The Association of Black Anthropologists: A Brief History

Documenting Cultures of Harassment in Archaeology: A Review and Analysis of Quantitative and Qualitative Research Studies

“…In the 1970s, the Civil Rights Act (passed in 1964, amended in 1972) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Act (1972) spurred archaeological professional societies to address equity issues systematically. In 1970, the Association of Black Anthropologists (originally, the Committee on Minority Participation) formed as an AAA section to “highlight situations of exploitation, oppression and discrimination” and to link anthropological theory “to struggles for social justice” (Association of Black Anthropologists 2020; see also Harrison 1987). The Society for Black Archaeologists, founded in 2011, continues and expands on this mission, including an explicit commitment to “addressing harassment, repatriation, and the concerns of LGBTQIA archaeologists” (Franklin et al 2020:759).…”

Valorizing Our Ancestors and Elders: Remembering Ira E. Harrison

“…I found my namesake’s commitment to documenting the history of the ABA and Black anthropologists inspiring. The seminal contributions he made by organizing sessions, writing a brief history of the ABA (I. Harrison 1987), and launching the publication initiative on Black “ancestors and elders” opened the gate for interventions in the history and politics of anthropology. His insistence that Black anthropologists receive the recognition they deserve led him to collaborate with Glenn Jordan (1990), whose essays on St. Clair Drake had a significant impact on our thinking about rehistoricizing anthropology.…”

Good Bye to Mr. ABA! A Personal Tribute to Ira E. Harrison

“…From that original group, the one person I became closest to, and remained so over the longest period, was Ira. His contributions to the ABA, the AAA, and to me personally were not only his publication of the first history of the ABA (Harrison 1987) but also his commitment to the continuing education of the rest of us about the Black anthropologists who preceded us. This commitment resulted in the publication of two co‐edited biographical volumes on African‐American Pioneers in Anthropology (Harrison and Harrison 1999; Harrison et al 2018).…”

“…Perhaps the most critical mentoring and support that I received from Ira came when it was my time to serve as ABA president (1984–85). As Ira states, “[a]fter Vera’s Green’s death (1982), the organization began to waver as various ABA officers rotated in and out … , members changed jobs, and earlier support and enthusiasm in ABA began to wane” (Harrison 1987, 19).…”