Jasmine Clarke

Processing Fellow

Connect With Me

My ‘Why’s’ For this Work

I do this work to empower Black people to be active participants in protecting our collective history.

What I Do at Work

I am a Processing Fellow at Afro Charities, where I assist in preparing the AFRO American Newspapers' archival collection for public access.

My Background

I am an artist, educator, and family archivist based in Baltimore, and originally from Boston. My work is focused on empowering Black people to participate in the process of documenting, and preserving their personal stories, and collective history. My passion for archiving was ignited when I embarked on a personal journey to honor my grandmother. I created HUE Archives to preserve, and curate a collection of family images, videos, documents, and oral histories.

I am committed to filling the gaps in traditional historical records by emphasizing the importance of storytelling from the perspective of our community. Through Afro Charities, I am able to channel this dedication by preparing the collection to be accessible and shared with the community in meaningful ways.

I am a graduate of Wheaton College MA, where I studied art history and education, and a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant alumna.

Collection Items that Resonate with Me:

I came across these images while processing the Blackwell Family Reunion materials. Thelma Doswell pictured in the top right image documented her family's roots back to Africa, and has added over 3,300 members to her family tree. As a family archivist, with an interest in genealogy I was both impressed and inspired by her commitment to family history, and lineage.

An Object From My Personal Collection

This is a photograph of me and my grandmother Melbahu Gibbs in Boston in 1994. She is the reason I started archiving, so it's an image I return to as a reminder of why I do this work, and that I am being guided through it.