The Society
Our Vision
Western cultural heritage institutions were built on assumptions of public access, neutral description, and institutional custody that are structurally incompatible with traditions governed by initiation, lineage authority, and community-held sovereignty over sacred knowledge. The result has been a century of Afro-Atlantic sacred materials held in institutions that cannot describe them ethically, govern access appropriately, or return them meaningfully even when the political will to do so exists.
The Iroko Historical Society was founded to build that infrastructure from the ground up. The Society operates as a postcustodial cultural heritage complex comprising three interconnected components — a digital archive, a research library, and a living museum — each holding a distinct relationship to the knowledge under its governance.
The archive, research library, and living museum are not custodians of the knowledge they hold. They are infrastructure through which communities exercise their own custody.
The Founder
Credentials
JD, Case Western Reserve University · MA in Anthropology, Tulane University · MBA in Corporate Finance · MLIS Candidate, University of Alabama (Data Science & Analytics, expected 2028).
Initiatory Standing
Babalawo · Olofista · Olu-Iroko · Alaaña/Olubata. Over 20 years of fully initiated practice in the Lucumí tradition, providing the practitioner authority that grounds the Society's governance design.
Fieldwork
Ongoing fieldwork in Havana, Matanzas, and Pinar del Río. Formalized collaboration with Babaláwo Irete Obara from 2022, including active digitization of sacred materials.
Presentations
Society of American Archivists · KOSANBA · IV International Conference on Preservation of Documentary Heritage, Biblioteca Nacional de Cuba (September 2025). UA Outstanding Graduate Paper Award.