National Park Service U.S Department of the Interior Washington Support Office: Cultural Resources, Partnerships and Science Interpretation, Education and Volunteers Civil War to Civil Rights Commemoration Summary Report DEDICATION This report honors all those who suffered and died in this nation’s struggles for freedom and equality. It is also dedicated to our colleague, Tim Sinclair, who was taken from us too soon. Timothy D. Sinclair, Sr. (1974-2016) Chief of Interpretation Selma to Montgomery NHT Tuskegee Airmen NHS and Tuskegee Institute NHS You took us on a walk from Selma to Montgomery. To keep your vision and memory alive, “We’re still marching!” Silent sentinels stood watch for 22 hours to commemorate the 22 hours of combat that took place at Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle. FREDERICKSBURG AND SPOTSYLVANIA NMP Cover Graphic: Courtesy of Chris Barr FOREWORD The Civil War to Civil Rights Commemoration has been quite a journey. Thanks to all of you who helped make it a meaningful and memorable one for our country. We hope our efforts have helped Americans understand the connection between these two epic periods of time as a continuous march toward freedom and equality for all–a march that continues still today. Along the way, perhaps the National Park Service learned something about itself, as well. When we first began planning for this commemorative journey, there were several Civil War parks that had difficultly acknowledging slavery as the cause of the war. Both Civil War sites and civil rights sites questioned whether a combined “Civil War to Civil Rights” Commemoration would water down and weaken each. And yet, as the commemoration evolved, so it seemed, did the National Park Service. The pages of this report and its appendix will reveal a remarkable diversity of stories presented to new audiences using the most current means and media. These intended, as the Vision states, to help people “find meaning where they thought there was none.” Perhaps more importantly, the Service began to listen more closely. Through focus groups, audience-centered techniques, and its own internal scrutiny, the NPS began to evolve into an organization that holds dialogs on the difficult issues of our past that persist still today. In some places, civic engagement and community partnerships resulted in improved relationships and formal apologies for past atrocities. The Service has much more work to do both internally and externally, but it is at least a few miles ahead of where it was when it started down this dusty road five years ago. Stephanie Toothman Julia Washburn Associate Director Associate Director Cultural Resources, Interpretation, Education Partnerships and Science and Volunteers 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword / 1 Executive Summary / 4 Planning and Organization Action Responding to Unforeseen Events Next Steps Background / 20 Planning and Organization Vision / 23 Action / 30 Goal 1: Move Beyond the Battlefield / 32 Focus Groups: “Tell our Story and We Will Come” Providing Context for the Commemoration Addressing Slavery Multiple Perspectives Goal 2: Move Beyond the Facts / 42 A Cohesive National Strategy of Interpretation Goal 3: Expand Outreach / 44 Youth Programs Training Teachers Lesson Plans The Internet and Social Media Scholarship and Research Symposia, Conferences, and Lecture Series 2 Goal 4: Offer Unmatched Visitor Experiences / 57 Special Events Interpretive Media Traditional Media New Media Goal 5: Create a Lasting Legacy / 70 Battlefield Protection New Units of the National Park System New National Historic Landmarks Goal 6: Leverage Partnerships / 73 The Need for Partners: Cases in Point Examples of Important Partnerships Responding to Unforeseen Events / 80 Next Steps / 82 Lessons Learned / 84 Early Planning, Funding, and Proactive Leadership Developing and Maintaining Consistent Communications Creating New Approaches for New Audiences Recognizing and Dealing with Unconscious Bias Improving Coordination and Collaboration with Internal Partners Responding to Unforeseen Events and Building Bridges Expanding Media Coverage Appendices / 90 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY One hundred-fifty years ago, competing visions for the country and conflicting definitions of freedom led to a war that threatened the very existence of the United States. The nation was shattered into North and South by blue and gray. Fifty years ago, the streets of American cities ran red with blood again. From 2011-2015, the National Park Service (NPS) joined the rest of the country in commemorating these major events that changed the nation forever–and continue to challenge it today. To honor these sacrifices, among many other special events, 40,000 people marched across the killing fields of Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, and 50,000 marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. I wanted to say thanks...from Commemoration Afghanistan! My unit, the 1-167th Infantry participants representing Union and Confederate aka 4th Alabama, got deployed here about troops in Pickett’s Charge converge on Cemetery Ridge a month ago. Really glad you posted pictures at Gettysburg. and videos of all the activities for those of us who couldn't be there in person! - Stan H., Facebook Post 4 The Selma to Montgomery Walking Classroom…was one of the most powerful experiences of my life….From the very first step, it was clear that we were walking on holy ground. Tim and the other rangers made sure we understood the history, respected the sacrifices of the first foot soldiers and martyrs, and challenged us to make the connections between the past and the present. “What’s your Selma?” - Tricia T. The “Walking Classroom” crosses the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma beginning the 5-day march to Montgomery. 5 Planning and Organization If the commemoration had any success, it was due in part to planning that began as much as 13 years earlier. In 1998, a group of managers from Civil War sites met to discuss a number of issues common to their parks. Among these, they expressed the need to more fully interpret the causes and consequences of the war, as well as the experiences of African Americans, women, civilians, and others, in order to help the public better understand the relevance of the Civil War today. Subsequent meetings led to the writing of Holding the High Ground: A National Park Service Plan for the Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War in May 2008. This became the foundational document for envisioning and planning the agency’s approach to the commemoration. In July 2009, the NPS Deputy Director formed an interdisciplinary team to begin operational planning for the commemoration. This team would evolve into a steering committee including executive sponsors, coordinators from each region, and leaders of related program areas. A primary objective was to define a vision statement for the 6 commemoration. There was considerable debate about whether it should include slavery as the principal cause of the war. The original vision did not include this statement, but after more discussion, it was added to the final version. This group also examined opportunities for interpretive/educational programs and special events, and identified high priority interpretive media and land acquisition needs. The intent was that the organizational template generated during this commemoration might serve future anniversary events, particularly the upcoming Centennial of the NPS in 2016. In 2010, the Chief of Interpretation at Monocacy National Battlefield became the National Coordinator for the commemoration. In 2011, recognizing the concurrence of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War and the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement, the steering committee broadened the vision to include it. They changed the title of the commemoration from “Civil War 150” (CW150) to “Civil War to Civil Rights” (CW2CR). They finalized a strategic plan in 2012. The Service’s Chief of Interpretation became the point of contact for the civil rights “wing” of the commemoration. When the National Coordinator retired in January 2014, the Southeast Regional Coordinator moved into this position. It’s not just about who we were then. It’s about who we are now. - Chris Wheeler, Producer of “Civil War: The Untold Story” and three new park films for the commemoration 7 Action Artillery Demonstration at Fort Pulaski. More than 100 parks in six regions self-identified as having themes related to the commemoration. The Washington Support Office (WASO) and regional offices played important roles that complemented and amplified the commemoration, as well. Some of these efforts were done specifically under the umbrella of the commemoration, others occurred simultaneously. This report summarizes the efforts to achieve the commemoration’s six broad goals: move beyond the battlefield; move beyond the facts; expand outreach; offer unmatched visitor experiences; create a lasting legacy; and leverage partnerships. The following are a few examples of each. The NPS Chief Historian and Special Assistant to the Associate Director for Cultural Resources edited an NPS handbook entitled, The Civil War Remembered in which eminent historians elaborated on the Holding the High Ground themes which re-envisioned previous interpretations of the war. As a bookend to this effort, in 2014, a Reconstruction Era Theme Study was undertaken and work on another handbook began. This book, The Reconstruction Era, would present an expanded and more historically accurate account of this controversial and misrepresented period in American history. To respond to the vision statement’s call to “address the war’s causes and consequences,” the NPS developed several publications, a symposium, and several online training courses. The vision also called the Service to “continue to broaden the stories of African Americans, other ethnic communities, women and all citizens.” Focus groups probed into 8 Civil War to Civil Rights Book Series At times, I wept reading the stories untold by those history classes in middle or high school … I feel that … I am now able to educate others on things that they too might wish they would have known….