Summary:

It's the last episode of the Archives & Things podcast. In this bonus episode, I say goodbye to the last chapter of my journey and move forward into openings. I also bring light to the current Archivaria Editor Team’s acts of violence as a “humiliation ritual” and means for exclusion, gatekeeping, and destruction. I call on the Association of Canadian Archivists to honour their commitment to address the culture of white supremacy and violence against Black people in the archival profession.

Episode Resources:

(Editors) Rebecka Taves Sheffield and Mario H. Ramirez. Call for Papers for Archivaria 100: Legacies of Critical Theory in Archives (Fall 2025). https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/announcement/view/83

Dr. Carol Anderson. “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide.” Youtube. https://youtu.be/YBYUET24K1c?si=RDXrdc9qgSoROmT4

Association of Canadian Archivists’ Statement condemning racism, injustice, and violence against Black people (June 2020). https://archivists.ca/resources/EmailTemplates/!SC_2020_06%20ACA%20Scope%20and%20Content%20Volume%201,%20Issue%206%20June%202020/index_preview.html

@Kathomi Gatwiri (2025). [LinkedIn] “Have you ever read the peer review feedback of a manuscript you spent months if not years working on and you literally had to shut down your laptop immediately…because the reviewers (your *supposed* peers) were just so of-the-scale unhinged, hostile and vile?” https://lnkd.in/p/g-QYfWwr

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my website at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Petrina Jackson, Executive Director of the Schlesinger Library at Harvard University. Petrina joined us to speak about advocacy and navigating the politics of white institutions.

Episode Resources:

W.E.B. Du Bois (1903). The Souls of Black Folks. https://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/2282858/Du-Bois,-Souls-of-Black-Folk.Chapters-1-to-4.pdf

Ruha Benjamin (2024). Imagination: A Manifesto. https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/imagination-a-manifesto

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson and Robyn Maynard (2022). Rehearsals for Living. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/675719/rehearsals-for-living-by-robyn-maynard-and-leanne-betasamosake-simpson/9781039000650

@this.cypher [Instagram] “All Skin Folk Ain’t Enemies.” https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKkpWFbxeNj/?igsh=NWtoeWUzYzY4eXJw

Black Portraiture[s] Conference. https://www.blackportraitures.info/

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ or Instagram⁠ contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.

Summary:

In this episode, I welcome Shane Laptiste and Tura Cousins Wilson, leading architects of Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). Shane and Tura joined us to speak about Black geographies and Black built environments as sites of remembrance.

Episode Resources:

Studio of Contemporary Architecture (SOCA). https://socadesign.ca/

(Eds.) Katherine McKittrick and Clyde Woods. (2007). Black Geographies and the Politics of Place. https://btlbooks.com/book/black-geographies-and-the-politics-of-place

Tura Cousins Wilson and Shane Laptiste. (2025). “Conjay's First Walk Home.” In, Messy Cities: Why We Can't Plan Everything. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/messy-cities-zahra-ebrahim/1146454519

Amanda Nkeramihigo (June 27, 2025). Afrofuturism and Postapocalyptic Subjectivity. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09593543251347548

Michael McMillan. (2024). AGO. The Front Room: Diaspora Migrant Aesthetics in the Home. https://ago.ca/events/michael-mcmillan-front-room

Stay Connected:

If you enjoyed listening to this podcast you can follow, rate, and share it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon.

To learn more about my work, visit my blog at ⁠https://melissajnelson.com⁠. You can connect with me on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠ or contact me at melissa.j.nelson@outlook.com.