Save Our African American Treasures

Save Our African American Treasures

Saturday, January 11th, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 12th, 12:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

African-American Research Library and Cultural Center

2650 Sistrunk Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311

The program is free and open to the public, all are welcome.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will host “Save Our African American Treasures: A National Collections Initiative of Discovery and Preservation,” a two day program to help south Florida residents identify and preserve items of historical and cultural significance.Participants are invited to bring up to three personal items for a 15-minute, professional consultation with experts on how to care for them. The specialists will serve as reviewers, not appraisers, and will not determine an item’s monetary value. Objects such as books, photographs, ceramics, metalwork and textiles no larger than a shopping bag (furniture, carpets, firearms and paintings are excluded) can be reviewed.The “Treasures” program also includes the following activities:


All Day Saturday and Sunday! Hands-on Preservation: In this hands-on activity, participants are invited to learn how to properly store letters, pack garments and prepare photographs for preservation storage and presentation.Community Partners Expo: Learn more about the wonderful resources available in South Florida! Community Partners will distribute materials and answer questions from members of the public.

Saturday 11:00 a.m. / Sunday 12:30 p.m. Black Broward Speaks: A presentation from three local repositories on how each acquired, preserved and made accessible an extensive collection of photographs of blacks in Broward County, dating as far back as the 1890s. Photographs depict the agricultural past, civil rights struggles, thriving business communities, and social life.

Saturday 12:00 p.m. / Sunday 1:30 p.m. Personal Collection Disaster Planning: When a disaster strikes, personal keepsakes are among the top items to be saved. Unfortunately, these items are often forgotten until after the damage has been done. This discussion will provide information on the necessary steps to care for your treasures before, during and after disasters.

Saturday 1:00 p.m. / Sunday 2:30 p.m. Saving Your Family Photographs and Papers: Great Aunt Mary left you with the responsibility of preserving the family photographs and papers — now what do you do? Learn how light, heat, and humidity affect your family collections. Discover some simple things you can do to be a good steward of your family paper and photography collections.

Saturday 2:00 p.m. / Sunday 3:30 p.m. Preserving Digital Memories: Digital photographs and other new media are fragile and require special care to keep them useable. As new technologies appear for creating and saving our personal digital information, older ones become obsolete, making it difficult to access older content. Find out more about the nature of the problem and learn some simple, practical tips for preserving your digital memories.

Saturday 3:00 p.m. / Sunday 4:30 p.m. Preserving Clothing and Textiles: What is a "textile" in the museum world? Rag dolls, flags/banners, hats, lace, linens, needlework, quilts/blankets, uniforms, upholstery/curtains — think fabric. Come and get some tips on how to better preserve your daughter's christening gown, your grandmother's wedding dress, or your father's military uniform from a professional who works in the field of textile preservation.

For more Treasures event information, visit nmaahc.si.edu/Programs/FLTreasures, email treasures@si.edu or call (877) 733-9599.

“Save Our African American Treasures” is made possible with support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.