NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN FILM AND TELEVISION
NMAAFT DIGITAL MUSEUM
Preserving, Researching, and Interpreting African American Film and Television History
Welcome to the NMAAFT Digital Museum.
The National Museum of African American Film and Television (NMAAFT) provides digital museum experiences dedicated to preserving, researching, interpreting, and sharing the history and contributions of African Americans in film, television, and related media.
Through archival research, historical interpretation, educational resources, and digital storytelling, NMAAFT connects the public with the people, productions, institutions, places, and cultural movements that have shaped African American film and television history.
Explore our inaugural Research & Collections feature below.
RESEARCH & COLLECTIONS
AI-Assisted Archival Research: Preserving African American Film and Television History
NMAAFT is conducting archival research examining how historical materials can be organized, analyzed, interpreted, and preserved to deepen public understanding of African American film and television history.
Our research draws upon historical documents, archival materials, oral histories, documentary evidence, and other primary and secondary sources. Researchers examine these materials to identify historical relationships, recurring themes, cultural context, and stories that can contribute to future museum interpretation and educational programming.
Artificial intelligence tools can assist researchers with organizing and examining large bodies of source material. At NMAAFT, AI-assisted analysis does not replace historical evidence or researcher judgment. Findings are reviewed and validated against source materials, documentary evidence, oral histories, and researcher expertise.
Our Research Process
1. Source Collection
Historical documents, archival materials, oral histories, photographs, newspaper materials, event records, and other relevant sources are identified and assembled for research.
2. Digitization and Organization
Research materials are digitized or prepared for analysis when appropriate and organized so that researchers can examine relationships among people, events, institutions, productions, and historical periods.
3. AI-Assisted Analysis
AI tools may assist researchers in organizing information, identifying recurring themes, comparing materials, and locating relationships across a body of historical evidence.
4. Researcher Verification
Researchers review AI-assisted findings against the underlying archival and documentary sources. AI-generated observations are not treated as historical facts without verification.
5. Historical Interpretation
Verified findings inform NMAAFT’s historical research, educational resources, digital interpretation, exhibitions, documentary scholarship, and future public programming.
WHY ARCHIVAL PRESERVATION MATTERS
African American contributions to film and television extend across generations of actors, directors, writers, producers, craftspeople, technicians, entrepreneurs, educators, and communities.
Preserving the records associated with this history helps ensure that future generations can study not only celebrated individuals and productions, but also the institutions, communities, working relationships, and cultural environments that helped shape American film and television.
NMAAFT’s research and preservation work seeks to make this history more accessible through scholarship, education, interpretation, and public engagement.
RESEARCH IN ACTION
From Archival Sources to Historical Interpretation
Historical research begins with evidence.
NMAAFT researchers examine archival and documentary materials to understand what the available evidence tells us about African American experiences and contributions to film, television, and related cultural history.
Visitors to the NMAAFT Digital Museum will encounter research features that distinguish between:
Documented Evidence — information directly supported by historical sources.
Historical Context — information used to understand the people, institutions, places, and circumstances surrounding the evidence.
Interpretation — conclusions or observations developed through careful examination of multiple sources.
Areas for Further Research — questions for which available evidence remains incomplete or requires additional investigation.
This approach helps NMAAFT preserve the distinction between what historical sources establish and what remains to be discovered.
NMAAFT + SAGE RESEARCH METHODS
Researching the Future of Archival Interpretation
NMAAFT’s archival research methodology is also the subject of a case study submitted to Sage Research Methods for its Using AI for Research collection.
The case study, authored by NMAAFT Founder and CEO Dr. Ken Brumfield and NMAAFT Co-founder and President Jeannine Harris Brumfield, examines the use of AI-assisted methods in archival research involving African American film and television history.
The completed case study was submitted to Sage Research Methods on behalf of the National Museum of African American Film and Television and has been accepted for peer review.
The Sage case study is currently undergoing peer review.
EXPLORE. LEARN. RETURN.
The NMAAFT Digital Museum is an expanding public resource.
New research features, historical interpretations, educational resources, archival discoveries, and digital experiences will be added as NMAAFT’s research and collections work develops.
Visit the Digital Museum again to explore new stories from African American film and television history.
National Museum of African American Film and Television
NMAAFT