The Rolling Archives

n this special episode of *The Rolling Archives*, host Ashley Smith-Purviance is joined by fellow sister scholars Dr. Tiffany M. Nyachae and Dr. Aja Reynolds for an intimate, joyful, and deeply reflective conversation about Black girlhood, friendship, and finding community within—and beyond—the academy. Together, they revisit the Black girls they once were, from front-porch friendships and childhood creativity to naviga...

What does your personal style say about who you are, where you come from, and the communities that shaped you?

In this episode of The Rolling Archives, Ashley sits down with writer, educator, curator, and Black Fashion Archive founder Dr. Rikki Byrd for a rich conversation about Black fashion as history, inheritance, resistance, and self-making.This conversation is a reminder that Black people don’t need to be written into fas...

What happens when we stop asking Black girls to be quiet—and start building worlds around their voices?

In this episode of The Rolling Archives, Ashley sits down with pioneering Black girlhood studies scholar Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown, professor and inaugural chair of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University and founder of SOLHOT (Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths).

Together, Ashley and Dr. Brown trace the ...

What would become possible if Black women and girls no longer had to create from a place of resistance?

In this deeply affirming episode of The Rolling Archives, Ashley is joined by author, scholar-priestess, and cultural visionary EbonyJanice Moore for a conversation on Black girlhood, womanism, liberation, and the radical power of softness. Together, they explore the complexities of attending predominantly white schools and growin...

What does grief ask of us? And what does it mean to honor the people we love long after they are gone?In one of the most personal episodes of The Rolling Archives, Ashley opens her heart by reflecting on the profound losses of her grandmother, Princess, her dear friend Dr. Gwen Baxley, and the ways grief continues to return throughout her life. Ashley  is joined by Dr. Taryn T.C. Brown, assistant professor at the Uni...

How do we become who we are—and what stories help us remember ourselves?In this episode of The Rolling Archives, Ashley is joined by Dr. Chelsea Bouldin, scholar of Black studies and Black feminist thought, for a rich conversation about imagination, memory, self-making, and the power of the archive.Together, they reflect on the moments that shaped them as young Black girls—from roller skating rinks and grandmothers' hom...

What happens when being strong and the pressure to keep everything laid, polished, and under control becomes an expectation rather than a choice? In this episode of The Rolling Archives Podcast, Ashley reflects on the messages many Black girls receive early in life: work harder, do more, achieve more, and never let anyone see you struggle. Joining the conversation is licensed marriage and family therapist, researcher, and longtime ...

What happens when Black girls become the archivists of their own stories?

In this rich and joyful conversation, Ashley sits down with scholar, author, cultural critic, and longtime mentor Dr. Aria Halliday to explore the worlds Black girls create, inhabit, and transform through culture, community, and imagination.

Together, they roll back the archives of Black girlhood—from dancing with sisters and watching Sister, Sister to fi...

In this deeply affirming and expansive conversation, Ashley sits down with educator, organizer, and Justice for Black Girls founder Brianna Baker to explore what it means to reclaim Black girlhood, build liberatory spaces, and create institutions where Black girls are not only protected — but deeply loved, heard, and celebrated. Together, they reflect on the transformative power of Black girl spaces, the tension between grief...

TRA-Show InfoThe Rolling Archives Podcast collection of stories and conversations about Black women and girls’ past-present-future selves. While distinctions across Black girls and women’s childhood, adolescence, and adulthood may deserve their own recognition, The Rolling Archives embodies and honors reoccurring memories of Black girlhood as foundational sites of joy, exploration, meaning making, and life-affirming...