HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium (HCAC)
The University Museum at Texas Southern is honored to be part of the inaugural cohort of the HBCU History and Culture Access Consortium, a 5 year collaboration between the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), George Mason University's Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and 5 partner HBCU museums and archives.
The HCAC aims to highlight the contributions of HBCUs to American history and culture by showcasing their collections. Staff and students at each museum and archive have been hard at work digitizing their respective collections, researching, and writing metadata. This has involved a significant injection of resources; NMAAHC and funders have supported the creation of a full time Digital Humanities Program Manager position, a full time graduate fellow position, and two part time undergraduate internships, along with an equipment budget.This work is building up to two key outcomes. First, launching this fall, there will be a digital archive showcasing all of the digitized items from each university. Second, opening this fall, an exhibition will debut at NMAAHC featuring items from each university. The exhibition will then travel across the country, including stops at each of the 5 HBCUs.
The project additionally aims to establish sustain historically Black institutions by remaining responsive to the expressed needs of HBCU museum and archive directors for increased organizational capacity, training, development, and advocacy. Another goal is to build a strong and replicable community of practice among consortium members through digital and in-person formal convenings that create an environment for shared learning and open dialogue about best practices for increased sustainability for museums and archives among participating HBCUs. Lastly, the consortium aims to deliver professional development and skill-building training through internship and fellowship opportunities for a cohort of young professionals from traditionally underrepresented groups, creating a pipeline of talent.
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