Billy Rich is the President of the Winston-Salem African American Archive (WSAAA). Since 2015, Mr. Rich has led WSAAA as a non-profit organization in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, NC. Under Mr. Rich’s tenure, the Archive was rehoused from its original location at Winston-Salem State University to the New Winston Museum (known today as MUSE Winston-Salem). Alongside preserving the WSAAA physical collection, Mr. Rich and WSAAA members have digitized thousands of archival materials for community use.

Chenita Barber Johnson is Vice-President of the Winston-Salem African American Archive. She was born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC. She attended the local public schools however, due to her mother’s employment with the Federal Government, she also attended school in Danville, VA, and graduated from high school in Parkersburg, WV. She also attended Marshall University in Huntington, WV then returned to Winston-Salem, NC where she attended and graduated from Winston-Salem State University with a degree in political science/public administration with a minor in history. Johnson was inspired by her mother and maternal grandmother to understand the empowerment of owning and telling your history and that it is the responsibility of us all in the community to understand the importance and impact of African American history on our local, state, and national history. Recognizing that African American history is not only important to the growth of the entire community; it is a part of the community.

Wanda Hairston Morrison is a Winston-Salem native and 1971 graduate of North Forsyth High School. She attended Salem College where she completed a degree in International Banking, Business & Finance in 1979. She is WSAAA Treasurer, Accountant of United Ebony Women of Forsyth, and CEO of Here 2 There Van Service, Inc. in Winston-Salem. She retired from R J Reynolds Tobacco as Senior Collections Specialist. She is a member of Exodus United Baptist Church of Winston-Salem, married to Collin Sr, and mother of two adult children and one grandchild.

Sauda Mitchell is a certified archivist, educator, and multidisciplinary artist from Winston-Salem, N.C. With over a decade of experience in archival repositories, she works to preserve cultural memory and ensure long-term access to historical materials through processing, preservation, and archival outreach. Sauda is currently pursuing an EdD in Creativity and Innovation from Drexel University. Her research-based artistic practice draws on primary sources as inspiration, unearthing stories deep within the archival landscape.

Damarius Johnson is a public historian, editor, and culture worker. His editorial and scholarly projects have been featured in the New York Times Book Review, the UNESCO Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, and the International Conference on the Inclusive Museum. He is currently a PhD candidate, nearing completion of his dissertation, in the Department of History at The Ohio State University. He draws upon his scholarship on the history of the global dimensions of the Black Museum Movement to identify models for contemporary institution-building.

Mr. Lester S. Davis is a Winston-Salem Native and graduate of Atkins High School, Class of 1962. He is a 1982 graduate of Winston-Salem State University in Political Science and a veteran of the United States Navy. After his service, he returned to Winston-Salem where he owned and operated the Lesinda Word Processing Service. He retired from the Archer Products division of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. His enthusiasm and commitment to Black history is reflected through this affiliations with membership organizations such as the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, Black Leadership Roundtable, The Society for the Study of African American History, Jim Shaw Ace Academy and Friends of the Malloy/Jordan East Winston Heritage Center. His hobbies include photography and birding.

Linda S. Dark is a retired Registered Nurse, a graduate of University of North Carolina-Greensboro and Salve Regina University (BSN-Nursing) in Newport, Rhode Island. Her nursing career spanned over 30 years in the District of Columbia area including Baltimore, Maryland. She completed her career in North Carolina at Novant Health. She is a native of the city and her family’s historian. Linda was previously a mayoral appointee to the city’s Historic Resource Commission (HRC) and a former board member of MUSE Winston-Salem. She became actively involved with both the Winston Salem African American Archive (WSAAA) and the Friends of Oddfellows Cemetery after retirement. She is published author of local history in her book William Samuel Scales: African American Businessman in a Segregated Town.