Assistant curator keeps ‘digging for all the secrets we’ve hidden’
Hadley Drodge’s passion for history shines at the National Afro-American Museum.
DAYTON— Hadley Drodge never knowswhat her daymay involve — it could be research, writing or firing up an acetylene torch.
Drodge serves as assistant curator at theNationalAfro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce. She believes that history helps us understandwho we are and represents “a blueprint for our collective identity.”
Drodgetellsusinherownwords about her passion for history and her work at the museum.
Tell us about your background. What has led you to this point in your career?
As a historian, I alwayswant to take the story as far back in time as I can, but I don’t think that will make for exciting reading! I’ll just say that by a very early age, I was already interested in other cultures.
I loved to study how social norms changed over time and space. The history that I value today is so much more about the why than the what because it helps us understand who we are. History is more than a series of dates, it’s a blueprint for our collective identity.
Imoved back to Dayton in 2014 after a brief five years in NewYork City. One day I watched a NOVA documentary about themurder of Charles Lindbergh’s baby and sawthat an archivistwas involved in revisiting the evidence and possibly solving the crime. It made me wonder what other secrets lay hidden in our archival strata.
After watching the documentary, Iwent to aWright State University Public History Symposium, met Dawne Dewey, who was then head of the concentration, as well as Linda Collins, National Afro-AmericanMuseum & Cultural Center (NAAMCC) collections manager, and Dr. Charles Wash, NAAMCCmuseumdirector.
I decided to apply for the graduate degree program and dreamed that one day I might intern for the museum. I gotmy wishandmore. Now I just have to keep digging for all the secrets we’ve hidden.
What’s special about The National Afro- American Museum & Cultural Center?
First of all, themuseum is the direct result of real grass-roots action. It exists because the people demanded it and because the idea was so important that it got the attention of legislators like U.S. Sen. John Glenn and State Rep. C. J. McLin, and eventually, then-President Jimmy Carter.
Whenthemuseumfirst opened in 1988, its permanent exhibit won prestigious awards and was even used in exhibit textbooks. Unfortunately, it quickly suffered massive budget and staff cuts. A less-important institution might have died thirsting for resources, but toomany people believed in it and struggled against impossible odds to keep it alive. Members of the original staff are still
standing by our side today as friends and mentors, including Dr. Floyd Thomas, Jocelyn Robinson, and founding director Dr. John Fleming.
Over the last 32 years we have managed to offer groundbreaking exhibits, build cultural connections through our programming, and care for many extremely important collections, including more than 9,000 artifacts, fine art, and over 600 linear feet of archival documents and photographs. I think about every one of those objects and pieces of paper as a story, a link to someone's ancestor.
We are a division of the Ohio History Connection. I cannot wait to see how we growour presence in Ohio over the next 10 years with the support of our OHC team. We have the opportunity to guide the state (and the nation) towards a more equitable future while helping to heal past trauma.
I should also mention that every person I work with is incredibly passionate, intelligent, hard-working, and creative. I am so lucky to not only love my job, but literally every single one of my coworkers. I don't think many people have that privilege.
What is a typical day like for you in your role at the museum?
We throw around a saying in the curatorial department when we get a little exasperated: “Everything changes!” One of the things I love most about my job ( but that can also be exhausting) is that there is no typical day. We see a project through from start to finish. Some days I'm researching people, places, and artifacts. Sometimes I'm calling donors orworking with descendant communities to gather stories. I also have the privilege of writing the histories with all this rich new information and doing the graphic design.
Then when we start constructing the exhibit, I'm prepping the objects, designing mounts, installing graphics, or sometimes even giving tours. This job has even required an acetylene torch here and there.
What’s been your most recent professional challenge, and how did you push through the challenge?
My most recent professional challenge is, sadly, the same for so many people right now. Anyonewho works with the public has had to face the same difficult task through this pandemic of balancing accessibility and safety. When we experienced the first shutdown in Ohio, I was right in the middle of developing our exhibit, Queens of the Heartland.
While the artist, Nichole Washington, and I were already collaborating remotely, I suddenly began to hit brick walls in myresearch because libraries and archiveswere inaccessible. People stopped emailing me back. In the end, the entire projectwas postponed untilwe learned more about the virus and how to safely work again on- site.
We have since opened the exhibit and I'm very proud of what we accomplished, but sadly, wewere forced to again close our doors due to the rising cases in the county. We hope to reopen again in early 2021. We will just have to reassess when we get there. In the meantime, we are working on new ways to continue telling these stories through innovative means.
Whatwould your perfect Dayton date be?
The most important component of a perfect date is my partner Seth Graham. Any date we have is fantastic, even if it's just a carry-in pizza and a new episode of Fargo. But if I'm allowed to dream, we'd start with a smoothie from the Juice Caboose at Natural Foods Plus and a morning walk at Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark. From there we'd spend the day at World A'Fair at the Convention Center. This is another event I really missed this year. We'd try all kinds of new foods and enjoy the performances and visit Marie, co-owner of Partial to Pie, at the Slavic booth for her delicious pastries.
In the evening, we'd see the Dayton Opera at the Schuster Center or catch some stand-up at Wiley's in the Oregon District. I always thought I'd hate the opera until I actually went, and I love how overthe-top it is. I think all the drama somehow makes it feel more true- to- life and honest about human emotion. I love that I can get tickets for $ 10 or $ 15 through the cheap tickets program!