Florence Borders

Florence Edwards Borders (February 24, 1924 – September 7, 2018) was an American archivist, historian, and librarian. She specialized in the preservation of African American historical artifacts, especially those related to Afro-Louisianans.

Early life and education Florence Borders was born on February 24, 1924, in New Iberia, Louisiana. She attended Rosary College, now Dominican University, for a second bachelor's degree and a master's in Library Science. However, only five months after retiring, she returned to work as head archivist for the Center for African and African-American Studies at Southern University (SUNO) from 1989 until her retirement almost 20 years later.

She curated and organized many exhibits over her career through Amistad, Chicory, and SUNO. One of her projects at Amistad was as sole processor of the Thomas C. Dent Papers, 1972-1000. She published many of her own articles in Callaloo, the Black Music Research Journal, Louisiana Library Bulletin, and her own journal, Chicory Review, where she served as editor. Marlon Riggs drew on her expertise for his documentary Black Is, Black Ain't, she was consulted for the film House Divided, and she coordinated many interviews for the oral history project "Behind the Veil: The Jim Crow Era." Greater New Orleans Archivists Charter Member of the Academy of Certified Archivists Third World Archivists

Awards and honors Unsung Heroes Plaque awarded by the Crescent City Chapter of Links, 1987 Mayor's Certificate of Merit awarded by the City of New Orleans, 1987 The Callaloo Award from the University of Virginia, 1988 Vital as a Heartbeat Award from the Urban League, 1988 Certificate of Appreciation awarded by the Society of American Archivists, 2000