Safe Spaces for Diversity - BIPOC Records Professionals

Safe Spaces for Diversity - BIPOC Records Professionals, moderated by Melissa J. Nelson

The safe space virtual sessions are safe spaces set aside and reserved for archives workers and records managers from historically excluded groups in our profession to connect with one another in an informal, participant-driven environment. These sessions are open to students, emerging, and established professionals, as well as those working in volunteer and activist roles. 

Location: Zoom 

Recording: These sessions will not be recorded

Registration: $0 (AAO members, student members, and non-members) 

Meetings are governed by the AAO's Code of Conduct as well as a guideline of confidentiality. It is essential that all participants agree to keep confidential the identities of individual participants and any names that may be mentioned during their time together, as well as any attributed specific comments. Agreement about this point is required. 

About the Moderator:

Melissa J. Nelson is a second-generation Jamaican Canadian from Toronto, Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in History, with a minor in Sociology, from Carleton University. She also completed a Master of Information Studies at McGill University. Her work and research interests include the preservation of Black cultural heritage and ethics of care in the preservation of harmful archival materials. Melissa explores her interest in history and archives in her blog melissajnelson.com. She is the author of "Archiving Hate: Racist Materials in Archives." This blog post has been referenced by collecting institutions in their commitment to equity practices, including, Baker Library of Harvard Business School in "Guiding Principles for Conscious and Inclusive Description." In her spare time, Melissa enjoys managing her podcast Archives & Things.