Please designate “Black Feminist Archive” or “BFA” in Special Gift Instructions
For more information on becoming a part of the Archive, contact me at: blackfeministarchive@gmail.com
The Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive
Archives are where histories are recorded and written, but even at their best, they are imperfect reflections of an imperfect world. Inequities in whose writings are collected produce inequities in whose histories become known, and the failure of vision of one generation becomes failure for the next. The profound contributions to scholarship and activism made by Black Feminists, for example, are still seldom seen in archives, so that the full record of their achievements remains under-recognized and underappreciated.
To raise awareness of the issues and increase visibility of the unique contributions of women of color, the Department of Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) and the W.E.B. Du Bois Center at the UMass Amherst Libraries have joined with Distinguished Alumna Dr. Irma McClaurin MFA ’76, MA ’89, PhD ’93 in establishing the Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive.
Our stories, our voices, our lives, are too often disregarded, marginalized and left on the cutting floors of films, the editing screens of books, while archivists have ignored us. This archive will be a game changer by preserving and showcasing the intellectual and activist contributions of Black Feminists for all eternity.
– Irma McClaurin
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McClaurin Delivers Keynote on the Black Feminist Archive for Midwest Regional African American Studies Biennial Conference
On March 12, 2021, Dr. Irma McClaurin delivered the keynote address via Zoom to the Midwest Regional African American Studies Biennial Conference. The two-day program, held via Zoom because of COVID-19 restrictions, had the theme of “Anti-Racism: Centering the Voices of Black Women.” Ball State African American Studies Program, Teachers College, and the Office of
July 13, 2021 -
Irma McClaurin Wins Wenner Gren Grant for Black Feminist Archive
Irma McClaurin Wins Wenner Gren Grant for Development of Black Feminist Archive in Special Collections and University Archives, April 2020 April 1, 2020 Irma McClaurin, who earned her Ph.D. and MFA from UMass Amherst, was recently awarded a $15,000 Historical Archives Grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Inc. The funds are for the continuing development of the Irma McClaurin
April 11, 2020 -
December 23, 2018 @CiteBlackWomen Podcast featured Dr. McClaurin discussing her Black Feminist Archive
This unique collective, movement, and community uses social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) to raise awareness about the intellectual, artistic and political erasures of Black women world wide. With a new website and blog, they have launched the Cite Black Women podcast, a bi-weekly program with a simple message: Cite Black Women. “We have been producing
January 1, 2019 -
Black Feminist Archive Trailer
The Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive is unique. It will be interdisciplinary Black Feminist archive that is global in scope, and specifically devoted to finding and preserving the contributions of Black women who Black feminists, womanists, ordinary women, activists, artists and scholars. Without a Black Feminist Archive to document our presence, we become invisible in history. The Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive is on a mission to change that.
May 22, 2018 -
Dr. Irma McClaurin, Black Feminist Archive Founder, is one of “UMass Women Philanthropists You Should Know”
Dr. McClaurin is one of four “UMass Women Philanthropists You Should Know” as the black feminist archive founder of the Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She now travels the United States as a Keynote Speaker and leadership consultant and guru spreading the word about the Archive.
May 4, 2018 -
Dr. Janelle Hobson interviews Dr. McClaurin about “Curating History” and Building a Legacy with the Black Feminist Archive
Success EASILY FOLLOWS IRMA McClaurin, black feminist activist,…now committed to transforming history with the Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive, a collection she has spearheaded at her alma mater, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
May 3, 2018 -
UPCOMING: Dr. McClaurin Presenting on the Black Feminist Archive at AAIHS Conference, Brandeis University, March 29- 31, 2018
Dr. Irma McClaurin will participate in the African American Intellectual History Society (AAIHS) Third Annual Conference Brandeis University, March 30-31, 2018 (https://www.aaihs.org/general-information/). She will present on “Building a ‘Home’ for Black Intellectual Thought in the Irma McClaurin Black Feminist Archive” on the panel “Strategic Approaches to Creating, Teaching, and Preserving Black Intellectual Thought.” Other presenters
March 27, 2018