Southern – ANDREA ROBERTS

Out(sider) Preservation Initiative-Mellon

Jul 15, 2026Andrea RobertsUncategorizedafrican american, black, Black Settlements, Black Towns, California, Canada, cemetery, environmental justice, freedom, Gulf Coast, heritage, historic preservation, homecoming, Louisiana, migration, National, North Carolina, placekeeping, placemaking, planning, Southern, Texas, Virginia

2023- Present, Principal Investigator (PI), Outsider Preservation Initiative, Presidential Initiative of the Andrew Mellon Foundation. A four-year program investing in commemorative practices and storytelling projects. I manage research and program staff to create a web portal, community of practice, host symposia, develop new pedagogy, and make grants to descendant-led place preservation projects. Commemorating Black place preservation and persistence…

An Infatuation with Plantation Imaginaries: Paula Deen’s Demise

This is not just about being insensitive or hurtful. People don;t get fired over hurt feelings in America, especially not hurt “Black” feelings. Black people just aren’t that soft. We can’t afford to be. What we can afford to do is demand a workplace that isn’t hostile to our being treated as more than 3/5…