Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History

Funded by Robert F. Smith

The Museum’s Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History, funded by Robert F. Smith, uses innovative technology to preserve and share African American history and culture.  

This Center is made up of four key components: The Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center, the Community Curation Program, the Professional Curation Program, and the Internships and Fellowships Program. 

Through each component, the Museum seeks to expand access to African American history and cultivate broad interest in America’s Black past, genealogy, and culture. 

Initiatives

The Robert F. Smith Fund engages with communities and institutions both inside and outside of the Museum through its key components: from the Community and Professional Curation Programs, where staff work to preserve community and institutional collections, to the Internship and Fellowships Program, which works to cultivate the next generation of cultural leaders.

Family reunion of a group of women, men and children
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Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center

The Robert Frederick Smith Explore Your Family History Center helps people begin their family history journey and learn the basics of researching African American genealogy.
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young boys opening a fire hydrant on a summer day in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, New York, in 1980.
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The Community Curation Program

The Community Curation Program is an innovative digital first initiative bridging the generational digital divide in African American communities.
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Exterior view of the north-side of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
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Robert Frederick Smith Internship and Fellowship Program

The Robert Frederick Smith Internship and Fellowship Program seeks to build pathways for historically underrepresented individuals to grow successful careers in the cultural sector.
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Professional Curation Program

Through the Professional Curation Program, the Museum works with institutions to digitally preserve collections related to African American history and culture. The Museum aims to build strong relationships with existing institutions while using technology to increase access to the relevant, rare, and impactful collections that they house. By collaborating with the Museum, each institution also agrees to allow NMAAHC to share digitized materials on its website and other platforms.

Explore the Collection

Discover the many ways African American History has been digitized.

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