The Meek-Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum Collection at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Collects, preserves, and provides access to primary and secondary sources of enduring historical, research, and artifactual value that relate to the African-American experience in the southeast region of the United States of America. The center’s holdings are a testament to its commitment to the true story of the American experience.
With generous contributions from the public, it now houses more than 500,000 individual archival records and over 5,000 museum artifacts. By functioning both as a repository for archival records and a museum for historical regalia, the center continues to provide academic support to educational institutions, civic, political, religious, and social groups/organizations, as well as public and private businesses.
The work of the Collection focuses on:
- Collection Development: bringing together research resources, such as periodicals, archival and manuscript materials, and digital resources.
- Preservation and Access: safeguarding research resources and making them available for use.
- Teaching and Learning: supporting the needs of our students and faculty through course-based instruction.
- Research: providing quality research services and engaging emerging scholars with graduate fellowships and opportunities for independent undergraduate research.
- Outreach: coordinating events and exhibitions that engage the broader community in a dialogue about the African Diaspora.
Harmful Content Statement
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and its Meek-Eaton Black Archives are working to assess past and current descriptive practices to ensure that materials accurately and respectfully describe the communities featured in our collections, with particular attention paid to remediating outdated or harmful language to our patrons.
Meek-Eaton collects materials from different regions, cultures, and periods for educational and research purposes. We offer public access to a wide range of information, including historical materials, that may contain offensive language, imagery, beliefs, or stereotypes.
For example, users may encounter language of content that is misogynistic, racist, transphobic, homophobic, xenophobic, or colonialist. Florida A&M University does not endorse the views expressed in such materials.
Meek-Eaton strives to describe materials in a manner that is accurate and respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage. While some descriptions are written by staff, others reflect language used by the people and organizations that created the material. When we encounter problematic language that we believe staff created in the past, we change it. However, language from the original material can provide information about the people who created it. In such cases, we leave the original language but work to provide additional context. We are working to update existing descriptions of materials and recognize efforts to create respectful and inclusive descriptions must be ongoing. If you encounter a problematic description, please contact us at blackarchives@famu.edu.
Primary contact
Timothy A. Barber, Director
434 Robert and Trudie Perkins Way
Tallahassee, FL 32307
Website: www.famu.edu/meba
Email: blackarchives@famu.edu