Director
Timothy A. Barber
Cultural Arts and Humanities Executive
Until the lions tell their story, tales of the hunt will only glorify the hunter.
Timothy A. Barber is a native Miamian and matriculated through the Miami-Dade County Public School System. Barber attended and graduated from Bauder College, formally located in Oakland Park, Florida, in 1993 with a Specialized Associate of Science degree in electronic engineering technology. After working as an engineer for several years, Barber entered Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee in 1996 to further his academic career. He is a trained musician and former Head Drum major of the world-famous Florida A&M “Marching 100” for two consecutive terms (2001 and 2002), an honor no one had accomplished in ten years.
He is a two-time Florida A&M University graduate, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a minor in Education in 2002 and his Master’s degree in History in December 2003. While studying for his Master’s, he became interested in the archives and museum field, working at the Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum. He received formal archival training at Florida A&M University Black Archives in 2003.
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In 2004, Barber completed the Georgia Archives and the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education in conjunction with training at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Barber has received numerous trainings in archives administration and museum executive management. He has received certificates from the Leadership Initiative for African American Museums at the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum(2008) and is an SEMC Jekyll Island Management Institute graduate(2016).
In September 2003, he began working as an archivist intern at the Black Archives History and Research Foundation of South FL, Inc. in Miami. After graduating, the Black Archives in Miami hired Barber as the assistant archivist. There, he developed and gained experience in collection management. Barber was promoted to Archivist and Curator at the Black Archives in 2006.
Because of his work in historic preservation, the City of Miami appointed him to the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board in 2005, where he served as chair of the board for many years.
Barber has attended, participated, and presented at many national workshops on preservation, conservation, archiving, and museum administration.
His attendance includes the Institute of Museum and Library Science Connecting to
Collections Symposium in Buffalo, NY; Association of African American Museums Conferences;
Society of American Archivist Workshops; Preservation American Conference; Restore
America, Mellon Shift Collective, and many, many, more.
In August 2009, Barber became the executive director of the Black Archives History
& Research Foundation of South Florida. He was extremely excited about serving the
community and his hometown. As executive director, he raised over five (5) million
dollars in programming funds and was vital in securing annual sustainable funding
for the Black Archives.
Barber envisioned and championed making the Black Archives accessible to the public. He created an online searchable database and successfully secured three (3) IMLS grants, beginning in 2009.
He completed the third phase of expansion of the Historic Lyric Theater, which is a vaudeville theater that sits on the National Register of Historic Places by way of a Ten (10) million-dollar Miami Dade County General Obligation Fund, which he successfully reopened in February 2014. After opening the new 56,000-square-foot facility and rebranding it as the Black Archives Historic Lyric Theater Cultural Arts Complex, Barber was pivotal in securing the Visions of our 44th President Barrack Obama exhibit from the Charles Wright Museum and co-curated the exhibition in Miami in 2016.
Barber expanded the Black Archives holdings of original artwork of the late Purvis Young from 21 pieces to over 300. Barber curated the showing of the Funky Turns Forty, Black Character Revolution on loan from the Museum of Uncut Funk and exhibited it in Miami as part of the 40th Anniversary of the Black Archives during Art Basel.
Other notable exhibits curated under Barber’s Miami tenure include No More Blues (2016), Purvis, a Man Amongst the People (2014), and If These Streets Could Talk (2021).
He led the charge, raised funds, and managed the second restoration of the historic D. A. Dorsey House, home to the first black millionaire in Miami, built in the 1920s. He also secured 1.8 million dollars to begin the restoration of the historic S. H. Johnson X-ray Clinic in Miami. Before integration in Miami, the clinic was the only health center to render X-ray treatment to people of color so Black doctors could properly diagnose patients.
In 2018, Barber was appointed and served as a member of the board of directors of the Association of African American Museums. He has been selected to be a peer grant reviewer on the federal, state, local, and private levels, reviewing hundreds of grant applications. Also has served as an archives and museum consultant for numerous organizations.
After 19 years of service to the Black Archives in Miami, Barber was selected to become
the Director of Museum Operations for Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
at the Meek-Eaton Southeastern Regional Black Archives Research Center and Museum
on July 1, 2022.
In his departure, Barber stated, “It was great to be to bring to fruition the dreams
and visions of Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields, the founder of the Black Archives. Along
with former and present board members, trustees, and friends of the archives, it motivated
me to continue the journey and build on the work they have done for thirty-two (32)
years prior to me becoming the director. Their persistence in the face of trials
and tribulations and their financial sacrifices to keep the organization operable
inspired me to carry the mantle and continue on the path they had forged.”
Now Barber, in his new capacity, looks to champion the change in archival and museum management as he works to bring the Meek-Eaton Black Archives into the 21st Century. Since arriving at Meek-Eaton, Barber has secured a Mellon and IMLS grant to support the initiatives at FAMU.
Mr. Barber is a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.; Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity, Inc.; Society of American Archivists; and other professional, social, service, and civic organizations.