Recorded February 8th, 2019 at Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History. Derek T. Mosley, Archivist/Division Manager
In this professional spotlight, we sit down with Derek T. Mosley about his career path to becoming Auburn Avenue Research Library’s Archivist and Division Manager.
Mr. Mosley shares that he has had a love for history ever since he was a child growing up in La Marque, Texas. His favorite book genre was and remains to be biographies/autobiographies. One day he read a biography on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and after learning that King had attended Morehouse College, he determined that he would attend the Atlanta HBCU in due time, too. Morehouse was the only school he applied to, he was accepted into their history program and focused on African American studies. Initially, Mosley had plans to become a history teacher but an Andrew W. Mellon fellowship afforded him the opportunity to work in the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. That is when he decided to change his initial professional plans and focus on a path that would lead to a career in archives management.
Mr. Mosley accredits the mentorship of, Karen Jefferson (Woodruff Library) and his post-graduate experience at Simmons University as two of the reasons he has been able to establish a career in archives management. After graduating from Simmons University with a Masters in Archives Management, Mosley went on to become the Director of the Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana before returning to Atlanta, Georgia to become the Auburn Avenue Research Library Archivist/Division Manager.
Watch the video found above to learn more about Derek Mosley’s path to becoming an archives professional.
-Sophia V. Nelson for @TheMergingLanesProject on Instagram
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