Global Urban Humanities/Future Histories Lab

Part of the Fall 2021 Colloquium (Place-Based Storytelling Techniques and Technologies)

Commons Archive: Developing a Neighborhood Literacy

“Commons Archive is a historical preservation program that re-thinks the archive as a place of privilege and de-colonizes our thinking about what’s worth preserving.”

–Susan D. Anderson History Curator & Program Manager,‎California African American Museum

Oakland-based cultural researcher Sue Mark will unpack strategies and questions surrounding Commons Archive, a creative grassroots history project she launched in 2015. Centered at North Oakland’s Golden Gate Library, Commons Archive has been providing platforms for longtime and new neighbors to narrate, describe and share their many histories. In 2010, Black neighbors were just under half of North Oakland’s population; eight years later, only a quarter of residents were Black. Today, the numbers are even lower. Commons Archive’s interactive format preserves neighbor knowledge that, if undocumented, will disappear.

In collaboration with North Oakland, CA groups and organizations Commons Archives connects neighbors through stories, shared resources and celebrations. Commons Archive invites neighbors from all walks of life to express, sing, dance, read and listen to the multilayered stories that continue to shape these neighborhoods. By embracing traditional block club hospitality, Commons Archive supports community resiliency.