Archives & Things

Melissa J. Nelson
  • 5.0 (2)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE

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.

  1. 10/14/2025

    33 | BONUS: Openings

    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  Dr. Carol Anderson. “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.” Youtube. ⁠https://youtu.be/YBYUET24K1c?si=RDXrdc9qgSoROmT4  Association of Canadian Archivists’ Statement condemning racism, injustice, and violence against Black people (June 2020). https://archivists.ca/resources/EmailTemplates/!SC_2020_06%20ACA%20Scope%20and%20Content%20Volume%201,%20Issue%206%20June%202020/index_preview.html Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my website at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    9 min

  2. 09/29/2025

    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: Ruha Benjamin (2024). Imagination: A Manifesto. https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto Black Portraiture[s] Conference. https://www.blackportraitures.info/  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    43 min

  3. 08/14/2025

    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/  (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  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  Amanda Nkeramihigo (June 27, 2025). Afrofuturism and Postapocalyptic Subjectivity. 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  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ or contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    42 min

  4. 07/17/2025

    30 | Audra A. Diptee, Carleton University

    Summary: In this episode, I welcome Audra A. Diptee, an Associate Professor of History at Carleton University. Audra joined us to speak about her research on the weaponization of colonial archives to rewrite history.  Episode Resources: Audra A. Diptee. https://www.audradiptee.com/  Audra A. Diptée. (Apr 27, 2023). The records the British Empire didn't want you to see. YouTube. https://youtu.be/oPGVGckn7kQ?si=CnHTyoE6T6WH6DOG  Alex Williams. (2016). The Pass System. http://thepasssystem.ca/  Donald J. Trump. Executive Order. Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. (March 27, 2025). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/restoring-truth-and-sanity-to-american-history/  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    38 min

  5. 10/31/2024

    27 | Cheryl Foggo, C Foggo Co.

    Summary: It’s the last episode of the year. In this episode, I welcome Cheryl Foggo, an author, filmmaker, playwright and community historian. Cheryl joins us to speak about her work recovering Black Prairie histories through film and storytelling. Episode Resources: Cheryl Foggo (January 24, 2022). Here: The Prairies are rich with the collective memories of the Black people who came before us. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/here  Cheryl Foggo (2020). Pourin’ Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. https://bookpublishers.ab.ca/titles/pourin-down-rain-2/  Cheryl Foggo (2020). John Ware Reclaimed. (Film). https://www.nfb.ca/film/john-ware-reclaimed/  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my website at⁠ ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠⁠. You can connect with me on⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ or by email at ⁠melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    38 min

  6. 10/09/2024

    26 | Phil Vassell & Donna McCurvin, Canada Black Music Archives

    Summary: In this episode, I welcome Phil Vassell and Donna McCurvin, co-founders of Canada Black Music Archives. Phil and Donna join us to speak about this digital archive which aims to research, preserve, and amplify the rich, largely untold music history of Black Canadians.  Episode Resources: Canada Black Music Archives. https://thecbma.com/  Kayla McLean (August 10, 2024). A walk through time: New tour spotlights Little Jamaica’s music history. Global News. https://globalnews.ca/news/10690013/toronto-little-jamaica-tour/amp/  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my website at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ or by email at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    51 min

  7. 06/08/2024

    24 | Kadeem Dunn, Diaspora Games

    Summary: In this episode, I welcome Kadeem Dunn, a video game creator at Diaspora Games. Kadeem joins us to speak about his work recreating memory through historical video games.  Episode Resources: Diaspora Games. Games for us, by us. https://www.diasporagames.ca/index.html  Channon Oyeniran (February 8, 2019). Sleeping Car Porters in Canada. Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sleeping-car-porters-in-canada  Black Memory Collective [@black.memory.co]. Instagram post. What is a memory worker? Retrieved from, https://www.instagram.com/p/C5QiZnJg4qm/?img_index=1  Tonia Sutherland (2023). Resurrecting The Black Body: Race and The Digital Afterlife. https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520383876/resurrecting-the-black-body  Replika https://replika.com/  Hirun Cryer (May 17, 2024). Who is Assassin's Creed Shadows' protagonist Yasuke? The history behind the first Black Samurai explained. Games Radar. https://www.gamesradar.com/games/assassin-s-creed/who-is-assassins-creed-shadows-protagonist-yasuke-the-history-behind-the-first-black-samurai-explained/  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠ or contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    34 min

  8. 05/21/2024

    23 | Michaëlle Sergile, McCord Stewart Museum

    Summary: In this episode, I welcome Michaëlle Sergile, an artist and independent curator completing an artist residency with McCord Stewart Museum. Michaëlle joins us to speak about her artistic practice of capturing and rewriting collective memory through textiles. Episode Resources: Artworks. Michaëlle Sergile. Retrieved May 10, 2024, from https://en.michaellesergile.com/oeuvres  Cheryl Thompson (2019). Black Canada and Why The Archival Logic of Memory Needs Reform. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/ateliers/2019-v14-n2-ateliers05462/1071133ar.pdf  Fantz Fanon (1952). Black Skin, White Masks. https://groveatlantic.com/book/black-skin-white-masks/   McCord Steward Museum (2019). The Notman Photographic Archives on UNESCO's Canada Memory of The World Register. https://www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/blog/notman-archives-unesco/  Stay Connected: If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon. To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Instagram⁠, and ⁠Twitter⁠ or contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

    30 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Melissa J. Nelson
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2025
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Melissa J. Nelson
  • Show Website
    Archives & Things