The Associates is pleased to share that Tyler Vargas will be working as a Research Assistant this spring. In an effort to further publicize and promote the BPL’s vast Anti-Slavery Collection, Tyler will be identifying museums, libraries, colleges, and other cultural institutions that are likely to have a connection to the Library's abolitionist materials. Tyler will then develop custom resources, utilizing the digitized materials on the Digital Commonwealth, which best fit each interested institution's focus areas. Tyler’s work will be integral in the Associates' upcoming awareness campaign for the Anti-Slavery Collection.

Tyler Vargas (they/she) is a Wellesley College senior who is majoring in Africana Studies and Sociology. They are currently conducting research, as a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, that focuses on How Hair Acts as a Tool of Social Survival and De-stigmatization for Black Women. Tyler is originally from the Bronx and has a strong commitment to community building and authentic representation of Black people in academia. When Tyler is not conducting research, they are listening to their favorite artist Steve Lacy.