The Learning Lab series provides practical tips, advice, and guidance on specific historic preservation topics that are relevant to African American preservation projects. We hope these posts help community members and leaders better navigate the complexities of historic preservation work successfully.
Short Description of topic
Proper preservation of personal papers, photographs, books, digital information, heirlooms, and other treasures is the foundation of excellent genealogical research. This beginner’s guide will teach you how to care for items that hold sentimental value to help preserve your family’s history for future generations. Preserving family artifacts will enable you to capture your family’s story and document changes across historical eras. Family artifacts provide stronger connections across generations, help maintain traditions, and may increase the value of personal estates.When properly preserved, family artifacts can also provide additional historical context for private and published family histories, preservation grant applications, historical marker texts, and National Register nominations. There is no “one size fits all” approach to preserving your precious family memories. Basic steps include determining what has sentimental value, labeling, providing enough storage space, and proper maintenance. More advanced techniques vary depending on object type. In certain instances, you may need to consult a professional.
Identify and Plan to Protect Your Precious Family Artifacts: What is a family artifact? The good news is you decide! In most cases, family historians tend to save documents, photographs, oral histories, and videos to illuminate the past. There are countless types of family artifacts that don’t fall into these categories. Heirlooms could include wedding rings, christening dresses, quilts, a war medal, musical instruments, decorative items, handmade crafts, or anything with sentimental value. That said, you should choose wisely and develop a preservation plan. Ask yourself: Does the artifact truly strengthen your family history? Do you have enough storage space? Can the item be easily identified, transported, protected, and maintained? Will another family member be willing to take ownership in the event of an unfortunate event? Answering these questions will help you determine what needs to be saved.
Label Everything: Each artifact should include a label or card with basic information describing the item, relevant historical information, and why it is important to your family’s story. This information will develop a chain of ownership, strengthen your family history, and, if desired, help appraisers determine its value. Objects without labels can sometimes be mistaken for trash. Don’t risk losing your precious items!
Keep Em’ Clean, Cool and Safe: All documents, photographs, and heirlooms should be kept clean and free of dust and other contaminants. Minimize handling and safely store your items. If you have dirty or damaged artifacts, use preservation-safe techniques to clean or repair them, or consult a museum, archive, or professional conservator for advice. Storing items in cool, dry places and inside an appropriate box, sleeve, or container is a great first step! Check out Gaylord Archival (gaylord.com) for options.
Preserving Family Letters and Documents: Documents, letters, and other family papers can last a long time when properly cared for. When preserving paper, be sure to unfold, remove all rubber bands and paperclips, take them out of envelopes, and lay them flat. Store papers in acid-free folders and boxes in a cool (below 75 degrees), dry place. This will slow decay and reduce the chances of mold and infestation. Minimize handling by digitizing your documents. You can easily share and store digital files and build detailed family trees on Ancestry, FamilySearch, and other genealogical websites. If you must handle the original, be sure to wash and dry your hands first. Also, avoid eating, drinking, or smoking around valuable family papers.
Displaying Family Letters and Documents: It is difficult to resist the urge to hang an attractive, old family document on the wall. Consider framing a copy and storing the original. This will decrease exposure to light, which causes documents to fade.
Preserving Books: Family Bibles, scrapbooks, atlases, recipe books, and other manuscripts are treasured possessions in most families. While these bound books are like documents, they also present a host of their own unique problems and solutions. Store books in clean, dry places. Avoid garages, attics, or basements unless they are temperature regulated or located in dry environments. Books should be stored flat in archival quality boxes to protect them from dust, sunlight, and the stress caused by upright storage. Unfold page corners, remove rubber bands, paperclips, and bookmarks. Be careful when opening old books. Try to avoid opening them all the way flat, which can damage the spine and binding. Always grip the middle of the book if you are pulling it from the shelf, instead of yanking from the binding.
Preserving Scrapbooks: Most older family scrapbooks are a preservation nightmare! They were often made of poor-quality, acidic paper that deteriorates rapidly and damages photos or other objects attached to it. Scrapbook pages were often arranged using adhesives (tape, glue, and rubber cement) which damaged photos, papers, and other items on the pages. These books also have poor binding, due to badges, dried flowers, love letters, brochures, and other fun extras. Don’t pull your hair out trying to disassemble and preserve each page! Place thin, archival quality paper between each page and store the scrapbook flat in an archival safe container.
Preserving Electronic Information: In this modern age, the biggest threat to the safety of our family history information is likely the possibility of our computer crashing or our toddler throwing our phone into the bathtub or pool. Nearly everyone keeps important family information such as photos, documents, family tree charts, and other files on their computers, digital cameras, cell phones, and tablets. Ironically, electronic files are just as fragile as documents and photos! Always follow this simple rule: Organize and back up your information. Be sure to centralize your files on your computer or external hard drive, label everything, and get rid of excess materials. For every important electronic file, make sure that you follow the 3-2-1 rule: Keep three copies of it in two types of media storage in at least one location other than your house. Possibilities include your computer’s hard drive, external hard drives, thumb drives, or “the cloud” (Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, OneDrive, etc.). Make sure trusted relatives and friends know about the existence and location of these important electronic files. Revisit your backups at least once a year to make sure everything is current and transfer files, if necessary.
Preserving Audio/Visual Material: Audio and visual recordings give us intimate glimpses into the past and help us to recall precious moments with our loved ones. Many families keep stashes of cassette tape interviews of older relatives or home videos of family reunions. It is important to store cassette tapes, videos, and other electronic media in a cool, clean, and dry place. Minimize handling and avoid playing damaged tapes. As time passes, playback equipment may become obsolete, making it difficult to access your recordings. When in doubt, contact an expert who can convert the content to digital files. Digitizing electronic media requires more skill and equipment than you may have readily available. Oral histories should ALWAYS be transcribed! Doing so will provide you with a backup and an easy-to-use reference when writing or presenting your family’s story.
Preserving Textiles and Jewelry: When using or displaying textiles, be sure to clean and dry your hands. Store textiles flat in a cool, dry place with minimal light (avoid sunlight). If you decide to hand clothing, use preservation-safe hangers. Consult a professional conservator to assist with cleaning delicate textiles. Jewelry should be treated in a similar manner; Defer to jewelers to clean valuable items. Store diamonds separately from other jewelry pieces to avoid scratching softer stones. Wrap stones with archival tissue. Silver should be wrapped in a silver cloth. Store all jewelry in acid free boxes.
Elaine Nichols’ path to becoming a nationally known museum curator took an unexpected turn thanks to a group of Palmetto State ninth-graders with an unexpected curiosity about death and mourning customs.
As a volunteer graduate student reviewing label content for the South Carolina State Museum, Nichols was initially hesitant to accept an invitation to curate an exhibition on African American funeral traditions, assuming it wouldn’t pique public interest. However, after engaging with a class of 60 students, she realized their unfiltered enthusiasm for what she thought might be a taboo topic for them prompted her to embrace the opportunity wholeheartedly.
The resulting exhibition, “The Last Miles of the Way: African American Funeral and Mourning Customs in South Carolina, 1890-Present,” garnered international attention, with requests for its catalog pouring in from countries like Germany, Africa, Switzerland, and Australia. TIME magazine even dedicated a full-color page spread and a page and a half to covering the groundbreaking showcase, which featured stories from nearly 100 Black South Carolinians about traditions like placing quilts on graves to keep the spirit warm. This unexpected success paved the way for Nichols’ full-time curatorial role at the museum.
Preserving Stories, Celebrating Heritage
After completing her degree in public archaeology at the University of South Carolina, Nichols became a full-time curator at the State Museum and then in 2009 became the supervisory curator of culture at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C.
Her responsibilities include curating costumes, textiles, and decorative arts, including the Black Fashion Museum collection and the Ebony Fashion Fair collection. And her passion for telling stories that teach people about history and culture through artifacts endures.
One of her proudest moments was securing the outfit worn by Shannon Faulkner when she was admitted to The Citadel as its first female cadet, a groundbreaking event that opened doors for women at the military college, despite Faulkner’s eventual departure due to the traumatic experience.
Nichols went to great lengths, even visiting Faulkner’s parents’ home in Powdersville, to obtain the camel-colored coat, cream-colored shoes, and shirt, which were displayed behind plexiglass at the South Carolina State Museum. “In this case it was a white person who pioneered and opened doors for other women, for other people,” Nichols reflects. “She suffered for it, but she did it anyway.”
Honoring Unsung Heroes
In addition to her curatorial duties, Nichols served as the founding project curator for the Civil Rights History Project (CRHP), a collaboration between NMAAHC and the Library of Congress that collected oral histories from more than 130 grassroots activists, supporters, and national leaders involved in the civil rights movement during the 1950s and 1960s.
One figure whose story particularly resonates with Nichols is tennis legend Althea Gibson, the first Black player to compete at the U.S. National Championships (now the U.S. Open) and the first to win both that tournament and Wimbledon.
Despite her groundbreaking achievements, Gibson was never honored by her home state of South Carolina. Nichols said she never met Gibson in person but that the Clarendon County native shared her sadness about that with the curator in a phone call made in an effort to bring her to the state for an exhibition.
“It was heartbreaking,” Nichols recalls. “She started out with paddleball, gravitated to tennis. Unfortunately, South Carolina never recognized Althea Gibson and her contributions to tennis. No Order of the Palmetto, no parade, nothing. That was heartbreaking for her.”
Forging Connections, Inspiring Future Generations
Nichols is a Charlotte native who also earned a master’s degree in social work from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, where she learned how to work with diverse organizations and individuals to help improve communities.
That experience and her schooling and work in Columbia confirmed to her the ongoing importance of collaboration among museums, preservation efforts, and multiple other stakeholders to safeguard our shared heritage.
“We work with other entities involved in preservation because so many national treasures are at risk of getting lost,” she says, citing instances of cultural insensitivity and apathy that resulted in destruction of historic sites and artifacts.
To address and help prevent this, Nichols stresses the need to educate and inspire younger generations about the value of cultural heritage. She encourages individuals to explore their interests, research their family history, and pass down stories and artifacts to future generations, ensuring that diverse voices and perspectives are elevated and celebrated for years to come.
“You have to tell someone why it’s valuable, why it’s important to you,” she says. “Those objects and those stories help us understand who we are and who we will become. They help safeguard our access to different voices and perspectives by elevating those hidden stories.”
Through her groundbreaking exhibitions, research, and advocacy, Elaine has become a trailblazer in the museum world, using her platform to amplify underrepresented narratives and inspire a deeper appreciation for the richness of African American history and culture through dress and other personal artifacts that help tell collective stories that otherwise would be lost.
By Jannie Harriot and Cecil Williams, Civil Rights Museum
April 2, 2024
The Featured Projects series focuses on African American historic preservation projects and sites. We hope this series helps bring awareness to the stunning number and variety of places in South Carolina that share this rich history. We also hope it highlights the dedication of our community leaders, and inspires future generations to participate in preservation.
How did the museum develop? How does the museum play a role in African American historic preservation?
Until the Cecil Williams South Carolina Civil Rights Museum was developed, there was no museum in the state that told the stories of the people who actually started the national civil rights movement. Inside our galleries, visitors may journey through the unique and rich history of South Carolinians who experienced the hardships and triumphs, valor and determination, and the influence and monumental change that affected all Americans. The reclaimed history displayed in the museum represents core events that created the “big bang” of the national civil rights movement.WeGOJA and the Toolkit team feel it is important to include museums as part of African American preservation efforts. Museums are part of the broader picture of African American historic preservation because they are a place to preserve the objects, artifacts, and media that tell the story of Black people and culture. These things are an important part of the fabric of preservation that extends beyond physical structures or sites.
What motivated you to develop the museum?
Having first-hand eyewitness experiences, I was compelled to share the rich and diverse history of people who endured the 1950-1970 era of racial change.Within the museum, we compiled the history that shows how South Carolinians’ early activism influenced our nation through numerous ideological, political, and economic developments—much of which pre-date the bravery and pioneering by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and the people who engaged in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. South Carolina’s role in the Civil Rights movement is an undertold story, despite South Carolinians paving the way in Civil Rights activism (such as the Briggs vs. Elliot case, which was the first court case to challenge the constitutionality of segregated education and later became part of the landmark desegregation case Brown vs. Board of Education.) The story of Civil Rights in South Carolina needed to be told by those who experienced and fought for it. The museum provides an opportunity to showcase the photography and media that influenced and changed the course of the Civil Rights movement, while also preserving it for generations to come.
How have you solved problems and found solutions? What advice would you give to others doing this kind of work?
Besides our own archives, through inclusion and sharing, we discovered vast amounts of rare and story-telling artifacts, documents and photographs.I would advise anyone taking on the task of operating or starting a museum to fully explore if it duplicates the mission of already existing museums.If there is a void, then fully engage in the project until it reaches fruition.
Future plans for the museum? Also include how people can find the museum and plan visits today.
Our future involves building and creating story-telling galleries and exhibits that will go into a new and larger building we hope to break ground for in June. Our present museum is located at 1865 Lake Drive, a subdivision right off U.S. Highway 301 north of Orangeburg. We advise visitors traveling along Interstate 26 to take exit 156, which would place them within four miles of our location.
Any additional information?
Visit the museum virtually by clicking this link! This will allow you to experience the museum through a virtual reality tour, taking a closer look at the exhibits, photography, and artifacts.
