Association for the Study of African American Life and History Conference
This fall, CCL team member Daniele Dixon presented an academic poster at the 2025 Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) Annual Meeting & Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.
“The Out(sider) Preservation Initiative: Participatory Research Approaches to Place Documentation and Regeneration” drew strong engagement for both its design and its depth. Designed by CCL intern Ethan Turner, the poster captured how The Out(sider) Preservation Initiative (OPI) fosters collaboration between scholars and descendant communities through oral histories, archival recovery, and digital mapping. The poster also highlighted three of our current OPI grantees. Many attendees expressed admiration for how OPI not only conducts research but also redistributes resources, empowering others to preserve, interpret, and activate their own landscapes of memory.
The conference offered more than professional exchange; it affirmed that our model of shared stewardship is resonating nationally. Each conversation was a reminder that preservation, at its best, is a collective practice of care, creativity, and accountability.
— Daniele Dixon, Project Coordinator
Left: Daniele (third from right) and fellow conference attendees on a tour of Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.
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