African and African American Studies
50th Anniversary
Visual Retrospective

The Department of African and African American Studies at Harvard University commemorated its fiftieth anniversary in 2020. Drawing on decades of multimedia archives, History Design Studio created a visual retrospective.

The retrospective was unveiled during a two-day symposium on Friday, February 28, and Saturday, February 29, 2020. The project consisted of 28 panels arranged around 5 themes: Celebrating Black Student Life, Finding Expression, Forging Institutions, Community Engagement, Claiming Space at Harvard, and Organizing for Global Issues. By curating, combining, and interpreting archival research with elements of digital and analog design, the project draws out aesthetic themes and concentrated moments in the archive that represent a perspective from students who assembled the materials

Designers: Amsale Alemu and Robin McDowell