Readings
Sutherland, Tonia. (2017). Archival amnesty: In search of Black American transitional and restorative justice
Sutherland (2017) examines the role of archival institutions in perpetuating historical silences and archival erasures of Black lives, histories, and stories. Sutherland advocates for “archival amnesty” as a restorative justice method for our future archival practices. Sutherland critiques traditional archival practices for their rigidity, exclusion, and misrepresentation of Black histories and calls for reparative efforts. Sutherland’s work is relevant to the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum as it seeks to bring a renewed focus to Black history, focusing on information access, equitable representation, and decolonization of records. If Sutherland’s archival amnesty was implemented, the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum could provide resources on Black workers’ contributions to the steel industry of the South, provide resources for Black genealogy, and create more accessible records for their communities.
Screenshot from the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum Virtual tour (Matterport, 2025).
Hartman (2008) explores the historical absences and silences surrounding the lives of enslaved Black women, with a specific focus on those whose stories were violently ignored, erased, or distorted by colonial and racist records. Hartman introduces the concept of “critical fabulation” as she explores the story of an African girl who was murdered as she was kidnapped and enslaved. Critical fabulation is a method to reconstruct the lost narratives of Venus and challenges the traditional archival practices that focus on colonial, white-centric perspectives. Through this method, Venus has her personhood restored, and an empathic reflection is provided as a direct push against the historical records that stripped her of her humanity and name. This work is relevant to the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum’s commitment to Black history, as it provides a method of uncovering and humanizing enslaved people whose names and stories were deliberately out of history. Applying Hartman’s approach would aid in reconstructing the narratives of enslaved people in Tannehill and ensure their personhood is placed as the most important focus of the museum.
Screenshot from the Tannehill Museum Virtual Tour (Matterport, 2025).
Johnson (2018) addresses the intersection of technology, digital preservation, and the study of Black life and death during slavery. Methods of archival digitization, while done in the hopes of accessibility and preservation, can often perpetuate or continue the historical erasure of Black lives and stories. Johnson advocates for a method of creating digital records that focus on enslaved people while still honoring their personhood and not making a show of their suffering and subjugation. The horrors of slavery are real and should be acknowledged, but the person in our records in images deserves respect, privacy, and compassion just as our patrons do. Johnson’s work is particularly relevant to the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum, which is home to an extensive history of enslavement. By applying Johnson’s marked-up bodies theory, the museum can provide a digital reconstruction of the contributions of enslaved people and Black steelworkers and ensure their experiences and stories are not overlooked.
Screenshot from the Tannehill Museum Virtual Tour (Matterport, 2025).
resources
The Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia (A4BLiP) website highlights the work of archivists, librarians, activists, and volunteers to confront the erasure of Black histories and experiences in the archives in response to concerns brought to attention by the Black Lives Matter Movement. Components such as text, while not as thought-provoking as photographs or videos, stand as a testament to the principles of the organization and how they have changed the practices of archives. With an emphasis on controlled vocabularies when documenting Black histories and experiences, the A4BLiP provides a method to audit current collections for racist and violent language to ensure justice, accessibility, and equity in our work. Through challenging traditional archival theory and practices, the A4BLiP would help the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum diversify and decolonize its records and promote restorative justice work in its collections. The museum would benefit by applying the A4BLiP’s controlled vocabulary and philosophical practices to ensure the histories of enslaved people and Black steelworkers are preserved with the same respect and focus as others. These methods would also provide wider accessibility as outdated and racist terms can be removed and updated.
Screenshot from the Tannehill Museum Virtual Tour (Matterport, 2025).
The Legacy Museum uses immersive exhibits to confront America’s history of slavery, racial injustice, lynchings, segregation, and mass incarceration. Through visual storytelling, personal stories, and artifacts, the Legacy Museum humanizes the experiences of enslaved people. Key features include their interactive exhibits, artworks, and architecture, which provoke powerful emotions and reminders of racial violence and discrimination. These immersive experiences were created to provoke empathy and to humanize the people intentionally erased from history. Their website acts as a conduit to bring visitors to their physical museum. Their primary users are people wishing to gain a deeper understanding of the historical impacts of racism and racial violence. The audience includes educators, activists, students, historians, and the general public. For the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum, applying the principles of humanization, empathy, and reflection would allow their exhibits to honor the lives of the enslaved people who worked in the iron facilities and mines. By creating a space for storytelling, reflection, and discussion, the Tannehill Museum can present a respectful and accurate view of history. The Legacy Museum stands as an example to follow to curate a museum that advocates for social change in response to racial discrimination and violence. The Tannehill Museum has the opportunity to begin the dialogue with the updates to their museum and collections.
Screenshot from the Tannehill Museum Virtual Tour that depicts the inside of the furnace (Matterport, 2025).
The History of Enslaved People at the University of Alabama, 1828-1865, explores the history of enslaved people at the University of Alabama through diaries, receipts, and faculty minutes that reference the enslaved individuals. The names of these people are highlighted, and their contributions to the University of Alabama are recognized alongside what little is known of their lives. Their lives are reflected in biographies and timelines. Notably, their lives are reflected upon through the writings of those who enslaved them. The website works to provide a detailed reconstruction of the individuals' lives and experiences and hopes to reclaim their personhood while also recognizing their forced labor for the benefit of the University. The website is intended for educators, students, historians, and those of the public interested in the history of enslaved people and the University of Alabama. This is a unique resource that documents the local history of enslaved people for a large institution, offering a model for the Tannehill Iron and Steel Museum to reflect upon.
Screenshot from the Tannehill Museum Virtual Tour (Matterport, 2025).
References
Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia. (n.d.). Archives for Black Lives in Philadelphia. Retrieved [1/31/2025], from https://archivesforblacklives.wordpress.com/
Equal Justice Initiative. (n.d.). The Legacy Museum: From enslavement to mass incarceration. Retrieved [1/31/2025], from https://legacysites.eji.org/about/museum/
Hartman, S. (2008). Venus in two acts. Small Axe, 26, 1–14. https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/research/centres/blackstudies/venus_in_two_acts.pdf
Johnson, J. M. (2018). Markup bodies: Black [life] studies and slavery [death] studies at the digital crossroads. Social Text, 36(4), 57–79. https://writingindhf19.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/20188/2019/10/0360057.pdf
Matterport. (2025) 3D virtual tour of Iron and Steel Museum of Alabama [Virtual tour]. Matterport. https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=DkUjohLyL1z
Sutherland, Tonia. (2017). Archival amnesty: In search of Black American transitional and restorative justice. Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, 1(1), 20170605. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319341518_Archival_Amnesty_In_Search_of_Black_American_Transitional_and_Restorative_Justice
The University of Alabama. (n.d.). Studying slavery at the University of Alabama. Retrieved [1/31/2025], from https://studyingslavery.ua.edu/s/uastudyingslavery/page/home