The Promise of a Photo with Anthropologist Robert Quintana Hopkins and Archivist Hannah Abelbeck, New Mexico History Museum

Encounter Culture

If a picture is worth a thousand words, who gets to craft that narrative? How does their version compare to others, and what does it tell us about the subject? An era? Ourselves?

Host Charlotte Jusinski and her guest Hannah Abelbeck, archivist at the New Mexico History Museum’s Palace of the Governors Photo Archives, explore all the angles, prompted by the discovery of 19th century archival images of Sam Adams, an African-American veteran of the New Mexico civil war.

The portraits of Mr. Adams are captivating and confusing. What was so important about him to warrant taking his picture? How did he end up in New Mexico? What was his life like?

Robert Quintana Hopkins, a descendant of Sam Adams, joins the conversation to discuss bringing under-told stories to light and the ways in which family history illuminates our current identities in multiple fascinating ways.

Curiosity is what led Robert to Sam Adams and Timotea Chavez, wife to Sam and great, great grandmother of Robert. “The world told me that I was Black, which is true,” Robert says, “and I also have the experience of being half-Mexican. But there was no way for me to reconcile that within the larger context of the society that I lived in. And so I grappled with that myself, like, what does it mean to be both?”

He explored this duality via his master’s thesis in anthropology and discovered a family history of non-conformance, giving him a new appreciation for and understanding of his own identity. His research eventually became blog posts through which Hannah later connected with him for her archival project.

Although the story of Sam Adams is far from complete, his portraits remind viewers that vibrant histories do exist for underrepresented communities if we’re willing to take a closer look.

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A photograph of Sam Adams is on display as part of the exhibition Looking Back: Reflecting on Collections at the New Mexico History Museum through October 17, 2021. Plan your visit at New Mexico History Museum. To learn more about the photography collection or make a research appointment, contact the Palace of the Governors Photo Archive.

Read much more about Sam Adams and Robert Quintana Hopkins and see those beautiful historic portraits of Adams in the December 2021 issue of El Palacio magazine, available soon in print. Meanwhile you can check out Robert’s MA Thesis: El Mestizo moderno: the story of a modern day mixed blood and his journey towards self identity.

Visit http://newmexicoculture.org for info about our museums, historic sites, virtual tours and more.

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Encounter Culture, a production of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, is produced and edited by Andrea Klunder at The Creative Impostor Studios.

Hosted by Charlotte Jusinski

Technical Director: Edwin R. Ruiz at Mondo Machine

Recording Engineer: Kabby at Kabby Sound Studios in Santa Fe

Executive Producer: Daniel Zillmann

Theme Music: D’Santi Nava

For more, visit NewMexicoCulture.org.