Statement on Equity in Archival Access and Collecting

The State Archives of North Carolina (SANC) is firmly committed to collecting, preserving, and providing public access to historically significant archival materials relating to all North Carolinians. As keepers of our state's history, we must not obscure collection material that documents the lives of enslaved people or the legacy of racial discrimination.  Instead, through conscious and ethical archival description and collecting practices; better use of finding aids; and more thoughtful consideration given to the promotion of materials related to Black history, we can add new levels of discovery for our collections.

We condemn all acts of racism against the Black community and will continue to do all that we can to document the rich and diverse stories of our state.  As part of the Office of Archives and History, we affirm our strong commitment to building collections that reflect our motto of "History for all the People." In addition, we support the statements issued by Governor Cooper, the Society of American Archivists (SAA), the Society of North Carolina Archivists (SNCA), and the National Council on Public History (NCPH) affirming the importance of Black lives. We stand with our Black colleagues, friends, and communities during this time of crisis.