Document Type
Conference Presentation
Embargo Period
10-15-2026
Publication Date
9-25-2026
Department
Academic Affairs Faculty
Abstract
Historians and genealogists depend on records preserved in archival repositories and special collections libraries to provide the foundation of their research and scholarship. Systemic inadequacies in archival practice, including bias in the development of collections and the pitfalls of engagement, outreach, and advocacy to actively document and promote the work of archives and special collections libraries among potential stakeholders and interest-group communities, often contribute to archival silences, or gaps in the documentary record relating to historically marginalized communities. This is particularly significant in documenting the history of the ways Black communities have engaged with the American healthcare system as patients, researchers, practitioners, and activists, and in the ways where they lacked autonomy. Archivists at institutions in Charleston, South Carolina, will discuss the ways in which archival silences in their collections have impacted the historical research surrounding the ways Black communities have engaged with the healthcare system in Charleston.
Recommended Citation
Haykal, Aaisha and Samuel, Tabitha Y., "The Relation of Archival Repair, Black Communities, and the American Healthcare System" (2026). MUSC Conference Presentations. 19.
https://medica-musc.researchcommons.org/conference-presentations/19
Included in
Archival Science Commons, Black History Commons, Collection Development and Management Commons, Health Sciences and Medical Librarianship Commons, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons