Not Editing but Rewriting

Assistant professor and writer Eunsong Kim and Ph.D. candidate Jarrett Martin Drake gathered for a panel last week to discuss the role of racial capitalism and colonialism in the origins of archives and museums. Anchoring the discussion in each other’s forthcoming books—Kim’s The Politics of Collecting: Race, Property & Aesthetic Formation and Drake’s Archives on Fire—they spoke of the difficulties of merely relying on reform. Reading from Archives on Fire, Kim agreed with Drake that despite an abundance of historical records, “accountability is wanting.” Even with vast amounts of documentation at hand, the panelists argued, incompetent bureaucratic systems of administration continue (by design) to maintain and reinforce racial capitalism. Archives often repeat seemingly liberal promises of transparency, democratic accessibility, and justice—yet Drake stressed that systems of documentation are deficient and action is needed.

Reading from The Politics of Collecting, Drake echoed Kim’s skepticism of the declared sincerity behind the origin of canonical institutions an…