S5E7 - ”If You Want the History of a White Man, You Go to the Library”: A Conversation on Archives at the University of Denver

Summary: Host Caris Fox and guests Denisse Solis, Lauren Turner, and Katherine Crowe of Anderson Academic Commons at the University of Denver discuss the power of archives as sites of racial confrontation and reconciliation. Libraries are modern and historical examples of institutional racism as the stories of white, cis-gendered, non-disabled, and heterosexual men are systematically prioritized, resulting in the exclusion of works by Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC). The Anderson Academic Commons library at the University of Denver is no different. Solis, Turner, and Crowe center inclusion, ethics, care, and equity in their archival practices to capture the authentic stories of BIPOC students and their activism at DU while fighting for institutional change. 

Resources: 

The RAGE Website: theragepodcast.com 

Special Collections and Archives: https://library.du.edu/collections-library-materials/special-collections-archives/research-help

Crimson Connect: https://crimsonconnect.du.edu/home_login

Denisse Solis: https://operations.du.edu/irise/content/about/faculty-directory/denisse-solis

Lauren Turner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-s-turner/

Katherine Crowe: https://katherine-crowe.com/about/