Spotlight on the BMRC’s Three New Community Archives Members Helping Keep Black Chicago’s Stories Alive

The Black Metropolis Research Consortium (BMRC) is honored to have been able to welcome three remarkable community-based archives member institutions within the last two years whose work strengthens our city’s collective memory and expands access to Black history and culture. The National Public Housing Museum (NPHM), the Chicago Black Social Culture Map (CBSCM), and the Haitian American Museum of Chicago (HAMOC) each bring a unique approach to archiving, storytelling, and community engagement. Together, they are helping to preserve the stories, spaces, and cultural traditions that shape Black life in Chicago and beyond.

The National Public Housing Museum invites visitors into the world of public housing residents by grounding its exhibits in the very building where many of those stories unfolded. Located in the last remaining structure of the historic Jane Addams Homes, the museum recreates real apartments from the 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s and pairs them with powerful oral histories. These spaces highlight the resilience, creativity, and community building that flourished within public housing, offering a more complete picture of residents’ lives beyond the stereotypes. NPHM also hosts programs such as the Listen podcast and the Right to Housing dialogues, which encourage discussions about housing as a human right and invites audiences to think about how policies continue to shape Chicago’s neighborhoods today.

While NPHM tells stories rooted in home and place, the Chicago Black Social Culture Map focuses on memory through movement. Created by Honey Pot Performance, CBSCM documents Chicago’s Black social and dance cultures through more than 350 mapped venues, from historic dance halls to contemporary house and footwork spaces. By collecting flyers, photographs, oral histories, and recordings, CBSCM preserves the energy and creativity of Black social life in Chicago. Their public programs, including the Mapping Black Social Dance series, bring dancers, DJs, and community members together to explore traditions like stepping, house, hip hop, and footwork. These gatherings highlight how social culture strengthens community ties and keeps Black Chicagoans creativity alive.

As gentrification and redevelopment continue to threaten cultural sites, CBSCM uses a practice known as restorative mapping to reassert the presence and lineage of Black communities in Chicago. It treats cultural memory as something alive, not lost. This approach aligns closely with BMRC’s mission to support discovery, preservation, and use of Black historical collections. In a recent interview published in the Windy City Times, artist scholar Meida McNeal shared that these projects help fill in the blanks of what happened in particular spaces and preserve stories that deserve to be known.

Located in Uptown, the Haitian American Museum of Chicago showcases the beauty and history of Haiti and its diaspora. As one of only two Haitian-focused museums in the United States, HAMOC plays a vital role in preserving and uplifting Haitian culture. Its exhibitions feature art, historical artifacts, textiles, and folk traditions, while its educational programs and oral histories highlight the experiences of Haitian immigrants in Chicago. Its online catalogue features more than 40 distinct collections, including the Vera Cook & Theresa Cook Collection and the Murielle Ludny François Desgrottes Collection. HAMOC has also expanded access to its remarkable collections through a digitization initiative supported by the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation’s Broadening Narratives program, making Haitian art and history more accessible for researchers and community members. For many in Chicago’s Haitian community, HAMOC is more than a museum. It is a gathering space, a cultural center, and a place where Haitian families can see their histories honored and shared. In early 2026 it was able to move into a newly purchased permanent home.

All three memory institutions participate in Faculty Organizing for Community Archives Support (FOCAS) Project, a Mellon Foundation funded initiative that allows the BMRC to place LIS graduate student interns from underrepresented backgrounds in community archives. These paid interns support digitization, cataloging, metadata, community engagement, oral history preservation, or any other tasks the archives need fulfilled, while gaining valuable professional experience and practical skills and contributing to real world projects that support living community archives. The project, developed in collaboration with faculty from nine universities in the U.S. and Canada formed to support paid internships at community archives, reinforces the BMRC’s commitment to equitable access and capacity-building in Black archives. This dual-impact model benefits both the community archives and the students. Institutions receive ongoing archival support, while the students also gain mentored, hands-on experience in archives management. This partnership strengthens the capacity of community-based archives while building the next generation of archivists, curators, and researchers.

The stories of the National Public Housing Museum, the Chicago Black Social Culture Map, and the Haitian American Museum of Chicago are not only institutional narratives. They are stories about people, communities, creativity, and cultural pride. Each institution reflects BMRC’s mission to expand access to Black archives and support community centered research. Through their collections, programs, and public engagement, NPHM, CBSCM, and HAMOC invite visitors and researchers to explore the vibrant histories that make up Black Chicago and its diasporas. These museums and archives show that history lives in everyday spaces. It lives in apartments, dance floors, neighborhood galleries, and in the memories of those who experienced it. By welcoming these institutions into the BMRC community, we strengthen our commitment to preserving Black histories and supporting the communities that keep those histories alive.