Workplace Samples

Iowa Black History Research Collective

Summer Research Assistant
(June – August 2024)

While at IBHRC, I conducted online qualitative archival research through Newspapers.com on the Maple Street Baptist Church utilizing The Des Moines Register and The Des Moines Tribune for use in historic recognition and preservation program applications, as well as for the organization’s public blog to keep Black Iowan history accessible. My blog post “47+ Years of Service in Des Moines” briefly details Reverend George Parrish’s public life as a social activist within and outside his formal religious work. While my blog post “The Challenges of Researching Black Churches” follows the technical obstacles when trying to collect and synthesize marginalized narratives and histories.

Aside from my main responsibilities, my professional development project was a curating a digital accessibility training for IBHRC.  I trained my supervisor and co-worker on basic WCAG compliance to improve the accessibility of their Microsoft Office and Google Workspace documents, the organization’s WordPress site, and Instagram educational and marketing content.