Black Family Expo
Central Arkansas Library System
Innovation Synopsis
The Black Family Expo is a vibrant, family-centered celebration designed to uplift, educate, and empower families in honor of Black History Month. This annual event brings together community organizations, cultural leaders, and families to promote family history preservation and showcases the value of Central Arkansas’s Black history. The event allows families to register and serve as exhibitors with their own memorabilia, such as photos, artifacts, and documents. Visitors walk through, view these items, and hear from the families sharing their stories. The library's mobile memory lab is onsite to show patrons how to scan photos, provide tutorials on oral history kits, and direct patrons to other services they can take advantage of when they come to CALS. Library card sign-ups are available, as well as free family photos, food, and activities for youth. The entire day is free and dedicated to encouraging families to preserve their own history for the generations to come.
Challenge/Opportunity
This program addresses gaps in the representation, preservation, and accessibility of Black history and culture within library spaces. Black family histories and community knowledge are often underrepresented in archival collections, while community members may have limited opportunities to document and interpret their own histories. The program also responds to a lack of awareness of or access to basic library services, genealogy resources, and preservation tools. It addresses the need for the library to be perceived and experienced as a space where Black community members have ownership, belonging, and agency. Finally, it introduces Black creatives and entrepreneurs to library spaces and resources, facilitating access to and awareness of funding, collections, technology, and partnerships to uplift their work. Together, these issues point to a need for a more accessible, community-centered library that actively supports Black history, culture, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
Key Elements of Innovation
This community-driven event was the brainchild of Community Engagement Coordinator Jessica McDaniel and Community Outreach Archivist Danielle Afsordeh. At its center are family history tables where community members share their family archives, artifacts, and stories. The event uniquely leverages the DIY Memory Lab and CALS Butler Center’s archival and genealogical resources, giving participants opportunities to explore, preserve, and share their histories, including through oral history interviews recorded in our production studio. We featured CALS’s Rock It! Lab entrepreneurship hub, which partners with Advancing Black Entrepreneurship. A community meal celebrating Black foodways, a children’s craft, and a demonstration by a local Black artist round out the program. By bringing these resources together at our Main Library campus, we highlight the library as a community space that celebrates local Black history and culture.
Achieved Outcomes
The success of the Black Family Expo is measured through attendance, repeat participation, and participant feedback. Attendance has increased from 110 participants in 2023 to 326 in 2026, demonstrating sustained and growing community interest. The Expo initially took place in community spaces to build trust and establish relationships with families and organizations; it relocated to the flagship Main Library to build community ownership and belonging at the downtown location. Repeat participation from families, such as the Smiths and Norwoods, demonstrates continued engagement. One participant noted that it creates a space where families can “honor our history, celebrate our heritage, and share stories.” Another highlighted the value of “sharing my family story with the community” and learning the stories of others. These responses demonstrate the Expo’s success in connecting families to one another, to their history, and to the library as a community resource.
Supporting Materials:
- YouTube Short: @angelamckenziesmith "Have u heard of the Black Family Expo?"
