Last autumn, Nateya Taylor took a class with 51ÁÔÆæ history professor Amanda Seligman and discovered a love for archival research. In fact, Taylor liked it so much that she decided to find an internship at a museum \u2013 maybe a Black history museum to align with her other research interests.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s now working at the biggest one in the country.<\/p>\n
Taylor, a graduate student working toward her Master\u2019s degree in urban studies at 51ÁÔÆæ, is spending the summer as a digitization and curatorial intern at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). Located on the National Mall, the museum is the country\u2019s premier institution detailing the history of Black Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when it opened in 2016,\u201d Taylor recalled. \u201c(It was) my freshman year of college, and I really wanted to go but never had come to visit. So I was like, it\u2019d be so cool to work there.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was right.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m learning so much and I get to network with so many different people,\u201d she said. \u201cAll the people are just very welcoming in the department that I\u2019m working in. If you tell them what you\u2019re interested in, then they\u2019ll help you learn those skills that are beyond the job description.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the moment, Taylor is doing digitization work. She handles the museum\u2019s archival objects, takes photographs of the materials, and then adds metadata to the files: the object\u2019s origins, who donated it, its age, a description, and more. Digitization is important because the process not only makes the museum\u2019s collection available to patrons who may only be able to access these materials virtually, but it also helps preserve archival materials that might be fragile, like a fading photograph or a crumbling piece of paper.<\/p>\n
The NMAAHC also partners with outside institutions and organizations to help preserve their records. Currently, Taylor is working on digitizing a collection of archival materials from St. Paul\u2019s College, a now-shuttered historically Black college in Lawrenceville, Virginia. The materials date back to the 1930s, and Taylor and her fellow interns are hoping to help preserve this bit of history.<\/p>\n
As much as she enjoys working older collections like these, Taylor says the coolest artifact she\u2019s seen in the museum is actually fairly young: \u201cOne of the cool things I got to see that the museum has is the Black Panther costume that Chadwick Boseman wore in the Marvel movie. That was just so amazing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Beyond the artifacts, Taylor says that the best part of the internship has been the chance to be mentored and grow her skills, both as an archivist and as a photographer and filmmaker. The interns receive professional development and have been invited to conferences and seminars to learn more about the field.<\/p>\n
Living in Washington, D.C. for the summer has also been an exciting experience, Taylor added. She\u2019s navigated the city\u2019s metro system and has enjoyed getting to know the neighborhood where she\u2019s staying for the summer.<\/p>\n
The capital is a long way from Milwaukee, Taylor\u2019s hometown. She attended Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, for her Bachelor\u2019s degree, where she majored in criminal justice with a pre-law concentration. Taylor had plans to be a lawyer, and even took the LSATs, before realizing that law wasn\u2019t the right path.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did my senior thesis on Milwaukee Black health, looking at how segregation impacts Black Milwaukeeans\u2019 overall health. That inspired me to do this urban studies Master\u2019s degree at UW-Milwaukee because it\u2019s so interdisciplinary, looking at urban problems and why they occur,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
That interdisciplinary focus has been invaluable at her internship. It\u2019s one thing to learn facts in class, Taylor noted, but learning how to think critically, approach history from different perspectives, and challenge her own assumptions has led her to success.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also made her more thoughtful about history, race, and education in America.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that (this internship) has made me think about how we don\u2019t go into depth about Black history and how there\u2019s so much left out. When I went to the museum, there\u2019s a lot of stuff that I didn\u2019t even know about Black history,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that if we do pay attention to Black history and actually learn it, then it can help us to come together and understand each other better, instead of continuing to have instances where people are discriminating against Black people, whether it\u2019s in healthcare, whether it\u2019s the government, whether it\u2019s the criminal justice system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s Smithsonian internship ends in August. She already has another internship lined up for after she returns \u2013 this time at America\u2019s Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee.<\/p>\n