls of Black Folks. https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2282858/Du-Bois,-Souls-of-Black-Folk.Chapters-1-to-4.pdf (https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2282858/Du-Bois,-Souls-of-Black-Folk.Chapters-1-to-4.pdf)
Ruha Benjamin (2024). Imagination: A Manifesto. https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto (https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto)
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard (2022). Rehearsals for Living. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/675719/rehearsals-for-living-by-robyn-maynard-and-leanne-betasamosake-simpson/9781039000650 (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/675719/rehearsals-for-living-by-robyn-maynard-and-leanne-betasamosake-simpson/9781039000650)
Jarrett M. Drake (2019). “‘Graveyards of Exclusion:’ Archives, Prisons, and the Bounds of Belonging.” Medium. https://medium.com/community-archives/graveyards-of-exclusion-archives-prisons-and-the-bounds-of-belonging-c40c85ff1663 (https://medium.com/community-archives/graveyards-of-exclusion-archives-prisons-and-the-bounds-of-belonging-c40c85ff1663)
@this.cypher [Instagram] “All Skin Folk Ain’t Enemies.” https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKkpWFbxeNj/?igsh=NWtoeWUzYzY4eXJw (https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKkpWFbxeNj/?igsh=NWtoeWUzYzY4eXJw)
Stay Connected:
If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1L2wadHsEHFv52o5VBFpmP), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/archives-things/id1608090727), and Amazon (https://www.audible.ca/pd/Archives-Things-Podcast/B0CM3PTZPB?eac_link=rsrraeNkkSc1&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0CM3PTZPB&qid=BmhEoBkYL4&eac_id=136-5209279-3982127_BmhEoBkYL4&sr=1-1&fbclid=PAAaYIe_Rpyt7W1_i0w4aVC4XbZquUxNSfnTdYoltRMndfqbwHLa5jXvFmTo8_aem_AdqXJSchGtbpK7R3tWqtxc8k7xgGMbHC64-FsE_OTbi0chq93qC1W2LkxrYWfstuHzY).
To learn more about my work, visit my blog at https://melissajnelson.com (https://melissajnelson.com/). You can connect with me on LinkedIn (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissanelsonja) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mel_j_nelson/) contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com. (mailto:melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com)
14 Aug 2025
31 | Shane Laptiste & Tura Cousins Wilson, SOCA
Summary:
In this episode, I welcome Shane Laptiste and Tura Cousins Wilson, leading architects of Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). Shane and Tura joined us to speak about Black geographies and Black built environments as sites of remembrance.
Episode Resources:
Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). https://socadesign.ca/ (https://socadesign.ca/)
(Eds.) Katherine McKittrick and Clyde Woods. (2007). Black Geographies and the Politics of Place. https://btlbooks.com/book/black-geographies-and-the-politics-of-place (https://btlbooks.com/book/black-geographies-and-the-politics-of-place)
Tura Cousins Wilson and Shane Laptiste. (2025). “Conjay's First Walk Home.” In, Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/messy-cities-zahra-ebrahim/1146454519 (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/messy-cities-zahra-ebrahim/1146454519)
Amanda Nkeramihigo (June 27, 2025). Afrofuturism and Postapocalyptic Subjectivity. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09593543251347548 (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09593543251347548)
Michael McMillan. (2024). AGO. The Front Room: Diaspora Migrant Aesthetics in the Home. https://ago.ca/events/michael-mcmillan-front-room (https://ago.ca/events/michael-mcmillan-front-room)
Azure Magazine. (October 26, 2023). Design/Community: The Collaborative Future of Canadian Architecture. https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/design-community-the-collaborative-future-of-canadian-architecture/ (https://www.azuremagazine.com/article/design-community-the-collaborative-future-of-canadian-architecture/)
Stay Connected:
If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/1L2wadHsEHFv52o5VBFpmP), Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/archives-things/id1608090727), and Amazon (https://www.audible.ca/pd/Archives-Things-Podcast/B0CM3PTZPB?eac_link=rsrraeNkkSc1&ref=web_search_eac_asin_1&eac_selected_type=asin&eac_selected=B0CM3PTZPB&qid=BmhEoBkYL4&eac_id=136-5209279-3982127_BmhEoBkYL4&sr=1-1&fbclid=PAAaYIe_Rpyt7W1_i0w4aVC4XbZquUxNSfnTdYoltRMndfqbwHLa5jXvFmTo8_aem_AdqXJSchGtbpK7R3tWqtxc8k7xgGMbHC64-FsE_OTbi0chq93qC1W2LkxrYWfstuHzY).
To learn more about my work, visit my blog at https://melissajnelson.com (https://melissajnelson.com/). You can connect with me on LinkedIn (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissanelsonja) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mel_j_nelson/) or contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com. (mailto:melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com)
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Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
10 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
63
Social presence
94
YouTube
0
Engagement
77
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