Archive contains cultural treasures

After graduating from college, Jason Housley was faced with a tough decision. He knew he wanted to go to graduate school, but he didn't know what school was best for him. All he knew is that he wanted to focus on African-American studies with an emphasis on media.\nWhile doing research, he found he liked what IU had to offer. In particular, he was attracted to IU's Archives of African-American Music and Culture. \n"It's really what inspired me to go here," he said.\nNow working for the archives, Housley helps provide 10,000 pieces of music, interviews, photographs and other memorabilia, providing students and faculty the opportunity to learn about African-American music and culture. Started in 1984 as a personal project, the archives has won several awards while expanding to consume a suite in the Smith Research Center.\nAnything from hip-hop to funk, to rhythm and blues to soul can be found in the archives, offering information for people of all ages.\n"We're really unique in that focus on rap," Assistant Director Stephanie Shonekan said.\nShonekan also said the Westwood One Collection, containing 226 programs of black performers from 1981 to 1986, was possibly her favorite collection, reflecting the time period she grew up in.\nWestwood One is the largest producer and distributor of nationally sponsored radio programs. The collection features narration and interviews of everyone from Marvin Gaye to Run DMC, including background information on all the programs.\nAlthough Westwood One might be Shonekan's favorite, she still appreciates the value of the older collections. \n"I think it's really important for students to study and know how older music has laid the foundation for contemporary music," she said. \nCovering some of the years that evolved into modern music, The Rhythm and Blues Foundation includes photographs, videotapes, and program booklets from the Pioneer Awards Ceremony, an annual awards banquet honoring past rhythm and blues artists. It also features production materials including oral histories, audio interviews, and transcripts from the 52-week radio series on rhythm and blues entitled "Let the Good Times Roll."\nAlong with many of the other recordings, The Johnny Otis Collection, a popular black radio program in the 40s, 50s and 60s, provides testimony from the times. \n"The early black radio shows are important because they talked about current issues," Shonekan said.\nOther artifacts from the past show the racial issues of the time. In particular, a flyer from the early 1950s urging the public to not buy "negro" records, is available in a collection of similar memorabilia.\nWith the abundant amount of information available in the archives, the collections have received several awards. Among them, the Dupont Columbia University Award was awarded to them in 1996 for excellence in broadcast journalism. In the same year, they were also awarded the Peabody Award from the University of Georgia.\nStarted as a one-person project in 1984 by current Director Portia Maultsby, the archives were originally contained in one room. Today, they are held in a suite holding several different rooms, and they are looking for more room to work with.\n"There is a wealth of information at the archives," Shonekan said. "It provides a means of studying black culture other than the traditional textbook ways." \nThe Archives of African American Culture can be visited by faculty and students, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. To find out more information, visit www.indiana.edu/~aaamc.