10/09/2017: Launch of the Maryland State Archives & UMD iSchool’s “Legacy of Slavery Program Collaboration”

The iSchool and the DCIC launched an innovative project with the Maryland State Archives (MSA) designed to support the MSA’s 17 year Legacy of Slavery program. The project was officially launched at a celebratory event on October 9 (2-4 pm) at the Maryland State Archives in Annapolis.

Program
Background
80+ attendees

State Archivist Tim Baker and iSchool Dean Keith Marzullo began the program before the 80 guests in attendance by describing the unique partnership between the two organizations that integrates education with research.​

Dr. Michael J. Kurtz, Associate Director, Digital Curation Innovation Center, College of Information Studies.
Opening Remarks: Mr. Timothy D. Baker, Archivist of Maryland.
Dr. Keith Marzullo, Dean, College of Information Studies.

Chris Haley, director of the Legacy of Slavery program and Richard Marciano, DCIC director, provided an overview of the Legacy of Slavery program, and how the two DCIC-led student teams (12 students total) will collaborate. The student teams will work with already digitized materials from the holdings of the Maryland State Archives (Census records, Certificates of Freedom) to capture the individuality of each freed former slave. This turns data into people. The ultimate goal is to visually display the digitized data and show the complex relationships between former slaves, slave owners, and local communities. Michael Kurtz, DCIC associate director, is the project coordinator, and Chris Haley and Ryan Cox of the MSA will be the project managers. Emily Oland Squires is the MSA Director of Research and Student Outreach.

Program Overview: Mr. Christopher E. Haley, Director, Legacy of Slavery Program, Maryland State Archives.
Haley at the podium.
Richard Marciano on the nature of computational treatments of LoS records.

Collaboration Projects: Dr. Richard Marciano, Director, Digital Curation Innovation Center, College of Information Studies.

Student team members Julia Folk, Will Thomas, and Zachary Tumlin provided their perspectives on why they joined the project and what it means to them.
The team includes 12 students:

  • MLIS students: Juli Folk, Zachary Tumlin, Claire McDonald, Kenneth Coulbourne, Maya Reid, Maggie McCready, and Jennifer Piegols
  • Info. Sci. undergraduate students: Ebony Ferguson, and Monica Urrutia
  • HiLS student: Emily Martin
  • MIM student: Akshat Pant
  • Doctoral student: Will Thomas
Student Remarks: Julia Folk.
Student Remarks: Will Thomas.
Student Remarks: Zachary Tumlin.

Emeritus Salisbury University Professor Dr. Clara L. Small concluded the event with an evocative presentation putting the project into historical perspective.

Historical Perspective: Dr. Clara L. Small, Salisbury University.

Lot Bell: amazing forensic portrait rendering made from Certificate of Freedom from 1819.Finally, some of the amazing and innovative work from the Maryland State Archives Legacy of Slavery Team. Recognizing and seeing Lot Bell nearly 200 years later!

Lot Bell: amazing forensic portrait rendering made from Certificate of Freedom from 1819.
Certificate of Freedom for Lot Bell in 1819.