{"id":21809,"date":"2026-10-23T10:44:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T17:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/?p=21809"},"modified":"2026-10-26T13:19:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T20:19:45","slug":"decentralizing-archives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/","title":{"rendered":"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray-768x432.png\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray-1280x720.png 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray-768x432.png 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Headshot of Bethany Murray, PhD against an abstract blue background\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n    \n          <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span>Bethany Murray PhD, ERI Turpanjian Postdoctoral Fellow<\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">October 23, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 1.6884158 4.03502747 1.6884158 1.44087681 0 2.80427251-.5423678 3.86936601-1.5289606l.1656615-.1594552 2.2321428-2.2321428-1.6311813-1.6311813-2.2321429 2.26076c-.6581959.658196-1.5167124 1.0016026-2.43246332 1.0016026s-1.7742674-.3434066-2.43246337-1.0016026c-.65819597-.6581959-1.00160257-1.5167124-1.00160257-2.4324633 0-.8547009.2991453-1.6595442.87416905-2.2981957l.12743352-.1342677 2.23214286-2.2321429zm6.88661855-.40736607-5.26116068 5.26116075 1.61881868 1.6188186 5.2611607-5.2611607zm1.3837569-5.54501488c-1.4408768 0-2.8042725.54236779-3.869366 1.52896062l-.1656615.15945513-2.23214282 2.23214286 1.63118132 1.63118132 2.2321429-2.23214286c.6581959-.65819597 1.5167124-1.00160256 2.4324633-1.00160256s1.7742674.34340659 2.4324634 1.00160256 1.0016026 1.51671246 1.0016026 2.43246337c0 .85470089-.2991453 1.65954419-.8741691 2.29819559l-.1274335.1342678-2.2321429 2.2321428 1.5739469 1.5739469 2.2321429-2.2321428c1.0874542-1.058837 1.6884157-2.5183151 1.6884157-4.03502751 0-1.51671245-.6009615-2.94757326-1.6884157-4.03502747-1.058837-1.08745421-2.518315-1.68841575-4.0350275-1.68841575z\" transform=\"translate(-3 -3)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Copy Link<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_facebook\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#facebook\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Facebook\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_facebook\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m23.9512 6h-16.9024c-.57923625 0-1.0488.46956375-1.0488 1.0488v16.9024c0 .5792362.46956375 1.0488 1.0488 1.0488h9.10024v-7.34768h-2.46772v-2.87584h2.46772v-2.11508c0-2.45404 1.49872-3.79012 3.68828-3.79012.7389668-.00263323 1.4775241.03516995 2.21236.11324v2.56348h-1.51392c-1.18788 0-1.4174.56544-1.4174 1.39612v1.8316h2.84772l-.37088 2.87584h-2.47684v7.34844h4.83284c.5792362 0 1.0488-.4695638 1.0488-1.0488v-16.9024c0-.57923625-.4695638-1.0488-1.0488-1.0488z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Facebook<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_twitter\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#twitter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"X\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_twitter\">\n              <svg version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\" x=\"0px\"\n\t y=\"0px\" viewBox=\"0 0 30 30\" enable-background=\"new 0 0 30 30\" xml:space=\"preserve\" width=\"19\" height=\"19\">\n<path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M14.5,16.2l-0.8-1.1l-6.3-9h2.7l5.1,7.3l0.8,1.1\n\tl6.6,9.4h-2.7L14.5,16.2L14.5,16.2z M16.9,13.4l7.4-8.7h-1.8l-6.5,7.5L11,4.8H5l7.8,11.4L5,25.2h1.8l6.8-7.9l5.5,7.9h6L16.9,13.4\n\tL16.9,13.4z\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">X<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#linkedin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Linkedin\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_linkedin\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m25 21.4220779c0 1.974026-1.6038961 3.5779221-3.5779221 3.5779221h-11.84415582c-1.97402598 0-3.57792208-1.6038961-3.57792208-3.5779221v-11.84415582c0-1.97402598 1.6038961-3.57792208 3.57792208-3.57792208h11.84415582c1.974026 0 3.5779221 1.6038961 3.5779221 3.57792208zm-14.5584416-12.21428569c-.98701295 0-1.60389606.61688311-1.60389606 1.48051949-.12337663.8636364.49350649 1.4805195 1.48051946 1.4805195.987013 0 1.6038961-.6168831 1.6038961-1.4805195 0-.86363638-.6168831-1.48051949-1.4805195-1.48051949zm1.3571429 12.70779219v-8.6363636h-2.83766234v8.6363636zm10.2402597 0v-4.9350649c0-2.5909091-1.3571428-3.8246753-3.3311688-3.8246753-1.4805195 0-2.0974026.8636363-2.4675325 1.4805194v-1.2337662h-2.8376623v8.6363636h2.8376623v-4.9350649c0-.2467532 0-.4935065.1233767-.7402597.1233766-.4935065.6168831-.987013 1.4805194-.987013.987013 0 1.4805195.7402597 1.4805195 1.974026v4.564935z\" transform=\"translate(-6 -6)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">LinkedIn<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_bluesky\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#bluesky\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Bluesky\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_bluesky\">\n              <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\">\n                <path fill=\"#00000\" d=\"M12 10.8c-1.087-2.114-4.046-6.053-6.798-7.995C2.566.944 1.561 1.266.902 1.565C.139 1.908 0 3.08 0 3.768c0 .69.378 5.65.624 6.479c.815 2.736 3.713 3.66 6.383 3.364c.136-.02.275-.039.415-.056c-.138.022-.276.04-.415.056c-3.912.58-7.387 2.005-2.83 7.078c5.013 5.19 6.87-1.113 7.823-4.308c.953 3.195 2.05 9.271 7.733 4.308c4.267-4.308 1.172-6.498-2.74-7.078a8.741 8.741 0 0 1-.415-.056c.14.017.279.036.415.056c2.67.297 5.568-.628 6.383-3.364c.246-.828.624-5.79.624-6.478c0-.69-.139-1.861-.902-2.206c-.659-.298-1.664-.62-4.3 1.24C16.046 4.748 13.087 8.687 12 10.8\"  fill-rule=\"evenodd\" \/>\n              <\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Bluesky<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                                <a class=\"a2a_button_email\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#email\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"E-mail\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_print\">\n              <svg height=\"12\" viewBox=\"0 0 18 12\" width=\"18\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers across the globe, including some here at the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI), are engaged in discussions about decentralized organizing. Decentralized organizing is a model in which autonomous local groups, sparked by shared causes, act independently but in unison, building a united front that can scale toward material wins. This approach echoes<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/uncpress.org\/9781469681344\/ella-baker-and-the-black-freedom-movement-second-edition\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ella Baker\u2019s group-centered leadership<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, an organizing model that distributes movement leadership rather than relying on a central charismatic leader.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just as movements are distributing power, decision-making, and knowledge across many hands, communities can build, hold, and interpret the archives that document their own lives. When we hear the word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">archive<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we probably imagine boxes of old documents in a university library. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.archivists.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Society of American Archivists (SAA)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> defines archives as the materials a person, family, or organization generates in the course of their affairs and that are kept because of their lasting value or as evidence of what the creator did and was responsible for. But that definition opens up a bigger question: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who gets to create the records that become our history?<\/span><\/i> <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.litwinbooks.com\/index.php\/jclis\/article\/view\/50\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical archival studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> puts that question at the center, asking how archives are shaped by power and how they might serve social justice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tech developers are also thinking along these lines, creating online platforms that spread historical content across <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chainscorelabs.com\/guides\/web3-media-content-and-education\/decentralized-publishing-platforms\/setting-up-a-decentralized-archival-system-for-historical-content\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">peer-to-peer networks <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to make it <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/manifesto.archivist.storage\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">resistant to takedown and tampering<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The decentralized archive I\u2019m describing is not only about storage architecture. It is an organizing tool, a way of democratizing knowledge production, and empowering communities to document their own truths.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A decentralized archive could be built through everyday practices at the local level with organizers, practitioners, families, and neighbors documenting their own practices of resistance, rather than leaving institutions to decide after the fact what was worth keeping.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The upcoming election presents a crucial moment to document <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/democracyforward.org\/work\/research\/exposing-and-disrupting-federal-attempts-to-interfere-in-the-2026-midterm-elections\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">federal actions that Democracy Forward says could suppress voter participation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, effective practices against\u00a0 suppression, and interpretations of electoral outcomes. Doing so could produce a more democratized account of our history that reflects our collective truth rather than an abridged version penned by a few powerful elite. This work is increasingly urgent at a time when history is being <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.historians.org\/teaching-learning\/current-events-in-historical-context\/tracking-federal-actions-affecting-history\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rapidly revised and erased by the federal government<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A decentralized archive could also produce records for accountability and litigation, not only for memory.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>A Decentralized Archive for the Movement to Meet the Moment<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Institutional record-keeping almost inevitably reflects the perspective of the institution doing the recording. A social service agency documents the services it provides. A government agency documents the policies it implements. These records can be valuable, but they are not neutral accounts of what happened. They are records of what institutions saw, deemed important, and had the power to preserve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Archives offer a space of duality where power and identity can be maintained or contested.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Memory is political for precisely this reason. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/paperback\/9780691246475\/the-struggle-for-the-peoples-king?srsltid=AU7gw4UKmXmn3mnfQbJYsUrt4jFCe9bHipGS-JGmpggZEf0ujFnbGOA9\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Struggle for the People\u2019s King<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, sociologist and ERI faculty affiliate Hajar Yazdiha examines how movements across the political spectrum invoke competing versions of the Civil Rights Movement to make claims about national identity and inclusion. She describes collective memory as a socially constructed story about the past that helps groups understand \u201cwho we are\u201d and can be used to argue for \u201cwho we ought to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>The struggle over memory, then, is also a struggle over political possibility.<\/i><\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is why the privilege of being remembered matters, and why it belongs in a conversation about movement building.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Movements depend on histories of strategies, challenges, and relationships that earlier organizers iterated on. When that knowledge is held by inaccessible institutions, or lost due to state suppression, each generation of organizers may have to relearn it from scratch. A movement that has decentralized its organizing but not its memory-keeping has left a piece of its infrastructure vulnerable to erasure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decentralization also has well-known trade-offs. Jo Freeman\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crassh.cam.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Freeman-1970.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe Tyranny of Structurelessness\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> warned that the absence of formal structure can hide and thereby shield power. The same caution applies to archives. A decentralized archive without shared practices for description, consent, and preservation risks becoming a scattering of lost files and uneven recording by whoever had the time and tools to document. Decentralizing the archive should mean distributing authority, not abandoning standards. So, how can we see ourselves not only as consumers of archives, but as potential archivists?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>A New Kind of Archive is Emerging<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oral histories build archives that fill in what institutional archives leave out. They can preserve knowledge that lives primarily within communities, and provide accounts that complicate or challenge official narratives. Importantly, oral history is a practice of<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sunypress.edu\/Books\/A\/A-Shared-Authority\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shared authority<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in which both the interviewer and narrator shape what is meaningful, what is shared, and how the account is preserved and accessed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You do not need to work at a university or historical society to create an archive. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A community project <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.queeringthemap.com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like Queering the Map <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">can preserve meeting notes, photographs, campaign materials, and oral histories<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A practitioner can document what happened when a new policy was implemented, detailing not just its purpose, but how it actually affected the people it was meant to serve. A family can record the stories of an elder whose experiences may never appear in an official record. These ordinary materials might become extraordinary later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Examples of community-centered archival work are increasingly visible. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lib.asu.edu\/communityarchives\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arizona State University\u2019s Community-Driven Archives Initiative<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> supports community archivists in building their own archives outside the university and shares stewardship with community members. A 2019 settlement released nearly 200 boxes of Los Angeles Police Department historical records, forming the foundation of a community archive tool by the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/bunchecenter.ucla.edu\/research-initiatives\/million-dollar-hoods\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Million Dollar Hoods<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> research initiative at UCLA to support policy change, civil liability cases, and organizing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The connection to litigation is noteworthy because it points to how archives can be put into action. In North Carolina, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecharlottepost.com\/news\/2026\/03\/17\/local-state\/northern-piedmont-neighbors-push-against-data-center\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">groups fighting against data centers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> raised concerns about threats to historic Black cemeteries and Indigenous heritage sites. In another state, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m also part of an oral history team planning to use community accounts in legal challenges to data-center development and the desecration of <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Black and Indigenous cemeteries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Louisiana offers another model, where environmental groups used <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wwno.org\/coastal-desk\/2025-07-10\/environmental-groups-sue-formosa-plastics-to-gain-access-to-slave-burial-site\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">descendants&#8217; accounts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 alongside <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lailluminator.com\/2024\/10\/23\/remains-plantation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">archaeological analysis and genealogical records<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to investigate burial sites and brought a lawsuit against Formosa Plastics citing the Thirteenth Amendment and state cemetery law. A related challenge to land-use policies in St. James Parish cited the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/crt\/religious-land-use-and-institutionalized-persons-act\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">RLUIPA<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). These examples demonstrate how oral histories can support organizing, strengthen legal challenges, and help protect community heritage.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With many <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Data_center-related_ballot_measures,_2026\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ballot measures across the country<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this November about data centers and the use of public resources, oral histories offer a timely and useful resource for organizing and legal challenges. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What we choose to record today helps determine what people tomorrow will know about us and, perhaps more importantly, what they will be able to imagine doing differently.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>About the author:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/about\/dr-bethany-murray\/\">Bethany Murray PhD, <\/a>is a Turpanjian Postdoctoral Fellow at USC&#8217;s Equity Research Institute. Her scholarship examines the historical and contemporary interlockings of social work, policing, and the criminal legal system. Her research sits at the intersection of social welfare history, sociolegal studies, and critical carceral studies, with a particular focus on carceral governance and the intertwined governing logics of care and carcerality. She earned her PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, an MSW from the University of Minnesota,\u00a0and serves as a board member of Abolition Perspectives in Social Work as well as the California Social Welfare Archive.<\/p>\n<div class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \">\n<div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\">\n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Explore other articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/11\/06\/backlash-and-belonging-change\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Backlash and Belonging in a Time of Demographic Change\u00a0<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/08\/10\/data-aapi-californians-ice-arrests\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >New Data Shows AAPI Californians Arrested At Alarming Rates<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/07\/21\/why-california-needs-a-state-public-bank\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Why California Needs a State Public Bank<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":21821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[436,94,437,119,294],"class_list":["post-21809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-archives","tag-history","tag-oral-history","tag-organizing","tag-social-movements"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered - USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-23T17:44:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-26T20:19:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1006\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gladys Malibiran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gladys Malibiran\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8da50822d6ffe4cfcd8189616774909\"},\"headline\":\"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-23T17:44:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-26T20:19:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":13,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/41\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png\",\"keywords\":[\"archives\",\"history\",\"oral history\",\"organizing\",\"social movements\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ERI blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/\",\"name\":\"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered - USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/41\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-23T17:44:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-26T20:19:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8da50822d6ffe4cfcd8189616774909\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/41\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/41\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png\",\"width\":1750,\"height\":1006,\"caption\":\"Headshot of Bethany Murray, PhD against an abstract blue background\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/23\\\/decentralizing-archives\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/\",\"name\":\"USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)\",\"description\":\"Data and Analysis to Power Social Change\",\"alternateName\":\"USC ERI\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e8da50822d6ffe4cfcd8189616774909\",\"name\":\"Gladys Malibiran\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d7f9277bec4ea9afb1c79fcb02a605b22755aea8d24745b25ba4c9273e99ecd7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d7f9277bec4ea9afb1c79fcb02a605b22755aea8d24745b25ba4c9273e99ecd7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/d7f9277bec4ea9afb1c79fcb02a605b22755aea8d24745b25ba4c9273e99ecd7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gladys Malibiran\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dornsife.usc.edu\\\/eri\\\/author\\\/malibira\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered - USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)","og_url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/","og_site_name":"USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)","article_published_time":"2026-10-23T17:44:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-10-26T20:19:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1750,"height":1006,"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Gladys Malibiran","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/"},"author":{"name":"Gladys Malibiran","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/#\/schema\/person\/e8da50822d6ffe4cfcd8189616774909"},"headline":"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered","datePublished":"2026-10-23T17:44:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-26T20:19:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/"},"wordCount":13,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png","keywords":["archives","history","oral history","organizing","social movements"],"articleSection":["ERI blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/","name":"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered - USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png","datePublished":"2026-10-23T17:44:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-26T20:19:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/#\/schema\/person\/e8da50822d6ffe4cfcd8189616774909"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2026\/10\/DecentralizingArchivesBlog_Bethany_Murray.png","width":1750,"height":1006,"caption":"Headshot of Bethany Murray, PhD against an abstract blue background"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/2026\/10\/23\/decentralizing-archives\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Decentralizing the Archive: What Movement Organizing Can Teach Us About Who Gets Remembered"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/","name":"USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)","description":"Data and Analysis to Power Social Change","alternateName":"USC ERI","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/#\/schema\/person\/e8da50822d6ffe4cfcd8189616774909","name":"Gladys Malibiran","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7f9277bec4ea9afb1c79fcb02a605b22755aea8d24745b25ba4c9273e99ecd7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7f9277bec4ea9afb1c79fcb02a605b22755aea8d24745b25ba4c9273e99ecd7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7f9277bec4ea9afb1c79fcb02a605b22755aea8d24745b25ba4c9273e99ecd7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Gladys Malibiran"},"url":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/author\/malibira\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21809"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21832,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21809\/revisions\/21832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/eri\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}