Taylor Mazique (she/her/hers) is the founder of The Black Girl Archive, which she began developing in the summer of 2024. The Black Girl Archive was a dream that stemmed from her own experiences within existing archives as she was looking for materials on Black girls’ lives in Englewood, Chicago, IL. Upon starting this research, Taylor made the discovery that not only was there an extremely limited amount of archival material that discussed Black girls in general, but that there was virtually none on Black girlhood in Englewood as well as limited history on Englewood as the neighborhood’s Black population began to increase. Thinking about the historical nuances of Black girls’ absence from archives - and a complete absence of archival material about Black girls from their own perspectives - Taylor knew that she would have to be a part of the solution, but initially assumed this to be a project she would undertake later in life. Called to action in 2024, Taylor began seriously thinking through ways to highlight the histories of Black girls in Englewood and remind folks that they have and continue to influence history. Thus, The Black Girl Archive was born as a digital archive space dedicated to archiving the histories of Black girlhood in Englewood and will grow to archive the histories of Black girlhood throughout Chicago and beyond.

Taylor is a PhD student at the University of Illinois Chicago in the Department of History and obtaining a concentration from the Department of Black Studies. She also obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the Departments of History and Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021. She is a Black Girlhood scholar whose research primarily focuses on the histories of Black girlhood in Englewood, where she grew up and has spent most of her life. Her current research looks at Black girlhood in Englewood during the Great Migration period and archiving the past and present of Black girlhood in Englewood. She employs creative, Black girl-led, collaborative research methodologies designed to give Black girls the opportunities, space, and resources to be the leaders in their own liberation (if needed) and/or in articulating their freedom, wants, needs, dreams, and desires.

When she’s not working, Taylor enjoys reading Science Fiction and Fantasy novels, being active, cooking, baking, connecting with new people, going swimming, traveling, outdoors, activities, and spending time with loved ones. You can always find her drinking a cup (or two) of coffee and enjoying ice cream.