Bio:
Lopez D. Matthews Jr., Ph.D., is the State Archivist and Public Records Administrator for the District of Columbia. In this capacity, he serves as the Historian of the District of Columbia, Chair of the D.C. Historical Records Advisory Board, and Director of the DC Office of Public Records and Archives. A native of Baltimore Maryland, he earned a BS in History from Coppin State University in 2004. He then earned a master’s degree in Public History and Archival Administration from Howard University in 2006 and a Ph.D. in United States History from Howard University in 2009.
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Currently, he is a member of the Council of State Archivists and an Executive Council Member of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. He has published several articles and is the author of Howard University in the World Wars: Men and Women Serving the Nation. He is the host of In Retrospect and Prospect where he interviews practitioners about African American history projects for ASALH TV. In 2020, he became a Senior Advisor to the US Truth, Healing, and Transformation Leadership Group. In 2023, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to the Mary McLeod Bethune Historic Site Federal Advisory Committee as an expert in Digital Archives.
EDUCATION
May 2004
Bachelor of Arts: History, Coppin State University
Minor: Management Science; Magna Cum Laude
May 2006
Master of Arts: Public History and Archival Administration, Howard UNiversity
Concentration: Caribbean History; African American History
May 2009
Ph.D.: United States History, Howard University
Concentration: African American History; Public History
Certifications
Copyright for Educators and Librarians,
June 2020
Library of Congress – Digital Preservation Trainer,
October 2016
Archival Research Catalog Data Entry,
May 2011
Federal Records Management,
November 2010
Experience
MARCH 2022 – PRESENT
State Archivist and Public Records Administrator for the District of Columbia
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OCTOBER 2014 – MARCH 2022
Digital Production Librarian/Manager, Digital Production Center, Howard University Libraries, and the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
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AUGUST 2018 – PRESENT
Adjunct Professor of History, Bowie State University
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AUGUST 2008 – PRESENT​
Adjunct Professor of History, Coppin State University
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MAY 2013 – OCTOBER 2014
Archivist, Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
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SEPTEMBER 2009 – MAY 2013
Archives Technician, National Archives and Records Administration
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NOVEMBER 2008 - MAY 2013
Historian, Black History Program, Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Skills
Digital Preservation
Digitization
Historical Research and Writing
Project Management
Basic HTML
Teaching and Instruction
Lecture Topics
African Americans and the Communist Party
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Blacks and the Civil War
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Black Women and the Civil Rights Movement
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Black Student Activism in the 20th Century
Howard University and the Military
Building Black Digital Archives
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African Americans in the Civil Rights Movement
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Publications
Books:
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Liberating Minds…Liberating Society: Black Women in the Development of American Culture and Society. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., Kenvi Phillips; Eds. (Washington D.C.: Association of Black Women Historians, 2014).
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Book Chapters:
“First of All, Leading the Way: A Concise History of the Eastern Region of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.” in The History of Alpha Phi Alpha: Origins of the Eastern Region. Paul Brown; Lopez D. Matthews, Jr. Frederick Nickens, Ronald Anthony Mills. Eds. (Baltimore: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., 2017)
"The Autobiography: a Tool for Telling the History of Black Women in the Civil Rights Movement" in In Spite of the Double Drawbacks: African American Women in History and Culture. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr. Ed. (Washington D.C.: Association of Black Women Historians, 2012).
“Victory Over the Axis Forces of Enslavement: The Southern Negro Youth Congress’ Program for the Uplift of Southern African American Youth” in Synergy Public History at Howard University ed. Elizabeth Clark-Lewis. Washington, D.C.: A P Foundation Press, 2011.
Articles:
The Impact of the Southern Negro Youth Congress on the Civil Rights Movement. Africalogical Perspectives. Vol. 8, No. 1, November-December 2013.
Celebrating the “Faithful Mammies of the South” National Archives and Records Administration’s Afro American History Society’s ROOTS Newsletter, Fall 2013.
Book Review: Washington’s U Street: A Biography. The Journal of African American History, Fall 2013.
Remembering Pearl Harbor…70 Years Later. Prologue Magazine. Winter 2011, Vol. 43, No. 4.
African American Soldiers and the Return Home from the Civil War. The Woodson Review, February 2011, 2.
Before Black Power: The Southern Negro Youth Congress and the Struggle for Justice, Equality and Opportunity. National Archives and Records Administration’s Afro American History Society’s ROOTS Newsletter, Summer 2010.
Matthews, Lopez; Nahal, Anita. Black Women in the Niagara Movement. The Journal of African American History in New York, 2008.
Book Review: Race and Labor Matters in the New U.S. Economy. The Journal of African American History, Fall 2007.
Blogs:
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Celebrating Howard University in the Armed Forces. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted November 2016 http://library.howard.edu/dpc/huaf
Scientific Study or Pedophilia? A Look Back at the Moens Affair Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted September 2015 http://library.howard.edu/c.php?g=385878&p=2617907
Celebrating the Life of Senator Edward W. Brooke Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted January 2015 http://library.howard.edu/c.php?g=385878&p=2617911
The Fraternal Impulse According to Jesse E. Moorland. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted December 2014 http://library.howard.edu/c.php?g=385878&p=2617910
Celebrating the Sesquicentennial: The End of the Peculiar Institution in the "Old Line" State. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted November 2014 http://library.howard.edu/c.php?g=385878&p=2617909
A Look Back at Howard University from the University Archives. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted March 2014 http://library.howard.edu/content.php?pid=500869&sid=4745290.
General Oliver Otis Howard and the Founding of "The Howard University". Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted November 2013 http://library.howard.edu/content.php?pid=500869&sid=4392722.
Howard VS. Lincoln: The Original Football Classic. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted October 2013 http://library.howard.edu/content.php?pid=500869&sid=4331336.
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A Resolution for the Start of the Moorland Foundation: The Beginning of a Legacy. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center Blog [online] posted September 2013 http://library.howard.edu/content.php?pid=500869&sid=4302554.
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Celebrating the “Faithful Mammies of the South” Rediscovering Black History: Updates at the National Archives [online] posted April 4, 2013 http://blogs.archives.gov/blackhistoryblog/2013/04/04/celebrating-the-faithful-mammies-of-the-south/
"That Cognac Can Get you Into Very Very Bad Trouble" The Text Message, The Blog of the Textual Archives Services Division at the National Archives. [online] posted February 29, 2012 http://blogs.archives.gov/TextMessage/2012/02/29/that-cognac-can-get-you-into-very-very-bad-trouble/.
"…And Germany in Ruins Surrendered Unconditionally." The Text Message, The Blog of the Textual Archives Services Division at the National Archives. [online] posted July 8, 2011 http://blogs.archives.gov/TextMessage/2011/07/11/%E2%80%A6and-germany-in-ruins-surrendered-unconditionally/.
A Piece of Women’s History in Record Group 498: The WAC. The Text Message, The Blog of the Textual Archives Services Division at the National Archives. [online] posted March 14, 2011 http://blogs.archives.gov/TextMessage/?p=422.
Subject Guides:
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A Historical Look at Pan-Africanism; http://library.howard.edu/histpanafrica
Black Power: An International Movement; http://library.howard.edu/blackpower
Black Progress in the 21st Century; http://library.howard.edu/rangel
The Haitian Revolution; http://library.howard.edu/haitianrevolution
CD-Roms:
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African Americans and the Civil War. The 2011 Black History Month Study Learning Resources CD-Rom. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., Ed. Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
The History of Black Economic Empowerment. The 2010 Black History Month Study Learning Resources CD-Rom. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., Ed. Association for the Study of African American Life and History
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Carter G. Woodson and the History of Multiculturalism. The 2008 Black History Month Study Learning Resources CD-Rom. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., Ed. Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
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From Slavery to Freedom: The Story of Africans in the Americas, The 2007 Black History Month Student Learning Resource CD-Rom. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., Ed. Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Celebrating Community: Black Social, Civic, and Fraternal Organizations, the 2006 Black History Month Student Learning Resource CD-Rom. Lopez D. Matthews, Jr., Ed. Association for the Study of African American Life and History.
Exhibitions:
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The Importance of ROTC to Howard University. US Army Cadet Command National Conference, November, 2018.
ASALH at 100: Celebrating 100 years of Black History Life and Culture. Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, MD March – July 2015.
Honor Roll of Excellence: Schools Named for African Americans in Prince Georges County. Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, Spring 2010.
William Sidney Pittman and Fairmount Heights, Maryland. Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, Spring 2010.
Juneteenth: Freedom’s Late Breaking News. Maryland-National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, Summer 2010.
Wading in the Waters: African American Beaches and Resort Towns. Maryland National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, Spring 2009.
A View from the Lakes: The African American Community of Lakeland. Maryland National Capitol Park and Planning Commission, Spring 2009.
The NCNW and the Launching of the S.S. Harriet Tubman; Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, 2006.
The Carter G. Woodson Home, the Birthplace of Black History; The Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, 2006.
Memberships and Academic Involvement
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Leadership Experiences:
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Chair, Archives Committee (Digital Archives) Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site Federal Advisory Commission (2024 - Present)
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Executive Committee, Board of Directors, Council of State Archivists (2023 – present)
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Senior Advisor, The US Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Movement (USTRHT) (2020 - Present)
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Chair, Publications Committee, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (2020 – present)
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​Chair, Beautillion Scholars Mentoring Program, Delta Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, (2019 - present)
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Co-Chair, Marketing and Public Relations Committee, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (2018 – 2020)
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Chair, Preservation Advisory Committee, Washington Research Library Consortium (2016 – 2017; 2020 - present)
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Director of Education, Delta Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (2016 – present)
Secretary, Board of Directors, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture (2016 – present)
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Historian, Delta Lambda Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (2009 – 2010; 2018 - 2020)
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Outreach Committee Chair, National Archives Assembly (2010 – 2012)
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Vice-President/President-Elect, National Archives Assembly, National Archives and Records Administration (2012-2013)
Secretary, Afro-American History Society, National Archives and Records Administration (2010 – 2013)
Executive Council Member, Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. (2009 – 2012)
Publications Director, Association of Black Women Historians (2009 – 2014)
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Committee Memberships:
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Council of State Archivists (2022 – present)
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Commissioner, Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture (2014 – 2022)
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Member, HistoryMakers Higher Education Advisory Board (2017 – 2022)
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Website Stakeholder Participation Committee - Civil Rights Cold Case Portal Digitization Project, National Archives and Records Administration (2019 - 2020)
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Advisory Board, Banneker-Douglass Museum (2014 – 2022)
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Digital Practices Interest Group, Washington Research Library Consortium (2013 – 2016)
Project Team Member, Portal to the Black Experience, IMLS Grant Funded Project (2013 – 2016)
Member, Eastern Region Historical Commission, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (2014 – present)
Member, Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Advisory Committee (2012 – present)
Lectures and Colloquia Committee, Howard University Department of History, (2008 – 2009)
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