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Community Needs and Assets Assessment from the Black Metropolis Research Consortium

Do you want to enter to win an Archival Toolkit & preserve your photos, letters, and documents for years to come?  

Black stories are often overlooked by institutions that collect historical materials. Here at the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, a Chicago-based membership association of libraries, universities, museums, community/arts organizations, and other archival institutions, it is our vision to be essential to the preservation of Black histories in Chicago. In line with our mission of helping Black Chicagoland communities preserve their legacies, we are conducting a Community Needs and Assets Assessment (CNAA) to understand the general knowledge and resources needed to preserve your histories. Based on what we learn, the BMRC will host 6 virtual community workshops in 2021, including a discussion about the CNAA results in April. You can help us decide what topics to cover in these workshops by filling out this survey or attending the community discussion! 

Help us understand what Black Chicagoans need to preserve their histories and receive entry into our Archival Toolkit Raffle!  

Survey link: http://bit.ly/BMRCCNAA 

Enter the Archival Toolkit Raffle at the end of the survey to win one of 10 toolkits that include: 

  • an acid-free box filled with 
  • acid-free folders, 
  • photo and document sleeves, 
  • a USB drive, 
  • a notebook, 
  • pencils, 
  • a tip sheet about how to archive your historical materials, 
  • a list of apps you can use to archive and conduct oral histories, 
  • and a brochure with information from our Legacy Management Resource Portal, a resource about archiving personal/organizational collections & donating materials to museums, libraries, or archives. 

You can use these materials to preserve your stories, photos, letters, documents, and videos! Share your contact information at the end of this survey to enter. This survey is anonymous as your name and contact information will be separated from your responses.  

You can request more information about the CNAA and the community workshops by contacting the BMRC’s Community Engagement Archivist Tanya Calvin at tcalvin@uchicago.edu or 773-702-2388. 

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