Credits

Curator, Project Manager & Lead Exhibit Developer

Jami Murphy, Project Archivist
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History

Jami Murphy conceptualized, curated, designed, wrote, built, and managed Softness Was Always Ours. Her work included the exhibit’s interpretive framework, thematic structure, item selection, archival research, exhibit writing, caption development, citations, digitization support, Omeka S page creation, HTML/CSS customization, visual design direction, playlist development, recommended reading and viewing sections, and final editorial review.

Exhibit Design & Digital Development

Jami Murphy
Exhibit Panels, Omeka S Digital Exhibit, Page Design, HTML/CSS Customization, Visual Direction, and User Experience

Research, Writing & Interpretation

Jami Murphy
Concept Development, Thematic Interpretation, Archival Research, Exhibit Text, Captions, Citations, Recommended Reading, and Recommended Viewing

Digitization, Metadata & Collection Work

Jami Murphy
Digitization Support, Description, Metadata Review, Collection Research, and Archival Context

Graphic Design & Social Media

Ruben Lebron-Villegas, Digital Media Associate
Briana Botsford, Public Affairs Officer, Fulton County Library System

Soundtrack Compilation

Jami Murphy
Playlist Concept, Song Selection, Sequencing, Narrative Description, and Thumbnail Design

Sean Payne
Song Selection

Video Playlist

Jami Murphy
Video Selection, Thematic Organization, and Descriptive Text

Collections Represented

Annie L. McPheeters Papers
Ann States Photograph Collection
Dr. Asa G. Yancey, Sr., M.D. Papers
General Photographs Collection
Harmon Perry Collection
Henry J. and Florine D. Furlow Papers
Links, Inc., Atlanta Chapter Records
Mary Parks Washington Papers
National Conclave of Grady Graduate Nurses Collection
Rare Periodicals and Newspaper Collection
Ruby Parks Blackburn Papers
Selena Sloan Butler Papers
Utopian Literary Club Records

Institutional Support

Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History
Fulton County Library System
Georgia Public Library Service

Funding

Supported in part by the Mellon Foundation and Fulton County Library System

Special Thanks

Special thanks to the volunteers, staff, and community partners whose contributions, insight, and support helped bring this exhibit to life.

Special appreciation goes to Victor Simmons, Branch Manager, Auburn Avenue Research Library, for granting the freedom and encouragement to bring this vision to fruition; to Derek Mosely, Archives Division Manager, for providing the opportunity to develop this exhibit and for earmarking Mellon funds in its support; and to Afia Vassall, Project Assistant, for her work assisting with the identification of thousands of individuals in the Ellie Lee Weems Photographic Negatives Collection.

AI Assistance Disclosure

A portion of the exhibit text, captions, structural language, and technical troubleshooting was drafted, refined, or reviewed with the assistance of ChatGPT by OpenAI, an AI-based language model. ChatGPT assisted with language development, caption refinement, interpretive phrasing, playlist and reading-section text, HTML/CSS troubleshooting, and brainstorming support.

All final exhibit content, interpretive framing, curatorial decisions, research direction, source selection, visual direction, and editorial judgment reflect the curator’s authorship, expertise, and responsibility.