The State Historical Society of Missouri, in collaboration with the Ozarks Heritage Research Center, announces a digitization event in West Plains to coincide with SHSMO’s ongoing “African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project”. We invite residents of Howell, Texas, Wright, Douglas, Ozark, Shannon, Oregon, Carter and Ripley counties, as well as points throughout the southern Ozarks to bring photographs, letters, pamphlets, postcards, and other materials that speak to African American Heritage in the region. Archivists will assist attendees in the digitization and photographing of select materials, and will have the opportunity to record an interview with an oral historian about their artifacts, community history, and genealogy.By participating in the event, residents will not only be advised on the best practices for protecting these materials, but also offered the opportunity to digitize and preserve them as part of the larger “African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project”. The “African American Heritage in the Ozarks Project” is funded through an American Rescue Plan grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities and Missouri Humanities.