I worked as a curatorial intern this summer at the Columbus Museum in my hometown. My project consisted of conducting original research on women in the Chattahoochee Valley. I examined material concerning a variety of topics in women’s lives in Columbus from the nineteenth century into the twenty-first century. However, I focused on local women’s involvement in politics locally and statewide. The research included reviewing primary and secondary documents, photographs, and objects concerning women in Muscogee County. My primary objectives involved researching relevant topics, finding material that would be appropriate to display, and developing a gallery guide for a portion of the exhibition.
I believe I met these goals of the internship after writing a gallery guide and even arguing for certain pieces to be included. I found a fair amount of information concerning women’s political involvement in Columbus and have a written text that displays that information. There were also some photographs and objects to illustrate that history. However, I wish that I had found more ephemera related to suffrage in the local area, especially about the Georgia Women Suffrage Association; and more material before 1922. I also found it hard to find material on women of color in Columbus and their involvement in the local political scene. I was frustrating to know that the were a part of this dialogue, but lack artifacts and sources to truly tell the story. I struggled and was at one point stuck during my research because of it. I always want to create content that is well-rounded and represents a multitude of perspectives.
I reconciled with myself and used the amount of material I had to build a narrative of women of color in Columbus of politics. When they were not present, I discussed why they were missing. I had to think outside of the box and start using some of my anthropological background when trying to find these women. I began thinking about the functions of social institutions in these communities and how women operated just outside the dominant lens to find them working behind the scenes in churches and auxiliary clubs. The finished product still did not present a holistic view in my opinion. However, I learned a lot about patience and how sometimes the material you want to find may not exist, or it may exist but cannot be found. These are experiences and ideas that I would like to keep in mind when conducting archival research and trying to make sense of history.
