The Black community in Uruguay was persecuted and evicted from their historic neighborhoods in Montevideo during the 1973-1984 dictatorship. These archives represent the acts of resistance against forms of repression, and has served as one of the largest collections of African Uruguayan history during this time period.
Archivo Sociedad en Movimientos aims to preserve and digitize the largest late 20th century archive of the history of the Afro-Uruguayan population, the personal collection of movement pioneer Tomás Olivera. The written, photo, audio and visual recordings are fragile and have not been properly stored which has caused serious deterioration. Digitization will facilitate access for academics, advocates, and lawmakers. This research establishes a baseline for preserving the material for further investigation, rewriting history curricula, and addressing the almost absolute absence of Afro-Uruguayans from all published archives.
