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Lunch and Learn: “Turning Records into an Archive: A Reflection on the Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project” presentation by Dr. Kalenda Eaton
February 23, 2023, 12 p.m.
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On Thursday, February 23, at noon (Central Time) the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) will hold a free virtual webinar titled “Turning Records into an Archive: A Reflection on the Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project” presented by Dr. Kalenda Eaton.
Over the past year, a small team of scholars have worked to piece together an intriguing history of hope, migration, settlement, perseverance, and politics on the Plains. The Oklahoma Black Homesteader Project, led by Dr. Kalenda Eaton, was created to research and organize the experiences of African Americans who entered Oklahoma Territory from 1889–1920 and directly benefitted from the Federal Homestead Act of 1862. The presentation will include a brief description of the project, a discussion of the process and methodology, a few surprise findings, and a reflection on the role digital archives can have in making rural western Black history visible.
Dr. Kalenda Eaton
Associate Professor, The Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies, University of Oklahoma
Dr. Kalenda Eaton is the Director of Oklahoma Research for the Black Homesteaders Project and an Associate Professor of African & African American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. She is a Humanities scholar focused on African American western studies, intersections of Black literary and gender studies, African American social and cultural history, and Black Diaspora studies. She is known for her teaching and public scholarship on what the experiences of African Americans living on the Great Plains can tell us about American cultural and national politics.
