EXCURSION DAY - BLACK ARCHIVES VISIT
Beyond the Institute: An Excursion to The Black Archives
After three insightful and inspiring sessions, it was time to step outside our usual setting. Learning is not confined to the Institute, and it was therefore a great honour to continue our journey through an excursion to The Black Archives.
Despite the intense heat, our participants showed up and, as encouraged, brought friends and family along with them. Their presence spoke to the importance of initiatives and spaces created by us and for us. It also demonstrated what collaboration between such spaces can make possible. The fact that The Black Archives is no longer our neighbour in the Bijlmer does not have to limit what we can mean to one another and to our communities. Where there is willingness and effort, distance does not have to stand in the way.
The Importance of Our Own Spaces and the Need to Preserve Them
Mitchell Esajas, one of the founders of The Black Archives, took the class on a trip down memory lane by exploring the early inner workings of how the Archives were established. In doing so, he offered some valuable insights into how space was claimed and how some of the documents and books were obtained and maintained for the sake of future generations.
While the story behind the establishment and development of the Archives offered valuable insights, one of the most important lessons we took from the excursion centred on collective memory. At one point, the conversation turned to none other than Anton de Kom, who he was, and what participants knew about him. Before Mitchell explored Anton de Kom's life and legacy in greater depth, participants were given the opportunity to share their own knowledge.
And though none of the participants had all of the answers, they did put together a solid composite of Anton de Kom by each sharing what they knew about him. Thus, we demonstrated the importance and function of collective memory in real time and urged the participants to continue practising this process, as its benefits are many for us and ours.
What happened in that moment captured something larger than simply recalling the life of one historical figure. Knowledge did not have to reside with one person in order to become meaningful. By bringing together what each participant carried with them, a fuller picture emerged. The excursion therefore became an opportunity not only to encounter an archive, but to experience how collective memory can function in practice.
From the Archive Back to the Institute
Following the lecture and the conversations and reflections it inspired, it was time to explore The Black Archives Museum on the top floor of Ons Suriname, the historic building in which the Archives is housed.
The excursion closed with a spark, alongside warm smiles and hugs. The enthusiasm the participants left with provides a strong foundation for the resumption of our sessions on Saturday, 15 August.
What's Next?
Our next lecture will be delivered by Dr. Catherina Wilson and is titled African Footprints Across the Atlantic. The session will explore transatlantic histories through slavery, migration, storytelling, and the movement of ideas across borders.
Following our excursion, we look forward to beginning the second half of the series, which will increasingly make room for storytelling and lived experience. In doing so, we create space for different approaches to knowledge while recognising that there is never only one way through which histories and experiences can be understood.
As we continue these conversations and move forward together in our journey of acquiring and sharing knowledge, we leave you once again with the same challenge: bring someone with you to this week's class. This week, however, we leave you with more than a call to action. Our wish for you all to become friends and family is coming to fruition, one class at a time.