Triniti Watson learned from an OG Archivists: Family Memory, Detroit Roots, and The Critical Mix

There’s this interesting thing with time where the past collapses within the present.” Triniti Watson—Curator-in-Residence at the Boggs Center for Nurturing Community Leadership and visionary lead of The Critical Mix—pulls up with Detroit roots deep as the Great Migration and a mission to make “lost histories… more visible.” From her grandma’s West Side St. Mary’s Street house—Jeopardy on the big block TV, journals, photo albums, and “these are your people” images—Triniti traces how Black women become the “OG archivist,” holding our stories when institutions and trauma leave gaps. She breaks down how COVID-era stillness pushed her to say, “I cannot allow an institution to define who I am,” and why memory work is freedom work. Then she invites Detroit into the Boggs Center’s 30-year legacy with First Fridays (1–4 PM), where community safety history meets Detroit’s sonic future: DJs create mixes responding to texts from the exhibit, so visitors feel “the textures of liberation” while learning the names, movements, and traditions that built us. The series launches Friday, February 6, 2026 for Black Histories/Black Futures Month—pull up, bring friend, and follow @boggscenter for updates. Free, intergenerational, and Detroit as ever—Legacy Black culture remembered on purpose, and remixed for what’s next.