Jehoiada Zechariah Calvin

Jehoiada Zechariah Calvin is a Chicago born, raised, and based archivist and memory worker. Jehoiada is the Archives Assistant for the Johnson Publishing Company Archive with the J. Paul Getty Trust, helping to process the historic photograph collection for Ebony, Jet, and several other magazines. Before joining JPC, Jehoiada created legacy management resources for Black Chicagoans as the Community Engagement Archivist for the Black Metropolis Research Consortium. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Black Studies and Latinx & Latin American Studies from Amherst College. Jehoiada’s personal memory work uses non-institutional archival practices to self-publish poetic collections reflective of his spirituality.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

In January 2024, Jehoiada published an article with Sixty Inches From Center highlighting the reparative description work he is leading at the Johnson Publishing Company Archive with the support of their archival team. The article covers the process of surveying the photographs and folders at JPCA and presenting a workflow for reparative description while exploring his affective relationships with the collection as a Black transgender man
https://sixtyinchesfromcenter.org/rejecting-neutrality-reparative-description-at-the-johnson-publishing-company-archive/

In July 2023, Jehoiada will also be participating as a facilitator in the Society of Georgia Archivists “Summer Workshop Series: Rooted in Memory.” Jehoiada’s workshop, “How Do You Remember?: A Legacy Management Workshop,” will ask participants to discuss the importance of memory work in their lives and their goals for managing their legacies before hearing a presentation about non-institutional and institutional archiving practices. Find more information about the workshop series here.

In May 2023, Jehoiada Calvin was accepted into the California Rare Book School’s Radical Librarianship Institute inaugural cohort, funded by the Mellon Foundation. Jehoiada will be using his training and funding from CalRBS to connect queer Black Chicagoans with local historical materials related to the Johnson Publishing Company and the legacy of Freda DeKnight, author of A Date with a Dish and The Ebony Cookbook. This group will work with Beet Street Zine, a Chicago-based group focusing on supporting information about food sovereignty for Black and brown queer folks, to publish a zine created by program participants.

My SJ4A ROAD MAP [STRATEGIC EDUCATION PLAN]

FALL 2024

CIS 675: Community-Engaged Scholarship
I have created this Community-Engaged ePortfolio (CP-eP) as part of my work for the CIS 675 course (Community-Engaged Scholarship) during fall 2024. In my CP-eP I analyze existing communication and information responses to the needs of grassroots organizers from the Highlander Research and Education Center located in New Market, Tennessee. I propose activities for the Highlander Research and Education Center to continue addressing the information needs of grassroots organizers in Appalachia and the South with considerations for improvement and growth drawn from the Center’s website offerings, library catalog, library and archives strategic plan, and documentation for their Southern Memory Workers’ Institute. Finally, I develop an action plan for the Center to identify directions for future projects and programs centering grassroots organizers.

Analyzing Existing Communication and Information Responses to the Needs of Grassroots Organizers from the Highlander Research and Education Center located in New Market, Tennessee https://tcalvin-cis675-fall24.myportfolio.com

FALL 2023

CIS 668: Social Justice and Inclusion Advocacy
I have created this Social Justice ePortfolio (SJ-eP) as part of my work for CIS 668 (Social Justice and Inclusion Advocacy) course during fall 2023.

In my SJ-eP I suggest actions learned from radical world-building to improve communication and information offerings supporting food sovereignty work by and for Black and brown queer/trans Chicagoans from Beet Street Zine, an art-based organizing and community-led publication.

The responsive actions I propose and put into place will help Beet Street learn from similar work happening elsewhere and continue regrounding itself as a publication and as a group, work that was started in early 2023. The suggestions I make will focus on how to best support Black and brown queer and trans people in building their own food-sovereign communities by using Beet Street’s platform, where we highlight relevant stories, artwork, and information. Beet Street will learn ways to put our newly solidified Mission, Vision, and Values into practice as a publication in solidarity with radical movements. This work will be important as Beet Street begins returning to the public after taking a break from sharing content and focusing on the regrounding work mentioned earlier.

This SJ-eP shares a glimpse of the actions I will suggest to Beet Street by using methods that are relevant to our needs as a publication/organization. It documents my process of reflecting on my experiences and feedback from other Beet Street members to make sure this work is useful for our goals.

Beet Street Zine’s Pursuit of Equitable Food Sovereignty – tcalvin-cis668-fall23.myportfolio.com

SUMMER 2023

​CIS 650: Applying Diversity Leadership Theories and Praxis
I have created this Diversity & Inclusion ePortfolio (D&P-eP) as part of my work for the CIS 650 (Applying Diversity Leadership Theories & Praxis) course during Summer 2023. 

In my D&P-eP I analyze how well the Invisible Histories Project‘s diversity and inclusion initiatives respond to the needs of queer Black people in and outside of their focused locations of Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. I also propose a range of responsive strategies to further cultural humility and effective leadership in IHP’s diverse workforce environment. As part of my analysis, I critically evaluate a variety of existing information responses from IHP’s collections, services, programs, resources, policies, and best practices to ensure compassionate representation, access, and information use for their Black stakeholders. I focus on an evaluation of website-based and/or on-site information offerings and develop a strategic action plan for IHP to identify future directions of progressive growth and radically ethical praxis.

Assessing the Invisible History Project’s Engagement with Queer Blacks of the South – tcalvin-cis650div-sum23.myportfolio.com ​