WHEREAS Dorothy Berry has been actively involved in advocating for the increased visibility of records documenting African American life and culture, and
WHEREAS while serving as the Digital Collections Program Manager at Houghton Library, Harvard University, and in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the nationwide protests that followed, she advocated for that institution to commit to a year of digitizing only African American materials, and
WHEREAS she secured support for that commitment from administrators and colleagues as a clear demonstration of how archivists can advocate for Black lives by applying their influence within their own scope of work, and
WHEREAS she continues to encourage all archivists to understand and consider their own power and apply it to correcting past injustices within the already existing operations of an archival institution,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Dorothy Berry be honored with a 2021 Council Exemplary Service Award for her commitment to the preservation of and access to African American archival materials and setting an example for how all archivists can influence our own institutions to honor the legacy of marginalized communities.
Present August 3, 2021.