Lae'l Hughes-Watkins, Candidate for Nominating Committee

Lae'l Hughes-Watkins

University Archivist, University of Maryland

"I think it will be critical to put a slate of candidates together that will have a strong portfolio of success in making room for historically underrepresented identities in leadership positions, who advocate for success of these communities and are willing to call out and address discriminatory practices within the profession and in spaces supposedly designed to nurture and support emerging leaders and change agents."

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• University Archivist, University Maryland, 2019–present.
• University Archivist, Kent State University, 2013–2018.

EDUCATION

• MLIS, Kent State University (Archives Concentration).
• MA, English, Youngstown State University.
• BA, Journalism and Political Science, Youngstown State University.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

• Society of American Archivists: Appointments Committee (2017–2018); Diversity Committee, Diversifying the Archival Record Case Study (2014–2016); Archivists & Archives of Color Section, Nominating Task Force (2014–2015).
• Project STAND: Founder (2016–present).
• MidWest Archives Conference: Nominating Committee (2016).

SELECT PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

• "Moving Toward a Reparative Archive: A Roadmap for a Holistic Approach to Disrupting Homogenous Histories in Academic Repositories and Creating Inclusive Spaces for Marginalized Voices," Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies 5 (2018): Article 6.
• “Between Two Worlds: A Look at the Impact of the Black Campus Movement on the Antiwar Era of 1968–1970 at Kent State University,” Ohio History Journal 124, no.1 (2017): 41–64.
• “Filling in the Gaps: Using Outreach Efforts to Acquire Documentation on the Black Campus Movement, 1965–1972,” Archival Issues 36, no. 1 (2014): 28–42.
• “Fay M. Jackson and the Color Line: The First African American Foreign Correspondent for the Associated Negro Press,” The Journal of Pan African Studies 3, no. 2 (2009): 119–134.

SELECTED PRESENTATIONS

• Keynote, 68 Movement Symposium, Middle Tennessee State University, Albert Gore Research Center, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (2018).
• Keynote, Documenting Movements: Archivists as Social Justice Advocates, Chicago Collections and Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC), Chicago, Illinois (2018).
• “S.A.V.E Methodology,” Society of American Archivists (SAA) Annual Meeting, Web Archiving Section. Co-Presenter: Trevor U. Watkins, Assistant Professor, Kent State University. Washington, D.C. (2018).
• “STAND: Documenting the Social Movements of Historically Marginalized Student Populations,” Panelist for Archives of Change. Ethics in Web Archiving Conference, sponsored by Rhizome, Knight Foundation, and DocNow. New York, Soho (2018). (juried) 

QUESTION POSED BY NOMINATING COMMITTEE

Although Nominating Committee members serve for just one year, their work has a lasting impact on SAA and its members through the selection of Vice Presidential, Council, and Treasurer candidates, as well as selection of the Nominating Committee slate that determines the next set of slates. Given the long-term reach of the Nominating Committee, what will be your approach in developing a slate of candidates that 1) demonstrates commitment to SAA's strategic goals and 2) facilitates the organization's mission of promoting the value and diversity of archives and archivists?  

CANDIDATE STATEMENT

Diversity and inclusion have become central to academic institutions and organizations looking to establish and implement strategies that create spaces reflecting the full spectrum of society. Providing a sense of belonging and importance to communities that are traditionally marginalized is a central pillar to initiatives launched by presidential task forces and non-profit organizations seeking to create a future that is “inclusive and diverse.” While the vision is noble, many academic institutions and organizations throughout the information profession remain plagued by toxic environments that lead to the departure of highly talented members, grievances, reports of statistics that show little growth in areas of diverse leadership, ongoing pay inequality, and continued discriminatory practices that are hypocritical to the very platforms meant to rally change.

The 2019 Nominating Committee has the opportunity to select candidates that are willing to acknowledge the failures of diversity and inclusion programming/strategies. I want to engage in thoughtful and intentional conversation that will manifest candidates who will challenge some of the previously held notions of what “works,” and perhaps chart a new territory, one that is not afraid to interrogate tradition and push beyond boundaries and still allow the organization to meet its 2018–2020 SAA Strategic Plan. I think it will be critical to put a slate of candidates together that are will have a strong portfolio of success in making room for historically underrepresented identities in leadership positions, who advocate for success of these communities and willing to call out and address discriminatory practices within the profession and in spaces supposedly designed to nurture and support emerging leaders and change agents. We must work to put in place candidates that will define and reflect who we want to be in the future and question who we are today.

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