Harold T. Pinkett Student of Color Award

Purpose and Criteria for Selection:

Established in 1993, this award recognizes and acknowledges graduate students of color, such as those of African, Asian, Latinx, Middle Eastern/North African, or Native American descent, who, through scholastic and personal achievement, manifest an interest in becoming professional archivists and active members of the Society of American Archivists.

This award supports the Society of American Archivists' Archivists and Archives of Color Section objectives of:

1. Identifying students of color enrolled in postsecondary educational institutions.
2. Encouraging students of color to consider careers in the archival profession.
3. Promoting increased participation in SAA by exposing students of color to the experience of attending national meetings and encouraging them to join and remain members of the organization.

Recipients will be selected based on their submission of a completed application and the strength of their letter of recommendation and personal statement/essay. Personal statements/essays will be evaluated based on:

  • Overall clarity;
  • Understanding of professional goals;
  • Description of benefits of attending the SAA Annual Meeting; and
  • Description of your experiences with and/or commitment to working with, or documenting and preserving, the histories of communities of color.

Eligibility:

Awarded to students of color, with preference given to full-time students enrolled in a graduate program focusing on archival management during the academic year preceding the date on which the award is given. 

Sponsor and Funding:

Sponsored by the Society of American Archivists' Archivists and Archives of Color Section and funded through the SAA Foundation, the award is named in honor of archival pioneer Harold T. Pinkett, the first African American to be appointed an archivist at the National Archives, where he served for more than 35 years as a specialist in agricultural archives, senior records appraiser, and chief archivist of the Natural Resources Records Branch. A Fellow of SAA, Pinkett served as editor of The American Archivist from 1968 to 1971.

Prize:

Up to two awards may be given during an awards cycle. Each recipient receives full complimentary registration and related expenses for hotel and travel to attend the SAA Annual Meeting during the year in which the award is received. In addition, each recipient receives a complimentary one-year membership in SAA.

2021 Recipients: As the 2021 SAA Annual Meeting will be held virtually, 2021 recipients will receive complimentary registration to the 2021 virtual conference as well as one year of complimentary SAA membership (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022). They will also receive complimentary registration and travel support to the 2022 Annual Meeting in Boston (or the next annual conference that is held in person). The award cannot be extended past the next in-person annual conference.  

First Awarded:

1994

Selection Committee:

The committee consists of the chair of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section, one member of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section selected by the chair of the section to serve a one-year term, one SAA member selected by the SAA President-elect to serve a one-year term, and one of the co-chairs of the SAA Awards Committee (ex officio). The Chair of the Archivists and Archives of Color Section shall serve as chair of the subcommittee and shall present the award.

Application Deadline and Requirements:

Preview and/or begin the application. All applications must be submitted by February 28 of each year and include the following:

  • Personal statement/essay of no more than 500 words;  
  • CV or résumé. 

Harold T. Pinkett Student of Color Award Recipients:

2023: Zoe Hume (Florida State University, Museum Education and Visitor-Centered Curation Program)

2022: Erin Castillo (San Jose State University, Library and Information Science Program)

2021:  Aparna Subramanian (New York University, Moving Image Archiving and Preservation Program)

2020: Carol Ng-He (San José State University)

2019: Angela Osbourne (San José State University) AND Antonia Charlemagne-Marshall (University of West Indies)

2018: Juber Ayala (Rutgers University) AND Jessica Tai (University of California, Los Angeles)

2017: NaVosha Copeland (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) AND Chido Muchemwa (University of Texas at Austin)

2016: Gailyn Lehuanani Bopp (University of Hawai’i at Manoa) AND Karen Li-Lun Hwang (Pratt Institute)

2015: Talia Guzmán-González (University of Maryland, College Park) AND Rachel E. Winston (University of Texas at Austin)

2014: Allan Jason Sarmiento (California State University, Sacramento) AND Raquel Flores-Clemons (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

2013: Lori E. Harris (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) AND Angel Maria Diaz (University of California, Los Angeles)

2012: Kapena Shim (University of Hawai‘i Mānoa)

2011: Kelly E. Lau (University of British Columbia) AND Melvin J. Collier (Clayton State University)

2010: Miranda N. Rivers (Simmons College) AND Vivian Wong (UCLA)

2009: Krystal Appiah (University of California, Los Angeles) AND I-Ting Emily Chu (New York University)

2008: Monique Lloyd (Emporia State University) AND Tiffany-Kay Sangwand (University of California, Los Angeles)

2007: Bergis K. Jules (Indiana University) AND Janel Quirante (University of Hawaii at Manoa)

2006: Lanell James (University of Michigan) AND Shawn Phillip San Roman (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

2005: Jennifer Osorio (University of California, Los Angeles) AND Paul Sevilla (University of California, Los Angeles)

2004: Josué Hurtado (University of Michigan) AND Georgette Mayo (University of South Carolina)

2003: Michelle Baildon (Simmons College)

2002: Petrina D. Jackson (University of Pittsburgh)

2001: Rose Roberto (University of California, Los Angeles)

2000: Not awarded

1999: Teresa Maria Mora (New York University) AND Tywanna Marie Whorley (University of Pittsburgh)

1998: Elenita M. Tapawan (University of Hawaii, Honolulu)

1997: Gloria Meraz (University of Texas at Austin)

1996: Letha Johnson (Washburn University)

1995: Ida E. Jones (Howard University)

1994: Kathryn M. Neal (University of Michigan)