People from all walks of life want to be heard, to be seen, and have their stories told even long after they are no longer able to tell them themselves. This is especially important when people have made a significant impact within their community and on the people they have come in contact with along their journey through life. Archives of the People, a now five-volume magazine, celebrates the Black community in Zanesville through biographies, photo collages, and historical highlights. The fifth and final volume in the collection was recently published and is now available for free, thanks to the efforts of the Minority Business Resource Network, the Archives of the People Committee, and the generous donations that made the printing of all five volumes possible.
With the completion of Volume 5, over 200 biographies have been featured among the 272 pages that make up the multi-volume set. Each volume offers additional content that sets it apart from the others in the collection. This fifth installment includes an expanded photo collage section with historical photos, lists of influential people by trade, and pages recognizing Black churches in Zanesville.
“A lot of the people didn’t feel like they were worthy to be in the book,” explained Martha Mitchell. Troy Walker added, “People just didn’t think they were important enough”.
The late Ernest Bynum Jr. was influential in making the Archives of the People possible and was the founder of the Minority Business Resource Network. He passed away before the first volume was published.
“My father passed away in 22, so he got to see the proof, but he didn’t get to see the first book. But he did a lot of smiling down on us for following through with this,” stated Ernie Bynum, Ernest’s son.
The Archives of the People project has been ongoing since 2022, and after three years of working together as a team, the final publication being published is a bittersweet moment and has caused the group to reflect on the past few years of working together to bring these magazines to fruition.
“This has been the best project and the best group of people that I’ve worked with. We’ve had, oh Lord, well over 100 meetings. 90 of those, I learned something from one of these individuals. 99 of them, we all had a laugh. We all had a good time. This has been one of the best – a lot of memories,” shared Bynum. “The dedication that they (the Archives of the People Committee) put in is what I’m grateful for as an achievement of the group and the organization,” said Bynum. “But they were so dedicated to this project. You know how you get some groups where you get together and you work on a project, and only one or two people will end up doing all the work. You know, with this group, everybody, between getting pictures or making calls to get the information, to get the stories, everybody put their heart into this project. So it’s been fascinating for me.”
There are many reasons for publishing Archives of the People, including preserving history and bringing some forgotten stories back to the forefront, most importantly, though, is making sure the younger generation understands the significant roles people who look like them and came from where they are have played in the community and they can hopefully be inspired by their stories told in this multi volume publication.
“You know, our young people need to understand they’ve got a responsibility to uphold their family’s history and the history of this community and the Black world, Black people that they’re representing,” said Flora Martin.
“It meant a lot seeing a lot of people that I have grown up with and how they’ve turned up in the book and how their careers ended up,” said William Day. “And like Flora said, for our children to see and grandchildren, what the community has come through and evolved to. I think that means a lot to me personally.”
“I think the younger generation, seeing their grandparents and stuff in there, really opened their eyes to history, said Mitchell. “They just knew them as a relative, and then seeing it printed in a book sort of validated that they were important in other ways.”
“It shows you that you can start somewhere and what you can accomplish. A lot of people in the book, they left here and they’ve gone ahead and accomplished some major things. So it’s one of those things where if I see it, you know, ‘If they can do it, then I can do it’,” said Bynum.
“It’s also very important for me that a group of African Americans proactively decided to recognize individuals that contributed to the community, started it, raised the funding for it, and finished it,” Bynum stated. “Didn’t have to ask nobody. Didn’t have to get permission from anybody. And that’s important to show others in the community that if you want to do something, this community is here for it. You know, without any excuses. I think it’s just an overall good project.”
“It’s really been an eye opener, not just to the black community, but I think to the entire Zanesville community and outreaching communities because we sent out a lot of them to out of state and so forth,” Martin said.
Archives of the People Vol. 1-5 can be found at every Muskingum County Library System location. Entire sets will also be provided to all Muskingum County high schools. Additionally, copies of Volume 5 as well as a limited supply of previous volumes can be picked up at a special event celebrating the release of the latest installment in the Archives of the People series on September 13 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Zanesville Civic League, 928 Jackson Street. Minority Business Resource Network can be reached via Facebook at facebook.com/minoritybusinessresourcenetwork. You can also email Ernie Bynum at ebynum43@yahoo.com.