Archiving Peace: Dr. Meredith Evans ’90 Inspires a Legacy of Reflection and Action

“It’s a good time to be at Friends,” Dr. Meredith Evans ’90 declared during her address to the Upper School. “I learned to care about others in this institution,” she reflected. “You will learn more from this place than any other independent school.” With these powerful words, Dr. Evans captured the essence of her transformative experience at Friends Seminary—a foundation that has shaped her exceptional career and leadership journey. 

Friends Seminary was thrilled to welcome back Dr. Evans as the keynote speaker during Peace Week, which this year embraced the theme of “Growing Together Through Silence and Dialogue.” Dr. Evans, an accomplished archivist and the Director of the Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, has been a trailblazer in her field. Appointed in 2015, she oversees all operations for the library and museum, including the preservation of records and artifacts from President Jimmy Carter’s White House administration (1977–1981), his post-presidency, and his family. Her work emphasizes expanding public access to these materials, civic engagement, and the role of history in shaping public policy.

In her keynote address, “Positive Peace: Belief and Brains Over Brawn,” Dr. Evans reflected on the influence of Friends Seminary, crediting it for instilling boldness and self-expression—qualities that have guided her career, including her interview with President Carter. She also shared her admiration for Rosalynn Carter, whose wisdom and encouragement as a model of patience and grace left a profound impact on her.

Dr. Evans spoke about the power of peace as an active endeavor, rooted in honesty, trust, and empathy. “Peace starts with talking to your neighbors, being honest, gaining trust, and not thinking of yourself first,” she explained. “Peace is an action, not a verb. Be bold, speak up, share your thoughts. Don’t judge.”

Her talk also explored the unique challenges archivists face in the digital age. Dr. Evans described the shift from traditional paper archives to digital systems, explaining the immense cost associated with software updates, version control, and creating tools for future preservation. “It’s not just about organizing paper anymore,” she explained. “It’s about managing hard drives, servers, and generations of digital files in a way that makes sense.” She noted that her role involves organizing materials from a variety of formats and ensuring they remain accessible and comprehensible for future generations. The deeply detailed nature of this work, she emphasized, reflects the complexity of preserving history in a world increasingly reliant on rapidly evolving technology.

Dr. Evans also spoke about how her identity as an African American woman shapes her approach to archiving. “There are multiple ways to document history,” she said, explaining how her lived experiences influence her perspective and the way she collects and interprets information. She emphasized the importance of looking through the eyes of both the public and her own identity, which helps her ensure archives are inclusive and representative. “If an archive only reflects white men, how is history being told?” she asked, encouraging students to question whose stories are preserved and how they are shared.

Her work on the Documenting Ferguson digital repository exemplified these principles. Dr. Evans described how the initiative collected anonymous community submissions following the death of Michael Brown, capturing the voices and actions of protesters and organizers. “The digital archive was a powerful moment,” she said, explaining how it sparked essential conversations, clarified conflicting reports, and provided a lasting record of the movement. However, she also highlighted the challenges of archiving data from platforms like Twitter, where policies and accessibility can change rapidly. “You do not own your own data. What you think is private is not,” she warned, citing TikTok as another example of how proprietary platforms complicate the preservation of digital history.

At the Atlanta University Center, Dr. Evans collaborated on an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant to digitize materials in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. She emphasized the importance of “allowing the community to contribute to the archive,” empowering individuals to engage with and shape their own narratives. At the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she acquired collections representing underrepresented groups in the Charlotte area and secured the Congressional papers of former U.S. Representative Sue Myrick. Her work at George Washington University expanded the scope of archives to include significant labor and education collections, ensuring a broader range of experiences and contributions to history.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Evans engaged with students during a lunch discussion, encouraging them to document their lives and the world around them. “Write your thoughts down, document current and important events, print photos, and store everything well,” she advised, emphasizing that history is shaped by those who preserve it.

Dr. Evans closed out her time during Peace Week, and with Upper Schoolers, by speaking to the importance of Meeting, reflection, and learning to truly hear one another—a theme that wove through all her talks. “We may have cut school, but we always came to Meeting,” she laughed.