Artifacts from the Black Archives
Timothy Barber helps give a voice to the lions of history
Most people go to a museum expecting to find old letters, dusty tombs, and age-old relics preserved in glass cases like trophies, only to be glanced at while walking through musky halls. Timothy Barber, director of the Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum at Florida A&M University, aims to bring a fresh perspective to every exhibit he designs.
“What I do is try to find ways to make history relevant. It’s almost like Disney World,” Barber says, noting that the theme park is constantly upgrading and changing rides to make the experience more appealing for repeat visitors.
Barber strives to take museum guests on a journey, starting with a piece of history and ending with contrasting images of the past with the voices of today. Last year, he welcomed a special traveling exhibition from the Museum of UnCut Funk entitled “Funky Turns 40: Black Character Revolution.”
The exhibit showed how people of color have been portrayed in cartoons and television throughout history in images that Barber says “mess with the psychology of kids, when the only thing you see about yourself is a dark face and big lips.” He wanted to show the historical context of this, so the feature began with black-and-white caricatures and evolved as the exhibit progressed.
“All of a sudden, everything is in color,” Barber says. “You see Fat Albert. You see these positive icons.You see Josie and the Pussycats. You see all of these new characters that started coming out in the ’70s that played to Black empowerment, and that changes the mindset.”
Barber doesn’t tell the stories. The history is already there, so he allows the exhibits to speak their truths.
“My intent is to make you ask yourself questions as you go through and view these materials—it could be slavery papers; it could be a Jim Crow [exhibit]; it could be a church exhibit; it could be an African mask,” he says. “My job is to make sure when [you] walk through the museum, you come out with a better self-awareness of who you are.”
Barber emphasizes the importance of preserving facts without bias, acknowledging, “At the same time, we have to educate. It’s not our job to interpret the history. It’s our job to make sure that the history is preserved for years to come so these documents don’t get lost—these stories don’t get lost.”
The Black Archives was the first of its kind in Florida, with nearly a half-century of dedication to preserving culture and history of the Black community.
Preservation of Black history began after Florida passed legislation in 1971 to create a repository of historical source materials “about African Americans from ancient to present times.” Professor James Eaton began what would become the Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum at Florida A&M University a few years later in 1976.
Eaton’s impact has stretched across the generations, inspiring all those who walk through the museum or search through the archives, including Barber, who was a student at FAMU under the tutelage of Eaton himself. Though educated as an engineer, Barber only worked for a short time in his initial field, finding the work unfulfilling.
“I intended to come back to school for an English degree,” Barber recalls, “then transition to law school when I got here.” Instead, he took an internship opportunity as an archivist at the Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida in Miami, where he spent nearly two decades, advancing to become the director before returning to his alma mater.
Barber has overseen the museum’s operations for nearly three years and has strived to reach a larger audience with innovative exhibits and new technologies.
Recently, Barber and his team launched MEBA Digital, a virtual experience allowing researchers, students, and enthusiasts a platform to explore “through meticulously curated catalogs and uncover stories behind each artifact to connect with history in a profound and meaningful way.”
There are two portals that are accessible worldwide. The first, Explore, enables visitors to take a virtual tour across current exhibits. The Learn repository allows users to peruse historical archives, consisting of more than 500,000 individual records and more than 5,000 museum artifacts.
The next attraction in the works is called “Beyond Black Beauty,” a multipart installation opening in Spring 2025 with a feature titled Miss FAMU and the Aesthetics of Excellence. The production promises to be an immersive experience that will illuminate the tradition of the Black College Queen, promoting an appreciation of “Black women’s hair as a symbol of resistance and autonomy by way of a striking presentation of portraits” from the internationally acclaimed artist Sandro Miller’s Crowns: My Hair, My Soul, My Freedom.
Historically, Barber feels there has been a fear in communities around Black hair, particularly “in federal government, where Black women would cover their hair with wigs because they didn’t want to show their natural hair.”
Research from a study by the Duke School of Business suggests there is merit to this fear, where Black women with natural hairstyles are overlooked for promotions for “appearing less professional” than Black women with straightened hair or wigs.
Barber envisions the exhibit inspiring Black children who might have a resistance to being who they are. Or, in his words, “Our whole thing is wanting the girls to come in and feel good about themselves.”
Additional features will include “Stomp the Yard Twentieth Anniversary: Exploration of Greek Life at FAMU,” opening in 2027, and “The Beat of the Drum: Year of the Oak, Honoring 80 Years of the Marching 100 and Counting” in 2028.
Honoring history is crucial to Barber, who says, “Until the lions tell their stories, the tales of the hunt will only glorify the hunter.”
If truth matters, then contentious moments in history must be considered from the perspective of the ones who were not considered victorious, and showing the relevance of the modern Black perspective through the lens of an accurate historical context will help to give these lions of history a voice.
Meek-Eaton Black Archives Research Center & Museum
Located at 1601 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
(850) 599-3000
