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The Easton branch of the NAACP recognized the work of Charlotte Nunes, director of Lafayette College Libraries’ digital scholarship services, with a 2019 Image Award for her work in connection with the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium (LVEHC), a grant initiative funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
After first moving to Easton, Nunes sought to find a local civic engagement opportunity and became involved with the NAACP when a friend made an introduction to a local leader.
Nunes began attending meetings and joined the political action committee, where she visited local retirement communities to help register voters and provide applications for absentee ballots.
“The Easton Branch of the NAACP is extremely active, and I like the organization’s approach to civic engagement,” says Nunes.
Not long after, Nunes was named co-director with Andrea Smith, associate professor of anthropology and sociology, of the LVEHC, designed to “harness the power of public humanities to increase the understanding of all lives and create conditions for Lehigh Valley residents to document their own stories.”
The grant opportunities available through LVEHC aligned perfectly with an engaged NAACP. Born from this alignment were several LVEHC-supported projects, including a digital archival collection on Black history in Easton over the past 50 years, a Lafayette student project utilizing the collection, an ongoing oral history project on African American migration from Cuthbert, Ga., to Easton, and a now permanent exhibit at Sigal Museum called Destination: Northampton County.
“These collaborations among community members, Lafayette students and faculty, public librarians, museum curators, and other partners have been incredibly meaningful,” she says.
That meaning is captured in her award.
“Since the NAACP is an important part of my community here in Easton, the award is significant to me both personally and professionally,” she says. “It’s a testament to the success of the LVEHC Mellon Grant as a response to needs on campus and across the Lehigh Valley to gather and share our stories.”
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2 Comments
Congrats on your Fabulous NAACP Image Award.
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