Collection & Contribution Guidelines

01What we collect

BMAAP focuses on materials that document Black American Muslim life, faith, institutions, and contributions. Examples include:

• Photographs, slides, negatives, and home movies.
• Letters, diaries, family papers, and personal documents.
• Masjid, school, and community organization records, programs, bulletins, and flyers.
• Community newspapers, newsletters, and other publications.
• Audio and video recordings of lectures, events, and gatherings.
• Oral histories recorded with BMAAP.
• Born-digital materials such as scans, digital photos, and documents.

When we are unsure whether something fits, we will talk it through with you rather than guess.

02What we cannot accept

To protect contributors and the people in the record, we will not accept or digitize:

• Materials whose ownership or right to share is unclear, disputed, or belongs to someone who has not agreed.
• Records containing sensitive personal information such as medical, legal, financial, or government identification details, unless they have been redacted or are restricted under a written agreement.
• Private information about living people who have not consented to its preservation.
• Original materials sent without prior agreement. Please do not mail or drop off originals.
• Materials obtained through theft, trespass, or other improper means.

03How to offer materials or a story

1. Write to us first. Email correspondence@bmaap.org with a short description: what the materials are, roughly how many, approximate dates, who appears in or created them, how they came to you, and their condition.
2. Do not send originals or large files. A few phone photos are enough to start the conversation.
3. Talk with a coordinator. We will follow up to learn more, answer your questions, and explain the options below.
4. Agree in writing. Nothing is digitized or shared until we have a signed contribution agreement that records your choices.

An initial conversation does not transfer ownership, create an obligation to accept, or grant permission to publish.

04Ways to contribute

• Scan and return. You keep your originals. We arrange to digitize them and return them, or you share digital copies you make with our guidance. This is our preferred approach.
• Digital copies. You send us existing digital files, with information about where the originals are.
• Oral history. You share your experiences in a recorded interview, with informed consent and a release that records how the recording may be used.
• Donation of originals. Considered case by case, only through a written deed of gift accepted by The Floating Freedom Foundation, and only where BMAAP can care for the materials properly.
• Knowledge and context. You help identify people, places, and events in existing materials.

05How we review a contribution

Before accepting a contribution, a coordinator will consider:

• Whether it fits BMAAP’s focus.
• Who owns it and who has the right to agree to its use.
• Copyright, privacy, and the interests of people who appear in it.
• Religious, cultural, or family sensitivities.
• Its condition and whether it can be handled safely.
• The context we know, and what is uncertain.

We may decline a contribution or accept only part of it. If we decline, we will explain why where we can and suggest other places that may be a better home.

06Consent and access levels

Every contribution agreement records how materials may be used. Contributors choose an access level for each item or group:

• Public. May be shown on the BMAAP website and in public programs, with credit.
• Community. Shared only with registered BMAAP community members or researchers on request.
• Restricted. Preserved, but available only to authorized project members, or released after a date you choose.
• Preservation only. Kept safe for the future, not shared.

You may change your access choices for future use at any time by writing to us. We cannot recall copies others have already lawfully made, but we will update our records and the website promptly.

07Copyright and credit

Contributing to BMAAP does not transfer your copyright. Instead, you grant BMAAP a non-exclusive permission to preserve materials and use them as agreed. You may still use, publish, or share your own materials anywhere else. Every item shared publicly is credited the way you choose, including by name, by family, or anonymously.

08Care and handling

• Originals are handled only under a written loan or deed of gift, with clean, dry hands and in a clean workspace, and never with tape, staples, adhesives, or pens.
• Every item is logged when received and when returned, so its custody is always known.
• Loans are returned within the agreed time, in the condition received.
• Digital files are kept in at least two secure locations, with access limited to the people who need it.
• Damage, loss, or accidental disclosure is reported to BMAAP leadership and the contributor right away.

09Describing materials

We record what an item is, who created it and who appears in it when known, where and when it was made, and how it came to BMAAP. We distinguish what is documented from what is remembered or estimated, and we mark uncertainty clearly. Community members are invited to suggest corrections and identifications, which are reviewed before the record is updated.

10Faith, the deceased, and living people

• Materials containing Qur’anic text or other sacred content are stored and displayed with respect and never used decoratively.
• We follow family wishes about images and records of people who have died, including requests to restrict them.
• Living people may ask that images or information about them be restricted, even when the contributor consented.
• We will not publish addresses, phone numbers, or other contact details of private individuals.

11Corrections and removal requests

If you believe something on BMAAP is inaccurate, shared without permission, or harmful, email correspondence@bmaap.org with a link or description. We will acknowledge your request, limit access to the material while we review it where appropriate, and tell you what we decide. Good-faith requests will never be met with retaliation.