Bison Trailblazers | Brandon Nightingale

by Jasmine M. Ellis

 

Black Press Archives Digitization Project Manager, Brandon Nightingale, is looking to expand his educational endeavors. The historian will begin pursuing his doctorate in History this coming fall at Howard.  

“I am nervous and anxious,” says Nightingale. “My focus originally was going to be Mary McLeod Bethune. I was the University Archivist at Bethune-Cookman University prior to my start at Howard. There is so much to her story. However, I think I will end up writing about a topic centered on the Black Press. Ironically, Mary McLeod Bethune wrote for the Black Press, so maybe there will be a way to fit her in.”

Nightingale has held several impressive historical positions, including as an Adjunct Professor and Assistant Archivist at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, FL. He also was a Public History Contractor with the National Parks Service / University of South Carolina. The Jacksonville, Florida native shares how he decided to become a historian. 

“There wasn’t one person that inspired me,” says Nightingale. “There are figures throughout history like Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that will always be with us, but for me, it was more personal. I was a math and science student in college. I took a few writing and history classes as an undergraduate, and from then on, I was hooked. Being a historian is a passion. The ability to seek knowledge on the Black experience is what keeps me going.”

In an interview with The Sway, Nightingale shares more about his role and what he has learned while working on the Black Press Archives Digitization Project. This article has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

The Sway: What is the Black Press Archives Digitization Project? And what is your role?

Brandon Nightingale: The Black Press Archives Digitization project will digitally preserve the rich history of the global Black experience for research and access for years to come.

The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation awarded Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) with 2 million dollars to digitize our newspaper collection to make the material more accessible to the public.

The project will be led by MSRC’s Black Press Archives Staff, under the supervision of Dr. Benjamin Talton (Principal Investigator) and myself (Project Manager).  The project will be conducted over approximately five years and in three distinct phases: 1. selection, arrangement, and description of unprocessed newspapers, 2. scanning, and 3. digital curation and preservation. The final product will be available for research in the Moorland-Spingarn Reading Room with select materials made available online through the Center’s Digital Howard institutional repository.

TS: How did this project come together? And why is it essential for it to be taking place at Howard?

BN: The Black Press Archives began as a joint project between MSRC and the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA) in 1973 when Moorland officially became a research center.

The Black Press Archives. This collection represents over 2,000 newspaper titles from the United States, Africa, and the African Diaspora. It is one of the most valuable research features, eagerly sought by visiting scholars and graduate students. We have about 3,000 microfilm reels of newspapers, totaling over 100,000 individual issues of newspapers. The collection includes complete files of Black papers, as well as the records of Black editors, publishers, and journalists.

The collection is housed at MSRC. The MSRC is currently housed in Howard’s storied Founder’s Library. Here students, scholars, and history buffs alike from the world over study the original manuscripts of early historical figures such as Juan Latino, Jacobus Capitein, and Jupiter Hammon; and well-known artists, academics, and leaders such as Alain Locke, Phillis Wheatley, Mary Church Terrell, Paul Robeson, Lois Mailou Jones, Ralph Bunche, and Zora Neale Hurston, as well as hundreds more.

TS: What are you hoping to achieve with the Black Press Archives Digitization Project?

BN: MSRC will seek to gain permission to publish as many of the digitized newspapers as possible online. Our goal will be to include at least 60% of the publications in an online repository for worldwide research. The project manager will be tasked with acquiring the permissions. MSRC has a prior relationship with the NNPA, the organization for Black newspaper publishers. This will be very helpful in both locating publishers and gaining permission to publish online.

TS: What is something exciting or unexpected you’ve learned during this process that you wouldn’t mind sharing?

BN: Patience. I think that when I came on board in May, I wanted to start scanning and getting things done right away. Because this is such an important project, things can’t be rushed. We have the funds and time to get this project done the right way, and that will take patience.

TS: What advice can you share with students and alums interested in pursuing a similar career path?

BN: Don’t follow the money. The money will eventually come when you’re passionate about what you’re doing and your heart is in it.

TS: In terms of who you are – Do you define yourself solely as a historian, or do you have other interests/passions that represent who you are?

BN: I think the historian title fits me well. I am constantly researching topics in my free time.

TS: It’s time for a fun fact! What is the best movie or television series you’ve watched lately?

BN: The Boondocks.