By: Marc Rapport, WeGOJA Board
May 14, 2024
Dr. Ramon Jackson has dedicated his career to preserving South Carolina history and cultural heritage, bringing a scholarly approach to a growing list of both public initiatives and museum projects.
Since May 2023, he has been curator of African American Culture and History at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, where he earned his doctorate in history at the University of South Carolina in 2019.
Jackson has served as co-historian of Columbia SC 63: Our Story Matters, a landmark public history initiative that commemorated the civil rights struggle in South Carolina’s capital city.
He also has worked as the African American Heritage Coordinator at the S.C. Department of Archives and History, where he worked on public programs, exhibits, and historic preservation initiatives, often in partnership with the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission (SCAAHC).
Jackson also has been an assistant professor at Newberry College, where he taught survey courses in 20th-century American history and special topics courses on Black student activism, South Carolina civil rights, and African American sports history.
He believes museums and preservation efforts must go beyond simply curating artifacts and archives. “Museums have an obligation to amplify voices that have been marginalized or forgotten throughout history,” he says, adding, “True preservation requires active collaboration with the communities whose stories we aim to protect and share.”
Here he shares insight he’s gleaned about the intersection of academia, museum curation, local history preservation, and community activism and engagement.
What are you working on now at the State Museum?
Dr. Ramon Jackson: An exhibit titled “Shared Sacrifice: South Carolina in World War II” that opens June 8. It’s about the collective experience of all South Carolinians in that war and will include a section on African Americans in combat and non-combat roles and on the battle for civil rights at that time. We’re changing things up on the third floor at the museum and I’m excited about it!
In your experience bridging academia and community engagement in museum and preservation work, what are some key differences you’ve observed between how Black communities perceive and engage in preservation versus academic approaches?
Dr. Ramon Jackson: There are times when they dovetail, but I do think there are some key differences, at least in terms of what folks in archives, history, and academia deem important.
For example, when I worked at Archives, one of the main projects was to do a survey of extant Green Book sites around the state. We researched and created a full list of these buildings that once housed businesses that supported travelers in this really important guide.
I came to realize that many of these buildings were built using vernacular architecture and that when we took these sites to the National Register of Historic Places, it could be a struggle because academic and institutional standards for preserving sites don’t always take into account vernacular architecture used in segregated communities.
No columns, no marble, not even wrought iron, just cinder block and stucco. We had to try to convince National Register staff in D.C. of the need to preserve these certain spaces, a task made even more difficult if they were redesigned, renovated, and used in different ways over time.
We had to explain standards and expectations to both sides of that equation – answering questions from the Black community here and from National Register staff. We got over a lot of those obstacles, including educating NR staff on the unique experience of Black people in the South.
The African American community here can have different views and needs of what needs to be preserved. It’s important to engage people who can communicate on either side of those needs and start to integrate those standards into these types of institutions. That’s been an important focus of my work.
As co-historian of Columbia SC 63: Our Story Matters, you played a pivotal role in commemorating South Carolina’s civil rights movement. How do you navigate the complexities of preserving and presenting Black history within institutional frameworks, balancing academic rigor with community narratives?
RJ: I think, first of all, Dr. Bobby Donaldson didn’t let me get away with not being rigorous and detailed with this work. To his credit, the younger generation of scholars doing this work across South Carolina and other states owe him a debt of gratitude.
When I was involved in that project, one of the advantages for us – and maybe a disadvantage, too – was that the literature on civil rights in South Carolina wasn’t as deep. Academic rigor begins in academia. For whatever reason, until the mid-80s, they didn’t think of South Carolina as a place where the civil rights movement occurred in the greater scheme of things.
That gave us the advantage of being able to build a kind of foundation for outlining and highlighting the Palmetto State’s place in the movement. Building that foundation required rigorous academic research, combing old newspapers and collections, and reaching out to individuals who had family connections or lived these moments themselves.
Our academic rigor included ensuring we established those connections, told the story accurately, made sure we included those individuals that people in the community feel should be recognized. We did a really nice job of that and I’m really proud of how much Columbia SC 63 and the Center for Civil Rights and History has grown and flourished.
For me, it was a really rich opportunity for someone in grad school at USC to be able to do that public work, and I’m grateful for it. We created a gold standard of what can be achieved through this kind of university/community partnership.
Your work at the South Carolina Department of Archives and History focused on African American heritage preservation. Could you share some insights into the unique challenges and strategies involved in preserving Black cultural heritage, especially within the context of institutional settings?
RJ: An element of that position as African American history coordinator was serving as a liaison between Archives and the heritage commission (SCAAHC). It was not always an easy task to make sure I was working on behalf of the agency but also prioritizing concerns of Black communities in the state and the commission chairman.
That was not always an easy task and sometimes the dance steps were a little awkward, but both institutions did share an understanding of the importance of this work and how it was my job to help prioritize that work within the agency in a way that I think communities appreciated.
We accomplished a lot. For example, we managed to list 10 extant Green Book sites in the National Register within a two-year period. Now they’re in a position where those buildings are eligible for grants and other public resources, and they can be preserved. We also were able to erect dozens of historical markers through external grant-funded projects. The SCAAHC spearheaded a lot of that fundraising and work and I’m proud of Archives’ collaboration with them and the work we did.
We also collaborated on a COVID 19 project – Portraits of a Pandemic – that involved an oral history project conducted from scratch around the state. Doing that work required backing and support from the agency and the skills and resources of the SCAAHC.
I’m not saying it was easy. It can be political at times. My strategy was to try to adhere to a basic set of core principles – honesty, integrity, empathy – to make sure that we prioritized the needs of Black communities as much or more than the people who paid your tab at times.
How can museums and historical institutions better collaborate with Black communities to ensure their voices are not only represented but actively involved in the preservation process?
RJ: My position here at the State Museum was created to start moving in that direction. It’s been about 10 years since someone held this position. That’s Elaine Nichols, who’s now at the Smithsonian. Now we’re working to reconnect with communities and begin that collaboration process anew.
I came across a really good model last year at the South Carolina Federation of Museums conference. Andy Thomas, the Cayce Historical Museum curator, and his advisory board described how they were reimagining galleries to add more African American experiences.
These are people with deep connections in their community and I was really impressed. That’s a great example of how a museum can move beyond just extraction, how an agency or museum can go deep into a community to give its people a say in how their stories are told.
It’s incumbent on institutions to start really involving communities in the partnership and make them real partners. Advisory boards are one way to do that. Co-curating exhibitions is another way you can do that.
So, I think we can be a little bit more connected in the way we think about collaboration. At the very least, we all must understand that the work we do isn’t neutral, the stories we choose to tell reflect greatly on our institutions.
And being in this political environment, it’s time folks redouble their efforts to make sure we’re being as inclusive as we can be, even if we’re unable to build programs that lend towards that inclusiveness. That inclusiveness needs to be embedded into who we are as an institution, rather than something that’s kind of a set-aside or a separate thing to address only occasionally.
Given your background in academia and hands-on preservation work, how do you envision the role of grassroots activism and community engagement in shaping the future of historic preservation efforts?
RJ: Museums and other historical institutions and agencies have to get better at hiring and staffing in ways that are more inclusive. We need to build pipelines that provide a path for budding professionals to do exactly this kind of community engagement work.
One thing I’m kind of disheartened by as I’ve gone place to place in the past few years is that I don’t really see public-facing historical museums and academics providing internships, short-term visiting curatorial assistantships, that kind of thing, for African American, Native American, Asian American, and other marginalized groups.
Including these people at an early stage of their careers helps them and helps our institutions present ourselves in a different light. And critically, you’ll then find communities more willing to loan/donate items if they know the folks they’re sharing with, helping them participate, and getting more buy-in.
So, I’ve been kind of disheartened by what I see as a little bit of backsliding in terms of diversity and inclusiveness among staff at our institutions. We can do better, and I think working together is the only way we can build that pipeline. It doesn’t have to be just a DEI thing; we have to start committing to making this inclusiveness a core part of our institutions.
As someone deeply involved in both academic research and practical preservation initiatives, what advice would you give to aspiring historians and preservationists seeking to bridge the gap between scholarly pursuits and community-centered preservation work?
RJ: First, understand that it’s not an easy road. I’ve jumped around the past decade or so and that’s not been on purpose. It’s the nature of the profession. Folks have to understand that these are winding roads and sometimes you have to figure out a way to build new bridges. That said, also understand that as long as you’re doing the work and doing it right, opportunities will present themselves.
Also, always make sure you’re soliciting input within communities doing the work. The odds are high they’ll be able to give you a sense of what community importance is more than a book can. I’ve stumbled across so many interesting topics just by having conversations with people, more than any kind of primary or secondary source research.
Finally, be willing to change your mind as new evidence presents itself. The way you see the topic isn’t always the way folks in this community do. An intellectually curious mindset and being open to these kinds of experiences will set you up for success.
For members of the public interested in contributing to preservation efforts, especially within marginalized communities, what steps would you recommend they take to get involved meaningfully and respectfully?
Dr. Ramon Jackson: I think part of it is understanding that sometimes you’re not always going to be leading. White scholars, for example, doing work in Black communities will probably find things work out better if they take a back seat sometimes to folks in the community. Focus on being more of a support than a leading person in these kinds of preservation efforts and be comfortable with that.
I remembered a few times in Archives, people who approached us about historical markers sometimes had different ideas, different perspectives than the rest of the community. I learned to err on the side of letting the communities speak for themselves, and modifying as best I could the narratives and approaches we used.
Ultimately, it comes down to empathy, being a good listener, and realizing that things that are being unsaid also matter. All that only comes with being open and observant. I don’t know everything, but I have learned that if you’re going the wrong way, the silence on the other end of the line will tell you.