The Archives of You

Let's go back to go forward.

August Wilson’s childhood home in Pittsburgh, PA. A portrait of his mother, Daisy Wilson, and a young August hangs in their former home.

Last week I had the golden opportunity of visiting the August Wilson archives at the University of Pittsburgh. Over the summer I was chosen by the August Wilson Society as a researcher/writer for the upcoming book, “Centering and Celebrating Wilsonian Warriors”. Any actor who has ever performed in an August Wilson stage play or film is considered to be a “Wilsonian Warrior”. This impressive list includes Viola Davis, Charles Dutton, S. Epatha Merkerson, Phylicia Rashad and more. The WW I was given to research is Broadway actor, Tommy Hollis. 

I saw many things in the archives that made my heart explode with joy. Can you imagine the deep breaths I inhaled when I came across Wilson’s hand written thoughts on notepads or on random scraps of paper, or playbills? I saw the Guest of Honor Pulitzer Prize for Drama ribbon he wore in 1988. I felt like an intruder studying casting notes on why certain actors were or were not chosen and the phone numbers of cast members. The many letters people had written Wilson on custom stationery prompted me to make a mental note to order a set of my own. And my favorite of all, was seeing the relationship Wilson had with Chicago theatres. King Hedley premiered at Goodman Theatre in 2000 and was adamant about having Wilson, along with his director of choice Lloyd Richards, attend events at the DuSable Museum to connect with the Black audience. Congo Square Theatre was in contact with Wilson and now I know why they are adamant about honoring Wilson’s legacy. It’s truly amazing. While digging through the sacred letters and precious artifacts, the undercurrent thought I kept having was, “How did Constanza Romero (Wilson’s widow) know the value of these archives? What made her keep them and ultimately decide to let the University of Pittsburgh house them?”, which leads to my real question: What are your archives? I’m not referring to the items you’ll leave behind. I’m talking about the things you may have forgotten that make your heart fly.  

Last year my great aunt, who is also my grandmother’s twin, gave me a bag of vintage newspapers. One is a Chicago Defender from January 1988. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is on the cover and the entire paper was dedicated to him. My office contains newspapers from President Obama’s historical presidency, vintage EBONY and JET magazines, and classic vinyl records. Spike Lee recently had an exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum that featured more than 450 objects from his personal collection. They feature a flag for the African National Congress that is signed by Nelson and Winnie Mandela, a guitar that once belonged to Prince, Lee’s personal papers, photos and more artifacts. If I’m smart, I will start working on a future exhibit from my personal collection as well. But, what I realized while digging through the archives of August Wilson is, it was awakening the archives in me.

I posted a story on Instagram of me touching the actual desk of August Wilson and a friend commented, “That is authentic joy right there.” Another friend said, “You’re glowing in purpose, Nikki.” I’m committing to seek out more moments that bring out the archival bliss in me. Moments that take my breath away. No more bare minimum. I’m ready to go deep. The archives of Nikki consist of exploring, history, culture, theatre, makeup, fulfilling conversations, editorial style photos and so much more. Take me back and forward at the same time. 

What are the archives of you?