Diversity Justice
Teamwork Resilient Social change Community Public history
Speak
Labor
Sustainability Build Student
Early career Engagement Job market Critical EcosystemAccess OpportunityCreate Leadership
Love New Heritage Collective
Change Knowledge Mentor Inclusion Professional History Training Emerging Listen Professionals
TAKEOVER WorkMovement Internship ISSUE Creativity Change-making Employment TRANSFORM AND EXPAND THE WAY YOUR HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS ARE VIEWED, ACCESSED AND UTILIZED. AND LET YOUR HISTORY INFORM THE FUTURE. www.historyit.com PAGE Contents 22 WINTER 2018 VOLUME 73, #1
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Departments Features ON THE COVER This wordle is 3 On Doing Local History 7 Investing in the Ecosystem created from some By Hope Shannon with Carol Kammen By Amanda L. Higgins and Patrick A. Lewis of the key words and phrases that 5 The Whole is Greater 12 Emerging Labor: Work and the guest editor Hope By AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force New Public Historic Historian Shannon identified By Jess Lamar Reece Holler as important to the 34 Book Reviews discussion within By Hannah Hethmon and Ty Pierce 16 Talking about Slavery When Your this issue. Museum Wants to Avoid It 37 AASLH News By Cait Johnson
22 Hungry for History: Bringing Social INSIDE: TECHNICAL LEAFLET Studies Back to Alabama By Caroline Gibbons Get to Work: Crafting Cover
PAGE Letters and Résumés for 29 “Do You Have Anything in Your Emerging Professionals Museum about Me?” By Michael Dove and Krista McCracken 37 By Breann Velasco
History News is a publication of the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). History News exists to foster publication, scholarly research, and an open forum for discussion of best practices, applicable theories, and professional experiences pertinent to the field of state and local history.
THE MAGAZINE OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL HISTORY EDITOR Bob Beatty | MANAGING EDITOR Aja Bain | ADVERTISING Darah Fogarty DESIGN Go Design, LLC: Gerri Winchell Findley, Suzanne Pfeil
History News (ISSN0363-7492) is published quarterly by American Association for State and Local History, 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320 320, Nashville, TN 37212. Periodicals Postage Paid at Nashville, Tennessee. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to History News, 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37212. Nashville, Tennessee 37212 Article manuscripts dealing with all aspects of public history are welcome, including current trends, timely issues, and best practices for 615-320-3203 professional development and the overall improvement of the history field, particularly articles that give a fresh perspective to traditional Fax 615-327-9013 theories, in-depth case studies that reveal applicable and relevant concepts, and subject matter that has the ability to resonate throughout [email protected] all levels of the field. For information on article submissions and review, see about.aaslh.org/history-news. Single copies are $10. [email protected] Postmaster, send form 3579 to History News, AASLH, 2021 21st Avenue S., Suite 320, Nashville, TN 37212. Periodical postage paid in Nashville, Tennessee. Entire contents copyrighted ©2018 by the American Association for State and Local History. Opinions expressed by www.aaslh.org contributors are not necessarily those of the American Association for State and Local History. elcome to the first-ever takeover ofHistory News! Technical Leaflet, “Get to Work: Crafting WWhile we accept articles from anyone regardless Cover Letters and Résumés for Emerging AASLH of career stage, this is the first issue written and edited Professionals.” Having only recently entirely by those who identify themselves as Emerging discovered the wonderful world of History Professionals. podcasts, I was particularly pleased to see We are grateful for the work that guest editors Hope Hannah’s review of one of my favorites: Shannon and Hannah Hethmon put into this edition of Museum People. You are sure to find your History News. They were the ideal people to lead this own personal favorite(s) as well. effort. Hannah was the AASLH staffer who founded the No matter what career stage a person is in, I believe we Emerging History Professionals affinity community and should grant all of our peers the moniker of “professional” From the Editor Hope was its first chair. if they take their work as assiduously as these writers and The insight and thought that Hope, Hannah, and these their compatriots do—submitting articles, presenting at authors bring to their work and our profession reflects conferences, and doing terrific work in communities across people doing relevant, inspired history. You will see from the nation. the articles within that the field is in very good hands as This issue of History News, conceived, written, and the next generation asserts itself in even greater leadership edited entirely by Emerging History Professionals, proves roles in public history. my point. Well done, fellow history professionals. By any Many history professionals—whether emerging, standard or measure, you have emerged! emerged, or at another career stage—will no doubt benefit from Michael Dove and Krista McCracken’s Bob Beatty
he Winter 2018 issue of History News is the result of The articles we ultimately included in this issue reflect Ta vision Bob Beatty had last year for a special take- how Emerging History Professionals are thinking critically over or “hack” of AASLH’s long-running magazine. His about the field and its sustainability. The authors aren’t idea was to hand History News over to the field’s afraid to tackle difficult history or push back against prac- newest practitioners—sometimes tices they believe are unethical or harmful. Jess Lamar called “emerging” professionals— Reece Holler addresses pressing labor concerns facing to produce an issue that centers public historians, while Amanda L. Higgins and Patrick A. around their perspectives and show- Lewis consider the role partnerships can play in preparing cases their thoughts on problems history Ph.D.s for careers in public history. Cait Johnson, and trends in the field. Emerging Caroline Gibbons, and Breann Velasco offer their takes professionals include anyone in the on changes and tough conversations early stages of a public history ca- Hannah Hethmon happening at their institutions, which reer, from students and new profes- should provide insight for readers facing
From the Guest Editors sionals to hobbyists, and their knowledge and insight similar problems in their own practice. bring new life to our ever-changing discipline. Bob The columns from Hope Shannon and asked us to lead the project and co-edit the special AASLH’s Diversity and Inclusion Task issue, and we’re pleased to share with you the culmi- Force, the reviews by Hannah Hethmon nation of these efforts. Hope Shannon and Ty Pierce, and the Technical Leaflet From the start, we knew that there had to be a by Michael Dove and Krista McCracken shift in process, not just content, to maximize the impact complete this special issue of History News. and success of a History News written almost entirely by We want to thank Bob Beatty and AASLH for inviting us emerging professionals. Our primary goal was to produce to co-edit the first-ever “hack” ofHistory News, our con- an issue that highlights their perspectives, but we also tributing authors for sharing their experiences and insights, wanted to provide a learning experience for everyone who and Carol Kammen for allowing us to take over her “On submitted an abstract. For many applicants, submitting Doing Local History” column. We hope our collective effort proposals for this issue of History News was their first opens doors for the next generation of public historians attempt at publication. We provided extensive feedback and provides a model for how other associations and orga- for the submissions we had to decline and are hopeful nizations can better support early career professionals. that these comments will help applicants prepare for future opportunities. Hannah Hethmon Hope Shannon
2 WINTER 2018 On Doing Local History By Hope Shannon with Carol Kammen Local Historians, Politics, and the Public Good
he political discourse swirling The history comes out of a need to keep ilies to recreation. They share their around the 2016 presidential people there.” This makes it difficult for findings in books, public programs, and election elicited a groundswell anyone to controvert the established nar- walking tours, often in partnership with Tof grassroots activism across the United rative. “The conventions of local history, local historical societies and libraries. States. As I watched these events unfold, it seems to me, are to make people under- And yet, this does not yield any kind of I wondered what role local history and stand the past but feel good about place.”1 sustained support from funding agencies local historians played in all of this. Our By focusing on place, local historians or the majority of residents in any partic- day-to-day lived experiences are heavily have often neglected to consider in any ular area. Broader interest in local history influenced by the local policies and envi- complex way the past’s political issues. resurges from time to time in response to ronments in which we live and work, and “Local historians will rarely talk about historical anniversaries or commemora- these places are often the frontline for a political election. They will rarely talk tions—the United States Bicentennial is a battles over issues of both personal and good example of this phenomenon—but broader significance. What’s curious is we widespread public support rarely lasts. don’t often see local historians taking part For local historians, part of the issue in these conversations, even though local When I started doing with advocating for the importance of activists, politicians, and other change- local history, I was local history and building broad public makers invoke local history in debates understanding of its relevance is how about everything from sanctuary cities disturbed by the people to involve others in local history work. to municipal ordinances. There are local Audiences rarely join in the creation of historians doing this work, certainly, but who weren’t there. historical knowledge and often do not many more are not visibly engaged in share a comparable level of investment these conversations. in the material or its message. Carol This led me to wonder about the about a strike or unions. When I started provides a comparison to exemplify this intersections between local history and doing local history, I was disturbed by the point. “This is a big difference between the political. What is the relationship people who weren’t there. My interest local historical societies and preservation between the two? What spaces do local was in the people. Over time, local history societies. In order to save that building or history and the local historian occupy in has changed, responding to academic do something, the preservationists enlist discussions about political matters and trends, but it is still promotional of place,” people to support them and work with the public good? Carol explains. “We don’t tend to look at them, and they give those people real Carol Kammen and I explored these inequality. Yet, we can certainly look back jobs. They put hammers in the hands of questions together. Carol welcomed me and see inequalities in our communities.” their supporters, and they march in the to her long-running column and allowed Additionally, local historians are seldom streets and appear at public meetings. me to flip the script, so to speak, for this political about the important role local That’s a lesson historical societies and edition of “On Doing Local History.” We history can and does play in their neigh- local historians need to learn. Local his- focused on two big intersections between borhoods and communities. By politi- tory has not given its public much of a local history and politics: the place of cal, we mean they do not fight for the purpose. But preservationists try to give political narratives in local history and resources they need to amplify their work others a stake. Even if their supporters local history’s role in debates about public or to demonstrate the local and national lose a building, they begin to look at life in the present. We discussed how these relevance of the history they study. Local their communities with new eyes. We relationships have changed over time, what history is typically not well-funded and need more of this in local history. People this means for local historians practicing is generally not considered to be part of become involved because they’re dis- today, and how local historians can engage the panacea of essential civic services, like covering it themselves. They’re learning with political issues in their communities. schools, police and fire stations, and other about it by doing.” In the interest of building local histo- municipally funded agencies. We are not, This is not to say that no local historians ries that support the status quo or build Carol argues, “presenting local history do this work. Many incorporate complex love of place, local historians have, his- to the community in a way that makes a issues from the past into their local histo- torically, tended to avoid or skirt around statement about how important local his- ries, fight for resources and visibility, and political topics that provoke divisiveness. tory is. We should be advocating for the put their knowledge to work in contem- “There is an originalist narrative created value of what we do.” porary conversations about local, regional, in local history that is apolitical,” Carol Why is this? The passion is certainly and even national problems. This results says. “The founders of a place and the there. Local historians are consummate from decades of hard work, introspection, way it was set up are celebrated in a way researchers who study and write about and, in the case of struggling local histor- that leaves out diversity and controversy. everything from streetcars to local fam- ical societies, attempts to reinvent their
HISTORY NEWS 3 On Doing Local History > provides opportunities for local historians other underrepresented groups have been to bring the past into conversations about seriously considered in academic settings, organizations to make sure they remain problems we’re grappling with today. and even more recently in narratives pro- relevant and stable far into the future. We’re on the right path, but there is still duced at the local level. But local history For example, the Cambridge (MA) much work to be done. has happened beyond these boundaries Historical Society held a symposium in We need to continue the work of com- for millennia. Having a sense of one’s fall 2016 called “Housing for All,” where plicating local history narratives. “Local own past and place in history is a uniquely a panel of discussants considered con- history and local historians have tended to human experience that we all share. We cerns related to local housing through paint the past as issue-free,” Carol argues. should use local history to create spaces a historical lens. The panel invited “It all relates to what we’re doing today. where people can come together and, as audience comment, and attendees were All history picks up its questions from Carol says, “reflect on a complex past.” encouraged to contribute their own hous- current issues.” We need to look beyond Connecting past to present is an essen- ing stories. the importance of place to the core issues tial component of practicing history. It’s The Nashville Public Library opened underlying local spaces, both today and in not just about researching and writing its Civil Rights Room to serve a similar the past. In understanding and resolving about stories from the past. It’s about purpose. The space hosts a collection today’s problems, she posits, “local his- sharing the experience of being a histo- and exhibition dedicated to civil rights tory has a really important part to play.” rian in a way that builds appreciation for history in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as The issues have deep historical roots, but the historian’s craft, invites others in, and programs designed to build connections just how deep has only recently begun to makes this important work more visible between the history of the Civil Rights emerge in local narratives. and accessible. Ultimately, Carol reports, Movement and related struggles facing We also need to use local history to “local history can have a very positive Nashville residents in the present.2 build bridges between diverse communi- effect on social justice and change. Local These examples help to illuminate the ties. Many local historians work through history has a role to play in how a place paths we need to take to make clear the local historical societies, which have, learns to do differently. And we’re mov- connections between past and present, historically, been associated with white ing in this direction. But it’s a case we serve the public in a meaningful way, audiences. It has only been in the past need to make where people see it as part and demonstrate the relevance of our half-century that histories of women, of their contribution. Some do, but more discipline. Building these foundations people of color, LGBTQ people, and do not. The most they would say is that they are community boosters. Or they provide information for the community. This is a real problem.” We need to be on the frontlines of today’s debates, and we need to advocate for our work, for each DORFMAN other, and for the public we serve. MUSEUM FIGURES, INC. t Hope Shannon is a public history professional and historian. She Realistic Figures has designed and led a wide since 1957. Conservation array of projects and initiatives Forms since 1996. with community partners engaged in cultural work on the local level. Hope is also a former Executive Director at the South End Historical Society in Boston, where she wrote Legendary Locals of Boston’s South End. Email her at [email protected] or reach out to her on Twitter @HistorianHope.
“On Doing Local History” is intend- ed to encourage dialogue on the essential issues of local history. Carol Kammen can be reached at Dorfman Conservation Forms [email protected]. created exclusively with Ethafoam® 1 All quotes derive from discussions via phone and brand inert polyethylene foam. email between Hope Shannon and Carol Kammen in July and August 2017. 2 See Heidi Legg and Marieke Van Damme, “If You Are Slowly Improving Citizens, You Get a Better City,” History News 72, no. 4, and Laura Caldwell Anderson, www.museumfigures.com 800-634-4873 “Sharing Nashville’s Civil Rights Past with the Police,” History News, 71, no. 3.
4 WINTER 2018 The Whole is Greater By The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force Ready to Listen, Speak, and Act: The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force
n 2018, are we really diverse and inclusive in the fields of arts and humanities? The answer is NO! The Irecent social unrest of mass demonstra- tions by white supremacist groups in Charlottesville, Virginia; the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA); and the degrading language used by President Donald Trump to belit- The Diversity and tle the protest of police brutality toward Inclusion Task Force African Americans initiated by National hosted a successful Football League player Colin Kaepernick mixer at the 2017 has compelled arts and humanities orga-
AASLH Annual History Local and State for Association American Carpenter, Marian Photos nizations and institutions to respond to Meeting in Austin. the issue of race, inclusion, and equality and to not remain silent. A 2015 self-examination of the AASLH Council revealed that the organization needed to be more diverse and inclu- sive. It formed the AASLH Diversity and Inclusion Task Force to ensure that AASLH advocates and practices the acceptance of all voices and views, repre- senting a diverse range of race, ethnicity, culture, disabilities, gender identity, and sexual orientation through its programs, The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion viewpoints and cultures. The task force activities, and membership. The task Task Force serves as an advisor to increased its membership to ten in order force mission statement is: “Everyone the AASLH Council and staff. It also to invite the participation of new and makes history. Relevant history is inclu- sponsors programs and activities for non-AASLH members. sive history. So, we are investing in for- AASLH members and professionals in At the AASLH 2017 Annual Meeting ward-thinking scholarship, expanding the the arts and humanities. In 2017, the in Austin, Texas, which had the theme diversity of our field, and choosing part- task force proposed a new vision that I AM History, the task force sponsored ners who make equity a priority.” included more collaboration and diverse “The State of Inclusion” session in
THE AASLH DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION TASK FORCE
Marian Carpenter (chair) The Ringling Museum of Art (2016-2018) Omar Eaton-Martínez National Museum of American History (2016-2018) Enimini Ekong Brown v. Board of Education National Heritage Site (2017-2018) Veronica Gallardo Fort Monroe Authority (2016-2018) Amanda Jasso Austin Public Library (2017-2018) Richard Josey Minnesota Historical Society (2017-2018) Mónica Moncada Independent Professional (2016-2018) Julia Rose Homewood Museum (2016-2018) Kimberly Springle Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives (2017-2018) Chris Taylor Minnesota Historical Society (2016-2018) Tobi Voigt Michigan History Center (2016-2018)
HISTORY NEWS 5 The Whole is Greater > The Diversity and Inclusion OFFICERS 2016–2018 AASLH partnership with the Task Force is ready to LISTEN, Katherine Kane, Chair; Harriet Beecher Stowe Center American Library SPEAK, and ACT. John Fleming, Vice Chair; National Museum of African American Music Association and the Society Julie Rose, Immediate Past Chair; Homewood Museum of American Archivists for Norman Burns, II, Treasurer; Conner Prairie Linnea Grim, Secretary; Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello the Committee on Archives, Erin Carlson Mast, Council’s Representative; Libraries, and Museums. President Lincoln’s Cottage The discussion encouraged STAFF conference attendees to Aja Bain, Program and Publications Coordinator examine the practice of Bob Beatty, History News and Publications Editor diversity and inclusion in Cherie Cook, Senior Program Manager For 2018, the Diversity and Inclusion John R. Dichtl, President and CEO the areas of employment, policies and Task Force is ready to LISTEN, SPEAK, Natalie Flammia, Education and Service Coordinator procedures, and programs/activities. Darah Fogarty, Marketing Coordinator and ACT. The task force will have The panelists and session moderator Bethany L. Hawkins, Chief of Operations an even greater presence at the 2018 Terry Jackson, Membership and Database Coordinator shared personal stories and engaged AASLH Annual Meeting in Kansas City. John Garrison Marks, External Relations Coordinator the audience in direct conversation In connection with the theme, Truth or about the status of inclusion in the arts COUNCIL Consequences, it will host several con- Bill Adair, Class of 2018; Pew Center for Arts & Heritage and humanities. The number of ques- ference activities that will offer more Melanie Adams, Class of 2020; Minnesota Historical Society tions and comments from panelists and Dina A. Bailey, Class of 2018; Mountain Top Vision, LLC training and resources on how to practice attendees energized the conversation. Marian Carpenter, Class of 2019; John and Mable Ringling inclusion, as well as organize more social Museum of Art It also confirmed that in 2017 the field Lisa Eriksen, Class of 2021; Lisa Eriksen Consulting events. Community collaboration and is still not diverse and inclusive enough. Kim Fortney, Class of 2020; National History Day participation will be a new initiative for Leigh A. Grinstead, Class of 2018; LYRASIS The AASLH Diversity and Inclusion the task force to introduce AASLH to a Jennifer Kilmer, Class of 2019; Washington State Historical Task Force also hosted its first mixer Society wider audience and to help preserve the at the annual meeting, which attracted Stacy Klingler, Class of 2021; William Butterworth Foundation history of all people. Nicola Longford, Class of 2018; The Sixth Floor Museum at many first-time AASLH members and t Dealey Plaza conference attendees. The task force Kyle McKoy, Class of 2020; Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle To learn more about the AASLH Diversity Brent Ott, Class of 2021; The Henry Ford received feedback requesting more social and Inclusion Task Force, contact chair Mari Sarah Pharaon, Class of 2019; International Coalition of events to encourage interaction and Sites of Conscience Carpenter at [email protected] or Trina Nelson Thomas, Class of 2021; Stark Art & History Venues networking among people of color and Natalie Flammia, AASLH staff liaison to the Scott Wands, Class of 2020; Connecticut Humanties other underrepresented groups. task force at [email protected].
6 WINTER 2018 Investingin the Ecosystem Kentucky Historical Society Historical Kentucky
A Kentucky Journey, the Kentucky Historical Society’s By signature exhibit, invites visitors to explore 12,000 years of the state’s history. It is located inside Amanda L. Higgins the Kentucky Historical Society headquarters in and downtown Frankfort, KY. Patrick A. Lewis
he academic job market, particularly in the humanities, has been in crisis for nearly five decades. The Toverproduction of doctoral degrees, shifting funding priorities, and a growing reliance on contingent or part-time instructors has dramatically reshaped the higher education landscape. The jobs crisis has also produced a genre of academic writing known as “Quit Lit,” in which academics on and off of the tenure track write think pieces explaining their decision to leave academia. Quit Lit contains some consistent tropes: the exploitative power of the neoliberal Kentucky Historical Society Historical Kentucky The Kentucky Historical Society is hosting a series of programs based academy, administrative burdens associated on the temporary exhibit Photographing Freetowns: African American with teaching in the academy, and the Kentucky through the Lens of Helen Balfour Morrison, 1935-1946. consistent call to leave that world behind for This adaptation of the Chicago Newberry Library’s exhibit documents better opportunities elsewhere.1 African American life in Depression-era Kentucky.
HISTORY NEWS 7 Hiring good people isn’t just about creating positions within your organization. It’s about developing
n a recent Quit Lit article for Inside Higher Ed, Claire paths are replicable. This is not necessarily so; we depend on Potter, a tenured professor of history at the New circumstance and seizing opportunity. School, suggested, “No one should work as an adjunct,” We must both create the opportunity and make sure we Iand called on graduate departments to track non-academic reach outside of our organizations to develop emerging pro- employment. Potter’s article received swift and accurate fessionals who can capitalize on it. These are people whose blowback for her glib suggestion that adjuncts quit teaching energy and creativity expand the mission of our history orga- and, germane to this issue of History News, her presumption nizations into driving meaningful social change, people who that humanities-trained Ph.D.s could seamlessly move from find new audiences for our organizations’ work, people who academic training to “alt-ac” or non-academic jobs.2 have learned to be financially nimble in the era of austerity Potter and other Quit Lit writers often suggest that instead of the current leadership that in many ways still reels history Ph.D.s can solve the academic jobs crisis by sim- from the loss of the largesse of the 1990s. ply applying for and gaining positions in public history, Hiring good people isn’t just about creating positions museums, archives, and libraries—as though those careers within your organization. It’s about developing cooperative have no field-specific training or job experience required. ecosystems that build better candidates while they’re still in While it may not be obvious to well-meaning tenured and graduate school. Working locally, you can build relation- tenure-track faculty in history ships that allow talented young people to attend regional departments around the coun- universities and work with you. They come to the organiza- We chose to be here; try, public historians know that tion pre-invested in the mission of improving lives in their to make change here; most Ph.D. programs are nei- communities through history because they are from and of ther equipped nor interested in those communities. They give struggling regional history and to believe in our helping students cultivate the departments new energy and a corps of young alumni who state, our place, and variety of skills and experiences are employed, productive, and ready to give back to their necessary in finding a fulfilling department in innumerable ways. Through their success, our abilities. The career outside of academia. they prove to their departments that public history isn’t a skills we gained, the While learning to read, write, backup plan but a specialized career that demands skills over research, and analyze are foun- and above those taught by conventional academics. opportunities we seized dational and imperative skills, The authors of this article got our respective breaks from kept us doing what we being successful public histo- a program designed to create better professional candidates. rians requires communication, Now that we have converted that opportunity into careers, love in the place that constituent management, long- we are working to develop a better academic/public history matters the most to us. range institutional planning, ecosystem that develops talent for our organization, opens the exhibit design, curatorial, and path to long-term retention of that talent, and provides envi- development skills. able, intangible benefits for emerging professionals who want The problem is systemic, to integrate their careers into their lives, not put one on hold while the solutions proposed by both academic and public for the other. history commentators and program administrators are indi- Before the American Historical Association and the Andrew vidualistic. Get skills. Make connections. Move across the W. Mellon Foundation began funding “Career Diversity for country. Get hired. Don’t become a statistic. Look for hap- Historians” grants, the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS) piness in a few years. Unwilling or unable to do any of that? and the history department of the University of Kentucky Good luck! developed the Graduate Editorial Assistantship. It was These individualistic solutions come from a position of launched in 2010 to meet the needs of three principal parties: powerlessness on the part of academic advisors of graduate a public history institution, an academic department, and students. They aren’t employers. They aren’t hiring. They Ph.D. candidates soon to be on the job market. The posi- react to the market offered by practicing public history tion’s salary is raised through private donations to the KHS professionals. Academic advisors have been trying—with Foundation, and benefits are paid and administered by the varying levels of success—to make better job candidates. university. The position is based in academic editing and pub- Why don’t we emerging professionals who find ourselves in lishing, but involves the candidate in the much broader work positions of increasing influence at our organizations make a of a well-rounded public history institution.3 better market? The Graduate Editorial Assistant (GEA) serves as the book As the professionals who began careers after the recession review editor for the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, become managers and leaders, we need to open more doors the journal of record for Kentucky history. Like other gradu- for people like us. One of the greatest weaknesses of public ate assistantships at history journals, the GEA chooses books history career advice literature is the assumption that our for review, cultivates relationships with reviewers, edits sub-
Working locally, you can build relationships that allow talented young
8 WINTER 2018 cooperative ecosystems that build better candidates while they’re still in graduate school.
missions, and participates in editorial meetings with Register Editorial Assistants conduct themselves and how aggres- staff. What makes the position different from editorial assis- sively they make the position work for their career. An tantships at other journals is the publisher. The Register is intern has expectations set for them. Emerging professionals published by the Kentucky Historical Society. Register staff hustle, network, and position themselves for the next evolu- work within the KHS functional team devoted to research tion in their careers. This language works as internal moti- and access. The team houses KHS’s award-winning digi- vation for employees, but it also cues those around them tal humanities project, the Civil War Governors of Kentucky into the purpose of the position. It encourages KHS man- Digital Documentary Edition, and the institution’s research agers to bring the GEA into important conversations with library. For twenty hours a week, the Graduate Editorial key collaborators not just as an observer but as a participant Assistant works as a peer on the KHS Research Experience whose opinion is welcomed and valued. team and has the opportunity to work throughout the insti- While the position has placed all of its holders, it does tution to gain skills in archival processing, communications, not guarantee placement. Instead, it places ambitious and exhibit research, and engagement. These opportunities are talented early career professionals into situations that expand only possible because the GEA works in a dynamic public their portfolios of marketable skills and their body of profes- history institution that has reaped the benefits of motivated, skilled, and place- based Ph.D. students for seven years. Since the position was established, five have completed their degrees. All of these GEAs are employed in public history or in tenure-track positions. Community Kentucky Historical Society Historical Kentucky The authors of this piece are former Graduate Editorial Assistants as well. Each of us leveraged the skills, expe- rience, and contacts we acquired into supervisory positions at KHS. Both of us have found personally fulfilling and intellectually challenging work in com-
munities that we care deeply about. We create change in our home state. We Build can show the impact of our work to our families and our hometowns. We are repaying the state’s investment in us as its best and brightest. Heritage Like any system, this partnership requires maintenance. Complacency, budget cuts, and staff turnover hap- pen. Institutional memory gets lost. As its beneficiaries, we are committed Along with its headquarters building, the Kentucky Historical Society’s history campus includes to maintaining the effectiveness of the the Old State Capitol and the Kentucky Military History Museum in the State Arsenal. concept, articulating its value to current stakeholders, and advocating the expan- sion of this model to other places and institutional settings. sional contacts. But it depends on the talent of the individual The position was conceived as an act of practical pedagogy to make the most of those opportunities at the time and and service to the fields of public and academic history, not when they are on the job market. just as a self-serving way to fund another graduate student Maintaining excellence is not guaranteed. Much of what and perform editorial labor. There were and are easier, less makes the idea work for KHS and the university involves the expensive ways to have gotten the work done. motivations of the students chosen for the position. If the It is important to note that this is not an internship or an Graduate Editorial Assistant only devotes the twenty hours assistantship. When, on occasion, administrators on both required, only focuses on the book reviews, and/or only sides of the relationship have slipped into calling the posi- talks to colleagues on the Register staff, the position becomes tion this, those closest to it have pushed back forcefully. another line on a CV. A lack of curiosity about public history Appropriate language is very important for how Graduate and about KHS can make the position stale and the expe-
people to attend regional universities and work with you.
HISTORY NEWS 9 rience unfulfilling. So much of what has made the position A Kentuckian by birth and by choice, Amanda L. Higgins earned her work is an understanding of KHS and its role within the Ph.D. in American history from the University of Kentucky in 2013. Commonwealth. Some of that understanding was implicit: She joined the staff of the Kentucky Historical Society in 2015 as four of the five GEAs are Kentuckians who felt deeply con- the Associate Editor of the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society nected to the state and its history before they came to KHS. and is now KHS’s Community Engagement Administrator. You can find All five saw the value of a public history institution in devel- her on Twitter (@Doc_Higgs) and working with communities through- oping their own careers and in fostering change. out the Commonwealth to preserve and promote their histories. Most importantly, the position has allowed talented Kentuckians to do excellent work on Kentucky in Kentucky. Patrick A. Lewis (Twitter @KyPLewis) has been an NPS park ranger, The power of the GEA position comes with keeping teacher, editor, and digital humanist. After completing his Ph.D. at the Kentuckians in the Commonwealth and providing them University of Kentucky in 2012, Lewis joined the staff of the Civil War skills and training for fulfilling careers wherever they chose Governors of Kentucky, which he now directs. Through NEH and NHPRC to make their lives. We chose to stay in Kentucky. We chose funding, CWGK digitally publishes the voices of diverse Kentuckians who to be here; to make change here; and to believe in our state, interacted with the state government during the Civil War era. He is au- our place, and our abilities. The skills we gained, the oppor- thor of For Slavery and Union: Benjamin Buckner and Kentucky Loyalties tunities we seized kept us doing what we love in the place in the Civil War (Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2015). that matters the most to us. 1 See “Historians Face Bleak Job Field,” Washington Post, Dec. 31, 1974; This model may not work for your institution, but a pro- “Fixing the Ph.D.,” New Yorker, June 4, 2014; Kevin Gannon, “Fixing Our gram like it—one based on recruiting and retaining local Job-Market Problem,” Chronicle Vitae, July 24, 2017; Robert R. Weyeneth and Daniel J. Vivian, “Charting the Course: Challenges in Public History Education, or regional students—can help energize state and local his- Guidance for Developing Strong Public History Programs,” Public Historian 30, tory organizations, by reminding talented, local folks that no. 3 (August 2016): 25-49; Megan Garner, “The Rise of ‘Quit Lit,’” Atlantic, fulfilling public history work is available to them at home. September 10, 2015. 2 As young professionals, we’re committed to continuing to Claire Potter, “Angry About Adjuncting?” Inside Higher Ed, October 15, 2017. 3 The American Historical Association and the Andrew W. Mellon invest in our ecosystem and encourage you to create and Foundation began their Career Diversity in History iniative in 2014. For more maintain your own. information, visit: www.historians.org/jobs-and-professional-development/ t career-diversity-for-historians/about-career-diversity. Kentucky Historical Society Historical Kentucky …being successful public historians requires communication, constituent management, long-range institutional planning, The Kentucky Hall of Governors helps exhibit design, curatorial, visitors go beyond and development rumors and myths to skills. find the facts about Kentucky’s governors and see Kentucky’s history within the context of U.S. history. The official portraits of every Kentucky governor hang in this interactive gallery.
10 WINTER 2018 Kentucky Historical Society 2017-833 AASLHN0118 Ad.indd 1 MORE ESSENTIALRESOURCES FROM YOUR PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION Rowman &Littlefi eld CustomerServiceat1-800-462-6420orrowman.com. AASLH membersalwaysget20%o 978-1-4422-7367-2 •$33.00eBook 978-1-4422-7365-8 •$79.00Cloth 978-1-4422-7366-5 •$35.00Paper 2017 •220pages and Archives Charles SumnerSchoolMuseum —Kimberly E.Springle, executive director, mission, visionandvaluesofthemuseum.” while ensuringtheworkmeasuresupto excellence, structure, andprofessionalism with thetoolsnecessarytoachieveoptimal personal library. Morrisprovidesreaders museum professionalshouldhaveintheir in Museumsisabookthateverypassionate “ 978-1-4422-7906-3 •$45.50eBook 978-1-4422-7904-9 •$110.00Cloth 978-1-4422-7905-6 •$48.00Paper 2017 •352pages & education,Pacific ScienceCenter types.” practitioners inmuseumsofvaryingsizesand will havebroadappealforawiderangeof and mid-leveloftheircareers,thisbook While gearedtowardsthoseinthebeginning valuable resourceformuseumeducators. Museum Educator’s Manualanevenmore Technology make thissecondeditionofThe “The inclusionofUniversalDesignand 978-1-4422-7370-2 •$28.50eBook 978-1-4422-7368-9 •$68.00Cloth 978-1-4422-7369-6 •$30.00Paper 2018 •120pages Series: InterpretingHistory chief historian,NationalPark Service legacies.” —DwightT. Pitcaithley, former (and students)make senseoftheWar andits useful examplesthatwillassistinterpreters Levin andhisteamofessayists providemost and museumswilldelightinthisbook.Kevin “Practitioners ofhistoryatCivilWar sites Managing People andManaging Projects —Keni Sturgeon, directorofscience whenorderingAASLH BookSeries*titles.Usethispromotionalcodeatcheckout: AASLHMBR20 whencalling 978-1-4422-7920-9 •$33.00eBook 978-1-4422-7918-6 •$75.00Cloth 978-1-4422-7919-3 •$35.00Paper 2018 •174pages Baltimore, Maryland Hopkins UniversityHomewoodMuseum —Julia Rose, directorandcurator, Johns productively make remembrancesrelevant.” public memoryinordertopurposelyand narratives, andtoscrutinizereclaim public memory, tochallengecomplacent and otherheritageprofessionalstorattle C. Bruggemanencouragespublichistorians “This collectionofessaysassembledbySeth 978-1-5381-0789-8 •$42.50eBook 978-1-5381-0787-4 •$95.00Cloth 978-1-5381-0788-1 •$45.00Paper 2018 •346pages hot issuesofthe21 museums–and bringsitsquarelyintothe relationship thatplaceholdsforlocal fi rst edition–theimportantandcomplex takes oneoftheessentialthemes “The secondeditionofDefiMemory ning Holocaust Education Jewish MuseumandCenterfor at large.” —JudithMargles,director, Oregon bring toourcommunitiesandthecountry the manycontributionsthatlocalmuseums new essaystacklesubjectsthataugment 978-1-4422-6415-1 •$37.99eBook 978-1-4422-6413-7 •$90.00Cloth 978-1-4422-6414-4 •$40.00Paper 2018 •260pages for HistoricPreservation Middle Tennessee State UniversityCenter dialogues.” forefront ofcontemporarydebatesand narratives, andkeeping historyatthe partnerships, inclusiveapproachesand historian: communityengagement,reciprocal key issuesfacedbythe21stcenturypublic leading scholarsandpractitionerstackle Under BobBeatty’s masterfulguidance, “A mustforeverypublichistorian’s library. —Carroll Van West, director, st century. Expandedand www.rowman.com
12/1/17 8:17 AM Emerging Labor: and the work new Public Holler HistorianBy Jess Lamar Reece
nhappily revenant, unamused as used to burnout and job applications and marathon ever—labor is back in a big, familiar conferences and bad bosses and deciding to not go to way. The past few years have seen the doctor when you are sick so that you can pay rent this month. the resurgence of a labor movement in the U The responses made me excited; they made me cry. I wit- cultural and humanities sector that’s perhaps the nessed so much I’d felt and been compelled not to share in first many Emerging History Professionals have the workplace. So many of us—especially people of color, participated in—from the flourishing of a union women, and queer EHPs—feel that the field isn’t sustain- struggle for graduate workers in oafishly resistant ing us. And worse, that labor culture in public history and private universities to the swift and charismatic union allied culture work often makes impossible the radical, jus- tice-seeking transformations many of us are here to bring. drive of StoryCorps. How did we get here? Public history rose out of many Labor history has a proud role in the story of public history of the same cultural moments that produced labor history: as a field and a practice, but what’s the history (and future) of a turn toward socially inflected history and amplifying the labor, wages, and economic justice in our own field? voices of marginalized folks battling for rights under oppres- To find out, I asked Emerging History Professionals sive systems. Both movements pushed at the boundaries (EHPs). I put out a short survey to colleagues, comrades, of mainstream academic history toward different sorts of and Twitter heroes asking, “What aren’t we talking about solidarities, inclusions, and vistas of access. But somehow when we don’t talk about our labor?” and “What are some we’ve botched that legacy. Despite the number of museums, things other interested EHPs should know, heading into our cultural centers, oral history projects, and documentaries field, as it exists today?” The responses, like this one from an devoted to the history of labor, it is often still taboo to talk EHP living and working in rural America, may be sadden- about our own workplace culture. Public history workers, ing, but they probably won’t surprise you: especially Emerging History Professionals, are wage labor- I would tell them to get used to driving beat-up cars ers, too. Our labor is made all the more precarious because and living in shitty apartments. Get used to not getting of the edict that we should (and mostly, do) love the work. married or having kids in your twenties. Get used to As most Emerging History Professionals today have working nights and weekends and ALL the time. Get heard, you aren’t in public history to make money. Most
12 WINTER 2018 have also likely encountered a culture of paying dues. Some of this change making also needs to come from us in Whether your professors, advisors, and early bosses like it, the form of a new politics of refusal and new venues of imag- love it, or critique it with a subtle “but there’s nothing we ination for where public history work can happen. There can do,” chances are you’ve been told you, unfortunately, is privilege in refusal, too. But short of a union (and by all Jess Lamar Reece Holler Reece Lamar Jess can’t be paid or can’t be paid enough for the work you do means, let’s make that happen), banding together and refus- and the skills you bring. ing positions that don’t pay or pay enough will help the field understand that our labor isn’t free. It’s hard to ask us to nternships, in particular, have been debated hotly imagine solidarity when a culture of scarcity and fierce com- in the field, but the jury always seems to be hung. petition for jobs still rules graduate schools and professional Expectations of unpaid and underpaid labor hobble culture. It’s hard to ask when many of us have friends and IEmerging History Professionals, who are often already classmates and colleagues jostling in the same job pool and saddled with undergraduate and graduate debt and make when so many EHPs know and feel our internship experi- the field further inaccessible to those who weren’t born ences, even if exploitative, have been critical for networking. rich. But regardless of the odds, there’s always the same thin But if we can start to think of ourselves as a collective, as a hope that your internship, volunteer gig, or history museum movement, and as a force—a union, even before the union— gift shop cash register job will someday magically transform then we can start to collectively force meaningful change in into a position where your skills and degree are valued (as the allocation of wages to our emerging labor. evidenced by a sustainable paycheck to match that mean- ingful labor). “Don’t give up, sweetie. Just keep doing a real ou’ll probably notice the emptied-out cubicles good job.” informing you that some EHPs are done waiting. So what might an emerging labor movement look like for We’ve gone different routes entirely. We’re a genera- public history? How might Emerging History Professionals Ytion that envisions museums without walls, and we question band together to help forge the sort of economic justice this field’s sometimes scary within our field that will enable us to do the work of social and often shallow politics justice in public history and truly sustain diverse practi- of engagement, the elitism tioners? At the National Council on Public History, the inherent in our valuing of But if we can start discussion on cultures of unpaid internships veered toward privileged histories, and the to think of ourselves questions of job preparation for EHPs: how might faculty traditional modes and arenas better prepare students to express their worth, connect of public history engage- as a collective, as a skillsets to institutional needs, and negotiate future salaries? ment. Many of us are learn- movement, and as a That’s well and good (more of this, please!), but no amount ing that public history, like of negotiation skills can touch the fact that many institutions anything else, can be hacked force—a union, even simply won’t pay or pay enough. when it won’t move—so before the union— Some of the change needs to come from employers and we’re becoming freelanc- institutions. Ask any EHP and the list of demands will be ers, launching collectives, then we can start fairly simple: pay your interns; pay entry-level EHPs in working as consultants, and to collectively force accordance with the work they do; don’t take advantage of doing hard-hitting applied the precarious position of women, minority, first-generation, work as public historians in meaningful change and low-income candidates who may not know how to or institutions that do social in the allocation feel uncomfortable asking for more pay; provide benefits; change work and make the and provide professional development opportunities and choice to pay us. The field of wages to our support EHPs when we find them for ourselves. Do we want also needs to understand emerging labor. a diverse, resilient new public history field able to take on that many of us won’t and and do the necessary, meaningful, and timely work of public can’t afford to wait. If we history? Do we want this field to promote social justice capa- can’t find a job with wages in ble of building radical, inclusive programs or to facilitate hallowed archives or museums, or we can’t find a space that experiences that are as accessible as they sound? Then start will let us do history radically decolonizing enough (because by making this work accessible, sustainable, and possible for we still have monuments to Custer and Columbus and John us. We eat, too. Or at least try to. C. Calhoun), we’ll do that work ourselves. Institutional changes aren’t happening fast enough. As one After surviving a boxed-in temp job at a traditional public EHP tells it, we’re burning out before our organizations can history institution, I forged meaningful space to do inno- make it happen. She writes: vative environmental oral history work by approaching I’m tired. The field needs to know that it is exhausting my state’s grassroots organic food and farm education and its young people. It is losing some of its best workers advocacy organization to do a statewide oral history project to the private sector because they are tired and can see on organics as a social movement. We wrote some grants, the big picture and get out when it is the right time. I and the project got funded. I am now working—though am just waiting for my chance to jump ship for a better nowhere near full-time—my dream job on my dream proj- job that provides me with good benefits, a sense of ect, and I have the flexibility to bring new directions in accomplishment, [and] a better work environment. public history work to new publics (through pop-up exhibits
HISTORY NEWS 13 at farmers markets and grocery stores) and to an amazing expand our communities, forge co-curated partnerships, and organization that wouldn’t have had the capacity to launch divest ourselves from the spaces we’ve long preserved for public history work on its own. white rich men and their expert-selected and -articulated Other EHPs are taking similar routes. Shakti Castro artifacts if our field cannot provide economic justice for our writes that public history work continues and often is newest and most vulnerable professionals? heightened in direct service positions outside the traditional Unfortunately, some of the dissonance is traditional. I’m a history field. She refers to this as #AltPH: public folklorist by training. I study the transmission of ver- I would suggest keeping your mind open to #AltPH work. nacular expressive cultural forms, and the way that commu- I work in a harm reduction center now, and I still feel nities traditionalize their own cultural practices by making I’m functioning, [in] some ways, as a public historian. claims to the past that make life meaningful in the present. I’m working with people at intersecting marginalized One thing we’ve learned is that there’s such a thing as toxic identities, getting them info, amplifying their concerns, heritage. Not all traditions are liberatory. Old forms, such as and documenting the center’s work for the wider anti-blackness, are unceasingly present. Public history needs community. I could never have imagined this kind to look long and hard at what traditional beliefs we’ve ossi- of career, but it’s still about history, community, fied around wages and labor, and why we feel compelled to and preservation. pass them on. ANM (who chose to be identified only by her initials) put it this way: Many of us are also experimenting with collectives, collab- oratives, and consultancies that shift the locus of where and The idea that ‘because I did it, you have to’ is very how the work gets done outside of the usual suspect insti- prevalent in our field. That we all must make great tutions. The shift is also lateral, as fellow EHPs and com- sacrifices in terms of our financial security for the future rades combine skills in nimble, emergent, and responsive and be martyrs to the cause of history. As a professional, formations. Our turn to alternative routes and venues has there are too many of this old guard who are in charge much to do with our vision for a relevant, community- of making hiring decisions at both the internship and embedded, justice-oriented public history. For some of us, professional levels who hold this mentality close to their this shift is connected to the hypocrisies we’ve witnessed and ideas about what the field is supposed to be. As a result, endured trying to merely survive working for organizations if you can’t afford to go into debt or refuse to, the field that have more talk about access than true access. As EHPs is closed to you. That’s not fair and perpetuates the in the era of Black Lives same issues of accessibility and racial homogeneity that Matter, we’ve come to museums currently struggle with internally. see that the community As Harvee White asserts, this culture literally continues We’re becoming engagement many tra- cycles that public history nominally says it’s setting out to freelancers, launching ditional public history end. “There’s an odd acceptance that if you go into public venues want to claim and history and/or museum work that you won’t make much collectives, working genuine community-col- money. I think that’s one of the main reasons the field isn’t as as consultants, and laborative change-mak- diverse as it could be. Those of us who are historically poor ing are often worlds cannot afford to keep the trend going.” doing hard-hitting apart. And tellingly these aren’t just issues impacting EHPs. applied work as As Castro notes, Precarity and contingency run all the way up, so these prob- “Public historians often lems don’t end when you land a full-time job. As one estab- public historians in think they’re working lished professional shared: institutions that do with [the] community, What about the good long-term employee, who is an but they aren’t always. emerged professional already? How do managers satisfy social change work It’s important to interact the needs of dedicated long-term employees? Clue: and make the choice with the people, places, [money and] raises. The old saw is that ‘money does and issues that you’re not buy happiness,’ but it does a little if you don’t have to pay us. interpreting or [doing] enough of it, and you need that health insurance, too. oral histories about.” The culture is systematic, and while EHPs are especially Engagement and out- vulnerable, these concerns are shared by seasoned public reach at more traditional historians, who often cannot see a way up. So why repeat old public history venues are often more about the closed circuit traumas? Why perpetuate cultures of debt and paying dues? of marketing than about actual listening. EHPs are learn- Is this really the diverse, accessible future our field is seek- ing that other roads may help forge new histories. Making ing? And are we even seeking it? applied and other entrepreneurial routes for public history Public history, like museum studies and allied cultural within direct service organizations is one way that EHPs are work fields, is all tangled up in bad attachments. It’s hard remaking relevance. to let go of traditions. Especially when those traditions The applied bent of EHPs is related to the inability of seem tied to economic contingencies, when our field’s lead- many traditional public history organizations to meet basic ers may feel a need to ask us to endure the same precarity material needs for employees. How can we better serve and that they lived through. Maybe it’s time for rupture. Don’t
14 WINTER 2018 tell us we can’t ask for more, that it’s not the culture here. Don’t tell us, “But, it’s not just public history—it’s the whole Our turn to alternative routes and field.” We’re not having it. Tradition, too, can be dynamic and emerging. And what’s emerging about EHP labor is venues has much to do with our vision our vision that public history work be recognized as work, for a relevant, community-embedded, for a more just and sustainable economy. It is not because we don’t love the work, but precisely because we do—and justice-oriented public history. because there’s real work to be done.
To the field: if you’re reading this, and To EHPs: Don’t back down. This is our field you’re upset and want to help change this too and we’re needed here. But we’re needed as people who can devote ourselves to the hard work of dismantling culture, you may be asking what can you do. systems of oppression and cultures of toxic inheritance in a Here are some of the things EHPs are working to build. field that has plenty of its own complicities. EHPs like ANM Please join us in helping to make this field more radically offer some sharp advice: inclusive and open to the voices this field needs most: Do not accept less than what you know you are worth. • Pay your interns. Give them meaningful work. If there’s not Also, do research on wages for the organizations and a budget line, write a grant. Provide housing. Provide food. locations you are looking at. If they are nonprofits, all Show you’re hustling to get it together. that information is available through their tax records • To professors, bosses, and workplace mentors: teach negoti- online. GuideStar and Glassdoor are your friends. Also, ation and career development skills, especially for minority ask for moving costs. candidates. For those of us from underprivileged and work- ing-class backgrounds, these aren’t soft skills we’ve grown Several also praised opportunities like the Smithsonian up with, and navigating the already cutthroat and precarious Minority Fellows Program and Smithsonian Latino Museum environment of public history jobs can lead many of us to Studies Fellowship. Others have been real about the fact that burnout or leave because we cannot see a sustainable way their ability to remain in this profession has been dependent forward. on the financial support of parents and spouse or of profes- • Provide professional development and training opportunities sors who deliberately trained them to negotiate and survive for volunteers, interns, and EHPs. Understand that we’re ear- in a field often hostile to minority practitioners. ly in our careers, and much of what you brought us here to do It doesn’t work to do this work if we’re exploited our- requires that we be connected to cutting-edge methods and selves. One antidote is solidarity, building a collective force networked with best practices across the globe. not only among EHPs, but also with other precarious and • Don’t give us the gratitude line or the line about how these contingent laborers in the public history and cultural fields. positions are rare as an excuse for low wages, poor working Love this work, but recognize and refuse to self-sacrifice the conditions, slim development and growth opportunities, or value of your own labor. Love this work, but try not to inter- What does gratitude have to do with labor? exploitation. nalize the violence. Love this work, and love and feel the • End cultures of compulsory volunteerism. Yes, I said it. solidarity with your comrades. We can and are changing this Many EHPs, especially those in hourly gigs, are likely familiar field. EHP labor is already here. As White writes, “I think with jobs that expect extra work like coming in for a critical the field needs to make sure it’s not waiting for the world to meeting after your paid hours are up for the week, “But only if you want to.” Because, “It’s for the good of the organiza- challenge the status quo. We should be the leaders. Great tion.” It’s hard to refuse when we love our work, and refusing public history work should be happening in times of silence these extra tasks often puts our job security and social stand- just as much as during times of unrest.” ANM speaks to this ing in our organizations at risk. Don’t do this to us. If you can idea as well. “Employers need to know that EHPs are not only pay someone ten hours a week, then that’s that—even if going away and that we will demand that our work is valued there’s a critical meeting on Friday. not just in [nominal] recognition, but monetarily. We got • Post your salaries and pay ranges. Seriously? Seriously. We bills to pay, bruh—at least until the revolution comes.” know what you’re doing when you don’t include them. • Understand that EHPs may have and may need to have To Public History: Do you hear us? t other jobs. We may be consultants, parents, or activists. We may have to do more because what our public history day job Jess Lamar Reece Holler is a public historian, community-based provides is materially or spiritually insufficient. That has to be folklorist, and cultural worker laboring in the interdisciplinary field of okay. What’s not okay? Questioning our commitment or our public environmental humanities. She is the principal at Caledonia chops because we’re hustling to make it work when our public Northern Folk Studios, a multimodal documentary arts, folklife, history job can’t pay the rent. public history, and oral history consultancy based in Columbus and • Let us actually do the radical work you likely hired us for. Caledonia, Ohio. Reach out to Jess at [email protected] or via Radical commitments mean radical changes. That’s not caledonianorthern.org. This piece owes itself to Shakti Castro, Harvee always comfortable, especially for public historians at conser- White, ANM, and the other EHPs and emerged professionals who an- vative-leaning institutions playing with social justice vocabu- swered the survey and provided such real accounts of their own labor laries. But it’s also okay if EHPs make you uncomfortable. It’s histories in our field and visions for a more just future; and to Hope kind of why we are here. Shannon, Hannah Hethmon, and Bob Beatty for their editorial vision.
HISTORY NEWS 15 Resilient Justice
Social change
Blandwood Mansion in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the historic home of North Carolina’s twenty-ninth governor, John Motley Morehead. Talking about Slavery When
he first time I heard it was on my second day at Blandwood Mansion. I was shadowing a fellow docent Ton a tour and we had stopped at the butler’s pantry. He let the guests look inside before explaining that it was used by servants to bring food from the kitchen to the dining room without being seen. My immediate reaction was confusion. I had only just begun working at Blandwood Mansion, home of John Motley Morehead, North Carolina’s twenty-ninth governor, but talking about servants sounded discordant in a wealthy, antebellum southern home. My coworker referenced a nanny and a cook later in the tour, but made no BY CAIT JOHNSON mention of slavery or enslaved people.
16 WINTER 2018 t the end of the tour, however, we walked past a label By the end of my first month, I had very mixed feelings titled “Slavery at Blandwood.” Governor Morehead about the job. As a graduate student in museum studies, I had been a slaveholder, and in 1850, there were six- was eager for an opportunity to gain hands-on experience in ty-four enslaved individuals living at Blandwood and the field, but I was also deeply uneasy with how the museum Ahis plantation in neighboring Rockingham County. The “ser- dealt with the interpretation of slavery—vacillating between vants” my coworker had mentioned were, in fact, enslaved. After turning a blind eye to being uncomfortably apologetic the tour, I asked him about his word choice, and he told me that toward the slave-owning Governor Morehead. I also real- because the Moreheads had continued to live at Blandwood ized that as a new museum professional living in the South, after Emancipation, referring to domestic help as servants rather this likely would not be the last time I would disagree with than slaves was technically correct. Plus, he added, talking about how the museum where I worked dealt with slavery. slaves made visitors uncomfortable. I heard that sentiment repeated a lot my first few weeks working at Blandwood. The short section about slavery in Talking about Slavery the docent manual ended by saying, “When asked specific at Historic House Museums questions, please share as much information as possible, but explain that there is very little information available.” As I created my tour script, I asked if it was possible to uncover My experience at Blandwood, with its emphasis on archi- any additional information about Blandwood’s enslaved tecture and the material culture of the antebellum mansion, population, but was gently shut down with a story of an is hardly unique. Slavery has long been overlooked on tours African American visitor who became so upset by the men- of the grand mansions of the South. Instead, these sites tion of slavery that the docent decided to omit it from future focus attention on the grandeur and elegance of the ante- tours. Another staff member defended Governor Morehead bellum planter aristocracy. The public history community is by pointing to the existence of a doctor’s bill documenting acknowledging the importance of addressing difficult history medical treatment for several of Blandwood’s enslaved resi- such as slavery, but traditional narratives remain entrenched dents as proof of his benevolence. at many historic house museums. Photos Cait Johnson Cait Photos Your Museum Wants to Avoid It
The butler’s pantry (now in the east parlor) was used by enslaved people, not servants, to bring food from the kitchen to the dining room.
17 rom the start of America’s historic preservation movement, slavery has been a topic that historic houses and museums have preferred to skirt or avoid altogether. Mount Vernon, America’s first Fhistoric house museum, minimized slavery as an unsavory Location matters. and contentious issue, despite its legality in Virginia when Create the house opened as a museum and the fact that many of its Introducing founding members were slaveholders themselves. Northern chapters of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in par- the story of ticular were eager to distance the historical reality of Mount Blandwood’s Vernon as a working southern plantation from George Washington’s role as a Founding Father.1 cook Hannah This trend has continued unabated. One-hundred- fifty-nine years after Mount Vernon was established, most Jones in the historic house museums continue to downplay slavery, if kitchen where they mention it at all. Far from being an innocuous over- sight, historic houses that deemphasize slavery or omit its she did much of presence entirely present visitors with a skewed version of history. By downplaying the cruelty of slavery and its cen- her work places trality to the plantocracy way of life, these interpretations her story in the contribute to a false nostalgia for the antebellum period and the Confederacy. This, in turn, leads to a historical physical context amnesia where the brutality of slavery is forgotten and its lingering legacy of subjugation and inequality is perpetually of the narrative. unacknowledged.2 Sustainability In a 2002 study of 122 southern plantation museums in Virginia, Georgia, and Louisiana, Jennifer L. Eichstedt and Stephen Small identified four methods historic house museums use to interpret slavery: symbolic annihilation and erasure, trivialization and deflection, segregation and focuses on slavery in North Carolina and proposals that then- marginalization of knowledge, and relative incorporation. North Carolina state representative Morehead introduced to Symbolic annihilation is the most common by far. It occurs the House of Commons on behalf of his abolitionist Quaker when slavery is either entirely absent from the site’s inter- constituents. The actual enslaved people are only mentioned pretation or only perfunctorily mentioned. These houses in the second half of the label, which still focuses more on focus exclusively on the lives of the slaveholders, and if the Morehead family than the enslaved residents. While the enslaved individuals are mentioned, it is in generalized and museum has uncovered the names of at least eleven enslaved passive terms. Trivialization and deflection, the second most people, it includes only a single one. The label also states that common strategy, utilizes the trope of the happy slave as part the Moreheads provided medical care for enslaved workers of a benevolent institution. In this mode, enslaved people and freedmen and -women continuing to work at Blandwood are mentioned, sometimes even by name, but the narrative is after Emancipation, essentially implying a benign version of still firmly focused on the white slaveholders. Far less com- enslavement at the Morehead plantation. mon are segregation—relegating any discussion of slavery to specific locations or thematic tours—and relative incor- poration—combining the lives of slaveholders and enslaved Talking about Slavery people into a cohesive narrative.3 as a New Professional Blandwood Mansion employs a combination of symbolic annihilation, trivialization and deflection, and segregation when it does (or does not) discuss slavery. Depending on the While I am profoundly uncomfortable with the idea that docent, it is possible to never hear the word “slavery” on a my tours are contributing to the false nostalgia of slavery, I tour. It is not a systematic attempt to erase the presence of have also found myself at a loss for what to do, a situation enslaved people at Blandwood—what information the site many emerging history and museum professionals share. has about the house’s enslaved population is in the docent Incorporating the history of enslavement at Blandwood manual. However, guides are encouraged to create tour into the interpretive plan would be a major shift in the site’s scripts based on their personal interest. Without support and institutional identity. Interpretation of Blandwood revolves training, many of the all-white interpretation staff are simply around the “remarkably complete ensemble of nineteenth- uncomfortable interpreting slavery. century art, architecture, furnishings, and landscape.” Tours A single wayfinding label next to the back staircase is dedi- primarily focus on the furniture, the majority of which is cated to slavery at Blandwood, but even there an attempt has original to the house; much of the staff’s energy has been been made to soften the narrative. The first half of the panel devoted to researching the material culture of Blandwood.
18 WINTER 2018 a degree of flexibility in creating personalized tour scripts. I might not have the ability to fully incorporate the experience of Blandwood’s enslaved population into the tour, but I can make sure to include these stories. Being open and honest about slavery at Blandwood and including the few known personal details about individual enslaved people goes a long Change way to restoring their humanity and highlighting their roles in the site’s story. I can also control when and where slavery is discussed. I preface every tour with a discussion of slavery at Blandwood, and continue to mention it at appropriate locations through- out the tour. For example, instead of mentioning Hannah Jones, Blandwood’s cook, and her chicken and possum pie while standing near the “Slavery at Blandwood” label, I instead introduce her in the kitchen, which places her story in the physical context of the house. It is a far cry from fully incorporating the enslaved population into Blandwood’s nar- rative, but it is also a significant improvement upon ignoring their presence. Small changes like these can lay the ground- work for more comprehensive inclusion in the future. Talking about Slavery Today
For many sites, a fundamental shift in how they interpret the sordid aspects of the past is necessary. Recent tragedies in Charleston, South Carolina, and Charlottesville, Virginia, have made it increasingly clear that the narratives of the Confederacy and what it stood for (the preservation and Devoid of any extant artifacts of its enslaved population, any advancement of slavery) still hold tremendous sway. Perhaps discussion of slavery will be an afterthought under the cur- now more than ever, it is imperative that we have an open rent interpretive mandate.4 dialogue about these issues. Another challenge to expanding Blandwood’s narrative is Historic house museums that downplay the harsh reality the lack of information about its enslaved population. The of slavery or omit it completely from the narrative contribute names of eleven enslaved people survive in the Morehead to a rose-colored, sanitized memory of what the Confederacy family’s papers. Many more formerly enslaved individuals was fighting for. Museums are a powerful tool for shaping with the family name appear in marriage records following collective identity. History professionals—both emerging and Emancipation, but there is little specific information or well-established—have an obligation to make sure that iden- personal details. We can make guesses based on information tity is founded in truth. It is not enough for new professionals about other slaveholding families, but there are few oppor- to wait until they are established to confront these issues. No tunities to bring these exact people’s stories to life. matter what stage they are in their career, any public histo- rian can take steps to ensure their museum is working toward one of these obstacles is insurmountable. An a more honest, open discussion of slavery. t increasing number of historic house museums have successfully incorporated enslaved pop- Cait Johnson is a second-year museum studies Masters student at ulations into their narrative. It requires top- the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is focusing on Ndown institutional investment. New professionals rarely find education, digital history, and exhibit design. She can be reached by themselves in the position to enact that kind of change, but email at [email protected] or on Twitter, @MintTeaRex. we can be the catalyst for future growth. 1 Patricia West, Domesticating History: The Political Origins of America’s House In Eichstedt and Small’s study of historic plantation house Museums (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1999). museums, 55 percent of the sites mention slavery or enslaved 2 Amanda G. Seymour, “Pride and Prejudice: Interpreting Slavery at the people less than four times, and 25 percent of the homes did Homes of Five Founding Fathers,” in Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites, ed. Max A. van Balgooy (Lanham, MD: not mention slavery at all. While this is slowly improving, Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), 3–12. far too many historic houses continue to ignore their history 3 Jennifer L Eichstedt and Stephen Small, Representations of Slavery: Race and with slavery.5 Ideology in Southern Plantation Museums (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution New and emerging professionals typically do not control Press, 2002). 4 Preservation Greensboro, “Governor Morehead’s Blandwood Mansion,” the interpretive identity of their sites, but they can control Governor Morehead’s Blandwood Mansion, April 28, 2015. how they conduct their own tours and programs. Many his- 5 Eichstedt and Small, Representations of Slavery, 108. toric house museums, including Blandwood, allow docents
HISTORY NEWS 19 AASLH acknowledges and appreciates these
Institutional Partners and Patrons for their extraordinary support!
Institutional Partners
Alabama Department of Archives Avery Research Center for African American Belle Meade Plantation Billings Farm & Museum and History History and Culture Nashville, TN Woodstock, VT Montgomery, AL Charleston, SC
Bullock Texas State History Museum Butterworth Center & Deere-Wiman House California Historical Society Cincinnati Museum Center Austin, TX Moline, IL San Francisco, CA Cincinnati, OH
Conner Prairie First Division Museum at Cantigny Florida Division of Historical Resources Hagley Museum & Library Fishers, IN Wheaton, IL Tallahassee, FL Wilmington, DE
Historic Ford Estates Historic House Trust of New York City Historic New England HISTORY Grosse Pointe Shores, MI New York, NY Boston, MA New York, NY
History Colorado Idaho State Historical Society Indiana Historical Society Indiana State Museum & Historic Sites Denver, CO Boise, ID Indianapolis, IN Corporation Indianapolis, IN
Kentucky Historical Society Massachusetts Historical Society Michigan Historical Center Minnesota Historical Society Frankfort, KY Boston, MA Lansing, MI St. Paul, MN
20 WINTER 2018 Institutional Partners cont’d
Missouri History Museum Museum of History and Industry Nantucket Historical Association National Trust for Historic Preservation St. Louis, MO Seattle, WA Nantucket, MA Washington, DC
Nebraska State Historical Society North Carolina Office of Archives and History Ohio History Connection Old Sturbridge Village Lincoln, NE Raleigh, NC Columbus, OH Sturbridge, MA
Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library Senator John Heinz History Center The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Commission Lexington, MA Pittsburgh, PA Dallas, TX Harrisburg, PA
Strawbery Banke Museum The Strong Tennessee State Museum Virginia Historical Society Portsmouth, NH Rochester, NY Nashville, TN Richmond, VA
Thank you for your contributions as we continue to grow! Wisconsin Historical Society Wyoming Department of State Parks and Madison, WI Cultural Resources Cheyenne, WY
Patron Members
Ellsworth Brown Linnea Marie Grim Katherine Kane Jean Svadlenak Madison, WI Charlottesville, VA West Hartford, CT Kansas City, MO Georgianna Contiguglia Leigh A. Grinstead Russell Lewis Richard E. Turley Denver, CO Denver, CO Chicago, IL Salt Lake City, UT John R. Dichtl John Herbst Thomas A. Mason Bev Tyler Nashville, TN Indianapolis, IN Indianapolis, IN Setauket, NY Stephen Elliott Lynne Ireland Thomas McGowan Tobi Voigt St. Paul, MN Lincoln, NE Fairview, OH Detroit, MI Bob Forrant David Janssen Kyle L. McKoy Robert Wolz Lowell, MA Cedar Rapids, IA Doylestown, PA Key West, FL Karen Goering Trevor Jones Rebecca Merwin St. Louis, MO Lincoln, NE St. Croix, VI
HISTORY NEWS 21 Hungry for History:
Inclusion
Teachers attending the June 2017 Selma, Alabama, Bicentennial Summer Institute stand with Jawana Jackson in front of the Jean Jackson House. Bringing Social Studies 22 WINTER 2018 uring summer 2017, almost 300 elementary school teachers across DAlabama attended twelve new social studies professional development sessions. Hosted by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission (ABC), each workshop focused on training teachers to tell Alabama’s story through local history. At the Selma location, teachers explored the city’s connections to the Civil Rights Movement, Collective By Caroline Gibbons making a stop at an old house on Lapsley Street along the way. It is located within a block of both Selma University and the home of civil rights activist Amelia Boynton, which African American educator Richard Byron Hudson built in 1906. As the teachers gathered around, owner Jawana Jackson recounted the house’s pivotal role in the Movement. In the 1960s, Jackson’s parents, Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson, hosted Southern Christian Leadership Conference leaders—including Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and Andrew Young—as they organized the Selma to Montgomery March. Jackson indicated where her Uncle Martin once sat in their living room, which looked just as it had in 1965. Spellbound, some teachers had tears in their eyes. They had never known the house was there, let alone heard its story. The visit to the house and the teachers’ reactions reflect the hunger Alabama’s elementary school teachers have for resources and opportunities to learn new stories from the state’s history and to share them with their stu- dents. Teachers often don’t have the time or resources to make connections with history, and opportunities for meaningful and engaging professional development in social studies are few and far between. With the advent of the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), standardized testing results in reading and math dictated Change-making federal funding for schools. In turn, teacher professional development, instructional time, and content focused on reading and math at the expense of social studies, science, and the arts.1 Susan DuBose Susan Back to Alabama HISTORY NEWS 23 his had a deleterious effect on the teaching with NEH workshops, participants receive stipends and of history and social studies in Alabama. supplementary resources. To keep elementary school teach- Because nearly three-fourths of the teachers surveyed ers engaged, we emphasize an alternating schedule of brief Tduring the Alabama Bicentennial Commission’s 2017 lectures and hands-on activities that model engagement with workshops began teaching after the implementation of primary sources and historical thinking. NCLB, they only know an educational environment that The structure of the professional development program marginalizes social studies. As a result, teachers reported a also draws on the results of the Alabama History Education lack of time and training to find primary sources and lesson Initiative through teacher interviews and training led by plans needed to teach the state’s history. Susan DuBose, Alabama Bicentennial Commission edu- The lack of preparation to teach Alabama history, com- cation coordinator. (She also led the Alabama History bined with neglect of the subject, only exacerbated the mar- Education Initiative.) Each workshop includes instruction on ginalization of social studies in Alabama. A 2017 survey of the differences between primary and secondary sources. In undergraduate elementary education programs at Alabama addition, because DuBose’s research found that teachers who colleges and universities revealed a troubling lack of history used primary sources treated them with absolute authority coursework. Only three of the twenty-three programs sur- and failed to include multiple perspectives and account for veyed require more than two college history courses. These bias when using them, we also taught the importance of programs typically limit history coursework to one or two using a variety of sources. general United States or world history classes; none requires The professional development program began with the a course in Alabama history. Data from ABC teacher surveys selection of a dozen master teachers based on exemplary verify these findings, showing 67 percent of participating classroom performance and expertise. Each represents a teachers took only one or two social studies (not even his- different region of the state. In July 2016, DuBose led this tory) courses during their undergraduate careers. Only 23 group through an intensive week of pedagogy, field trips to percent of respondents historic sites, and lessons in Alabama history. Afterward, the felt their pre-service master teachers collaborated with our staff and an assigned experience and course- content specialist—often historians from local colleges and Teachers often work left them well-pre- universities—to create professional development sessions. pared to teach social Each master teacher and content specialist built a three- collaborated with studies compared to and-a-half-day experience for thirty teachers. Though the historians from local reading and math. content and activities varied by location, workshops follow a In preparation basic structure: day one focuses on acquainting participants colleges and universities for the state’s 200th with the basics of Alabama history; day two features field to create professional birthday in 2019, the trips; day three is a pedagogy day; and day four, a half-day, Alabama Bicentennial is a presentation and collaboration day. The master teacher development sessions. Commission is in a leads the sessions; content specialists provide expertise, position to transform answer questions, and debunk myths; and guest speakers social studies education present special topics. Since teachers are usually expected in Alabama. Efforts launched in March 2017, the bicenten- to pay for supplies and training themselves, demonstrat- nial anniversary of the Alabama Territory. The commemo- ing understanding of their limited finances is one way we ration period will span three years and culminate with the communicate our commitment to them as professionals. Alabama Day celebration on the bicentennial of Alabama Therefore, we provide participants with materials, books, a statehood, December 14, 2019. Prominent among a wide stipend, and lunch. array of programming is a three-year emphasis on primary Through professional development, we provide teachers source-focused professional development and curriculum with resources to teach Alabama’s history through their own development. Bicentennial Commission programs combat communities. In 2017, the program’s content focused on the the marginalization of social studies, improve the teaching importance of local places and stories. Each workshop fea- of history, and provide teachers in all sixty-seven of the tured trips to local historic sites and cultural institutions. In state’s counties with resources and support to foster critical Thomasville, participants explored the history of Alabama’s thinking skills, promote digital literacy, and encourage civic Black Belt in Wilcox County, with visits to historic Camden, understanding in the classroom. Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center, and the Gee’s Designed to train 360 teachers from 2017 through 2019, Bend Quilters Collective. Teachers at Fort Payne discovered the professional development program focuses on teaching the area’s Cherokee connections by visiting Trail of Tears Alabama history across the curriculum in third through fifth sites and experiencing the sacred site Manitou Cave. Each grades. The workshops emphasize cross-curricular con- of the sites were little-known to the workshop participants. nections with technology, language arts, science, and math. Visiting these cultural and historic sites exposed teachers to Modeled on highly successful National Endowment for the new stories from their communities that they were excited Humanities (NEH) summer institutes for school teachers, to take back to their classrooms. One teacher at Selma our program incorporates visits to Alabama historic sites, responded that her experience “ignited a fire and a sense of engagement with primary sources, and guest lectures. As urgency to learn more about MY history.”2
24 WINTER 2018 Historians’ participation is vital to the success of the pro- eaching teachers is an ongoing concern. For gram. Their expertise prompts difficult conversations and Rthe first summer of workshops, relying on superinten- pushes teachers to view history in different ways. At the dent nominations for our pool of participants created signif- Auburn workshop, historian of slavery Kelly Kennington icant problems. Many superintendents were nonresponsive. engaged participants in analysis of bills of sale of enslaved When they did respond, they didn’t necessarily nominate persons. She also walked the group through Works Progress teachers who were interested or had time. As a result, some Administration (WPA) slave narratives from a county in nominees failed to attend, taking space from teachers we the Auburn area. Kennington’s choices hit home when two had turned away. We also found that soliciting nominations teachers from that county noticed that the last names of the restricted the pool, as the selected teachers were not neces- slave owners in the narratives were those of students at their sarily those who needed training the most. Since accessibil- school. The discovery led to lively discussion of problems ity is a major component of our mission, we’re publicizing with using WPA slave narratives and how to modify them workshop registration through social media and e-newslet- for use in elementary classrooms by removing dialect and ters and allowing participants to self-select in 2018. editing out names. The tension in the room was palpable Outside of the professional development program, and teachers left unsure of whether they would feel com- curriculum development focuses on primary sources. We fortable using the narratives. But they had engaged critically modeled our program on the National Archives’s DocsTeach with the documents. and the Library of Congress’s Teaching with Primary Sources. Both programs provided the inspiration to bundle primary e also constantly encourage engagement sources into themed packets with matched teaching standards. Wwith primary sources through cross-curricular, Unlike these two national projects, our curriculum project hands-on activities. One activity uses programmable robots compiles primary sources from multiple repositories to to teach the history of Alabama’s five capitals. Students provide teachers with access to different perspectives. We employ basic coding skills to make the robots travel chrono- package documents from Alabama’s archives in curated sets logically to each capital along a print of an 1833 Alabama and include trusted secondary sources for context. We also map. Thus, students not only use technology and prob- match each document with relevant 2010 Alabama Course lem-solving skills, but they also engage with a primary of Study, Social Studies content standards. source. Breakout EDU boxes (breakoutedu.com), modeled The project began with a survey of available teacher on the escape-room concept, are another wildly popular resources that identified curriculum gaps. Finding that activity. We hired an instructional coach to create Alabama few resources existed for the history of early Alabama, we history-themed game boxes. Using creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking, players Students from Huxford Elementary in Atmore, Alabama, wave bicentennial flags on the break into the boxes using pri- capitol steps after the March 3, 2017, press conference in Montgomery, Alabama. mary sources to solve puzzles to crack the locks. One survey respondent at Fort Payne stated that the workshop encouraged her to “implement a more hands-on method in my social studies class instead of just reading straight from the book.” A respondent from Dothan noted that unlike other workshops she attended, ours “had many activities and ideas that I will take back and use in my classroom,” while another mentioned that she would begin incorporating history activities into her math classes. So that resources reach as many teachers as possible, we have participants share an activity with colleagues at their schools. We require them to provide documentation of their presentation. This fall, we’ve reached 308 additional teachers from 15 schools. Williford Carson
HISTORY NEWS 25 began with documents from that era. As the architect of Despite an emphasis on accessibility, providing access the primary source sets, I’m responsible for producing four to the primary source packets has been challenging. The to five sets of fifty documents per year through the end of packets originated as spreadsheets, which were visually 2019, covering topics such as: World War I, agriculture, unappealing and difficult to distribute. We instead sought an the Civil Rights Movement, and the Progressive Era. The eye-catching format that would allow maximum accessibility, program initially emphasized producing lesson plans using easy skimming of primary sources, and visibility of content the primary source sets. Surveys reported that many teachers standards to minimize search time. When the commission lacked instructional time to use full lesson plans, so we are hired a design firm to build a website, we agreed that the transitioning to producing quick activities that will encour- packets should be housed there, rather than on a separate age historical investigation and critical thinking. We plan website, but creating the database has been plagued with to recruit and compensate teachers to submit activities that delays and communication issues. With a grant award, our use items from our document packages and introduce or objectives changed during the design process, requiring augment classroom topics. Activities will be hosted on our reconfiguration to drive site traffic to archival repositories website and at the Alabama Learning Exchange, a well-known rather than allow teachers to download documents from repository for classroom resources. our website. I worked closely with our webmaster to bend The influence of the Alabama History Education Initiative the design firm’s content management system to our will, also carries over to the curriculum project. Much of its tweaking metadata fields, page layouts, and image sizes to teacher training focused on telling national and global sto- suit teachers’ needs. At the time of this writing, the early ries through Alabama Alabama history packet is now live after six months of wres- primary sources. We tling with the content management system. With the back We envision creating continue to use this end of the database complete, we can easily add new packets approach, highlighting and expect World War I, Space and Technology, and Civics such a demand for the state’s key roles in packets to be available by December 2017. events ranging from As we near the end of the first full year of programming, history education Indian removal, the it is clear to us that Alabama teachers are desperate for time Civil War, the Civil and resources to teach social studies. Treating teachers as resources that our Rights Movement, and professionals and giving them the support they deserve is the space program. crucial to their success and that of our programs. But more initiatives outlive the This project brings than that, it’s essential to the success of our state. We can’t Alabama stories to life afford to ignore social studies, particularly at the elementary commemoration, but through primary sources level. We envision creating such a demand for history edu- that were previously cation resources that our initiatives outlive the bicentennial this will be possible unknown and inacces- commemoration, but this will be possible only if attitudes sible to teachers. While toward social studies education change. Shining the light on only if attitudes our programs primar- a cross-curricular approach to Alabama history has ignited ily serve grades three excitement about social studies that we’re ready to harness. toward social studies through five, the curric- We know that giving elementary school teachers tools to ulum project provides explore our state’s difficult history will get primary sources education change. documents matched into classrooms and plant historical inquiry skills in the minds to content standards of students. For now, our job is to keep building and to shine for grades six through a light in every corner of Alabama. Through the bicentennial, twelve as well. However, when selecting documents, I con- every child in every school should be able to see themselves sider students in grades three through five as the primary in our state’s history and feel that they belong here. As history audience. Photographs, images, and artifacts are excellent professionals, we owe it to them, and we owe it to the future 3 sources for elementary students. of Alabama. t In many cases, the most useful primary sources aren’t available online. Therefore, incorporating primary sources Caroline Gibbons is the Education Program Specialist for the from archives around Alabama has also led to the creation of Alabama Bicentennial Commission in Montgomery, Alabama. a small-scale digitization program. Building the Space and Caroline received a B.A. in History in 2013 and an M.A. in history Technology packet required multiple trips to the Huntsville with an Archival Studies Certificate in 2016, both from Auburn area to access NASA-related primary sources. Portable scan- University. She is passionate about Alabama history and forging a ner in hand, I’ve combed the archives at the U.S. Space and bright future for all Alabamians. She can be reached at Rocket Center, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and [email protected].
Alabama A&M University, and plan to visit other institu- 1 Jack Jennings and Diane Stark Rentner, “Ten Big Effects of the No Child tions as the project progresses. I process the images, com- Left Behind Act on Public Schools,” Phi Delta Kappan 88, no. 2 (November 2009): pose the metadata, and send the repository the original and 110-111. 2 All quotes derive from post-session evaluations compiled by the Alabama altered versions for their own use. Using these documents Bicentennial Commission. mined from archives across the state, we envision creating an 3 When I select a handwritten document, I always include a transcription to online database of hundreds of curated primary sources. facilitate ease of use in the classroom.
26 WINTER 2018
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Photos Arizona Historical Society Historical Arizona Photos about me?” y passion for history originated from early M experiences of going to museums with my family. Three years ago, I obtained my first museum job at the Arizona Historical Society’s Pioneer Museum and Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff, Arizona. During an outreach event at an elementary school, a young Hispanic girl asked if we had anything in our museum about her. I answered that we had nothing. As an American of Mexican descent, this made very clear to me our failure to represent all communities in our museum. In response, the Arizona Historical Society took a step toward changing this by allowing me to BY BREANN VELASCO curate an exhibit about Flagstaff’s Hispanic community. It was a project that meant a great deal internally and externally as the community had long been neglected in Flagstaff’s traditional narrative, and it was up to me to get it right. I had a passion to tell this story and felt it was important to move this project forward. I was fortunate to be able to Above:The exhibit, Todos Unidos: The lead coworkers, some of whom had far more experience in the field Hispanic Experience in Flagstaff, inside the main gallery of the Pioneer Museum. than I, in curating an exhibit that addressed this.
HISTORY NEWS 29 Early career Visitors enjoying the exhibit on the opening night of Todos Unidos: The Hispanic Experience in Flagstaff. Engagement
he Arizona Historical Society’s mission is to collect, Historical Society, and women make up over half of our preserve, interpret, and disseminate the history workforce. I am one of two Millennials on staff; the rest are Tof Arizona. Although the mission is broad, it has Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. The entire staff wanted Tnot historically been all-encompassing. This is something to see this story told in our museum. the institution readily admits to and is striving to remedy. Though my approach challenged some of the team’s Before Todos Unidos: The Hispanic Experience in Flagstaff, the traditional methods of engaging the public, my coworkers rich history of contributions by Flagstaff’s Hispanic com- supported me taking the lead on this exhibit. For example, munity was missing from the Pioneer Museum altogether. two decades earlier, the I originally proposed the exhibition as my thesis proj- museum had presented ect for a graduate degree in history at Northern Arizona a similar exhibit on the Todos Unidos University. I ultimately decided to not pursue the degree, Hispanic community in a decision that left the exhibit in jeopardy. But Todos Unidos Flagstaff. However, the demonstrated had become my passion project, a personal story I felt community felt it did the different greatly invested in. So even though my position with the not properly reflect the Arizona Historical Society was classified as a part-time sea- personality and true expe- meanings sonal position, I asked to remain the lead curator. The real- riences of the Hispanic of the term ity of creating a product that I would be proud of came at a community. In addition, cost. If I wanted to be successful with the exhibit, I under- staff failed to address “pioneer.” stood I would have to work beyond my normal job function. uncomfortable or unfamil- I would have to work more hours than I could technically be iar topics. For Todos Unidos, paid; it would cut into my own personal time; and I would I was determined to do better. I wanted to provide visitors be taking on responsibilities that were outside of my posi- with a new understanding about what it would be like to live tion. Would this be worth it? I knew it would. I would gain in Flagstaff as a person of color. valuable experience; my confidence in museum work would I also sought to address how we used language. The term rise; and, most importantly, I would be helping to provide a “pioneer” elicits certain understandings and expectations. platform for this community’s story. My persistence paid off, The Pioneer Museum’s typical audience consists of retired and the experience has been extremely rewarding. Anglo-American Baby Boomers, and many of these visitors Curating Todos Unidos brought out some of the challenges expect to learn about settlers traveling west to start a new and rewards of working within a multigenerational team. We life, and to see old wagons, butter churns, or other items that have a staff of seven in the Northern Division of the Arizona represent the experiences of their ancestors. Todos Unidos
30 WINTER 2018 demonstrated the different meanings of the term “pioneer.” By bringing in more diverse, personal stories, we can also We used Merriam-Webster’s definition—“a person or group attract a newer demographic of visitors. We added exhibit that originates or helps open a new line of thought or activity components that we hoped would attract people who typi- in a territory”—to reframe our audience’s idea of the term. cally do not visit the Pioneer Museum. We utilized different media platforms, such as geocaching, to reach new audi- e also employed a new exhibition layout for ences. I helped create a series of caches in neighborhoods Todos Unidos, choosing not to follow a linear significant to the Hispanic community. When you find path through the lives of the Hispanic peo- one of our caches, we provide an abbreviated history of the Wple in Flagstaff, but instead to focus topically in order to neighborhood or building along with a historical picture. spark visitor dialogue. For example, although each exhibit Geocachers have responded positively and thanked us for case focuses on a different topic, we discuss discrimination providing history they were not aware of. and segregation in each. Racism was, and is, a fact of every- For me, developing relationships with the local Hispanic day life for Hispanic people in community proved to be the most Northern Arizona. Instead of iso- intimidating part of the process. lating it in one part of the exhibit, For many years, the historical we acknowledge it throughout. narrative at the Pioneer Museum I was proud to lead the team in focused on prominent white discussions of how to tackle these citizens of Northern Arizona. kinds of difficult issues. We felt Our collection reflects these it was important to tell even the limitations. The lack of objects hardest stories to ensure we created representing Flagstaff’s Hispanic an authentic narrative. “If we did community became clear as we not include these pivotal moments planned Todos Unidos. Not only and life experiences,” we asked Professional were we in dire need of exhibit ourselves, “would we be sanitizing objects, but we also needed the history?” To this end, Todos Unidos support and participation of the also provides space for difficult families whose history we were discussions about segregation in telling. The Pioneer Museum had education and religion, particularly told this story decades earlier, but in the local Catholic parish. then put Hispanic history aside. We also dedicated a section of This lack of continued, sincere the exhibit, “A Visible Legacy,” interest caused the Hispanic com- to celebrating Hispanic pioneers. munity to become protective of Each pioneering family provided their history. And although I, too, Museum staff member Joe Meehan dry mounts us with a keepsake photo, a con- photos during the installation of Todos Unidos. am of Mexican ancestry, I was an temporary photo, and a small outsider. Local Hispanics were biography of their family. We wanted this area to honor the cautious of me when I expressed interest in their history, families who have been here for generations. This section and when I began sharing the story of my family’s roots in continues to grow as we are continuously making new con- America. Although not native to Arizona, I found common nections with members of the Hispanic community. ground being Hispanic in the United States. Regardless of At times, I notice an indifference to Todos Unidos from our my own heritage, I had to prove I had this community’s best traditional audience. Social media sites, such as TripAdvisor, interest at heart. are full of positive comments about our traditional exhibits, As part of my effort to establish relationships with the but none mention Todos Unidos. Like the young girl who Hispanic community, I reached out to Flagstaff Nuestras asked the question that sparked my work on this exhibition, Raíces, an organization established by the families of most visitors expect to see exhibits and artifacts associated Hispanic pioneers to preserve their history, and other local with their past. As I welcome and introduce them to Todos groups. I attended meetings to explain the goals of Todos Unidos, their eyes often shift away from my own, and I lose Unidos and open a long-overdue dialogue. To make sure the their focus and attention. As soon as I begin to mention our story we told was authentic, I asked for help in identifying more traditional exhibits, I notice their eyes revert to mine community members to contribute. I made great contacts. and I have their attention again. It is fascinating to see this The museum received a mud flap from the Vasquez family, shift. Our typical visitors sometimes struggle to relate to the which had operated an independent logging company. We exhibit and compare this information to their own history. displayed this object in a gallery. The museum also received It is a complete role switch from my experience trying to personal memorabilia from the Ceballos family, proving find history in a museum that reflects my family heritage. to us we had made headway in establishing a trusting con- Perhaps being put in a minority position, even just for a nection. When the exhibit comes down, all label copy and short time, will help expand understandings of what it means objects will be relocated to permanent exhibits. Now when to be a pioneer. We want to challenge our typical visitor Hispanic visitors come to the Pioneer Museum, they will see with our new approach to exhibits. their history alongside stories of Anglo-Americans.
HISTORY NEWS 31 Todos Unidos featured a World War I uniform, an El Charro jacket with hand stitched embroidery, and a uniform of the Monterrey Baseball Club.
Heritage
Diversity
Todos Unidos: The Hispanic Experience in Flagstaff opened Unidos: Another Pioneer Experience, or simply, Todos Unidos. in April 2017. Many Hispanic families attended the grand I also learned that the personal stories we included have opening and the exhibit was warmly received. It felt great been very popular. No matter their background, visitors to see members of the community recognize their story in a understood the struggles of the working class, or the pride museum. As I walked around the galleries, I overheard peo- and hardships of serving in the military, or what it means to ple discussing their own lives and how they related to what have deep roots somewhere and having to plant new roots in we had on display. Since April, members of the Hispanic another place. community have regularly I curated this exhibit for people like me who feel their sto- visited the museum. Not ries are not acknowledged in museums. Todos Unidos allowed We want to only have local families me to find my own unique story in a museum, and I helped enjoyed Todos Unidos, but build a platform in my institution for a community whose challenge our Hispanic people visiting voice had long been ignored. We worked to shed light on typical visitor from elsewhere in Arizona an overlooked community whose life and work also made have shared with staff their Flagstaff into what it is today. Hispanic people in Flagstaff, with our new appreciation. Because of in Northern Arizona, and in many other towns across the approach to my experience curating country have shaped and furthered their communities. exhibits. Todos Unidos, I have a better Their contributions should also be recognized and their understanding of my own struggles exposed to ensure their legacies live on. Now, as ancestry, and I see my story an American of Mexican descent, I can walk through the represented in a museum. Pioneer Museum proudly knowing that the contributions of Todos Unidos is scheduled to end in August 2018. But we will this Hispanic community are being told and that the little not lock away in a file cabinet the lessons and stories we girl I mentioned at the beginning of this article now has a learned. We instead plan to incorporate this information piece of her story in the museum. t into our permanent galleries, where we will continue includ- ing all voices in Flagstaff’s history. Breann Velasco, a third-generation Mexican-American, received her Looking back, I can identify some specific learning B.A. in history with a minor in Museum Studies at Northern Arizona moments from my experience with Todos Unidos. First, I University in 2014. For the last four years, Breann has worked for would change the name of the exhibit. Seeing “Hispanic” the Arizona Historical Society as a Museum Operations Technician. in the title provoked varied reactions among visitors. Some Her responsibilities include collections management, developing and became disinterested or uncomfortable with the exhibit leading interpretive programs, and curating exhibits. Breann’s work name, or they assumed some sort of political angle to its at the AHS gives her the privilege of telling meaningful stories while content. Since we are trying to reframe the definition of making history engaging and fun for visitors. She can be reached at “pioneer,” I would have instead titled the exhibit, Todos [email protected].
32 WINTER 2018
Book Reviews >
Museum People Podcast by New England Museum Association (NEMA) 3 Seasons (2016-present) Reviewed by Hannah Hethmon
n one of the earliest and our institutions: an One of the most downloaded episodes episodes of the Museum intimate space for authen- is Season 2, Episode 8, an interview People podcast, Marieke tic connections that costs with museum security guard Kathy IVan Damme suggests that in nothing to enter, works McGaughey, a ceramics artist whose work order to grow as a field, we with every schedule, and in museums provides her with a unique need more “time to sit and has no limit on attendance. perspective on what actually goes on in think about the big issues In each episode of the galleries. McGaughey describes her posi- that you don’t have time [for] podcast, Yaeger and Van tion as “simultaneously invisible but also normally. We need that con- Damme offer short interviews with the most public face of the museum,” and nectivity and space and time…. We don’t fascinating people from every part of the her conversation with Yaeger explores give ourselves the permission to think museum field. Guests on the show are bias against the position from outside and these big questions.”1 introduced, connected, and processed within the field.2 Museum People is filling this gap in our with just the right amount of banter While searching for comparable professional lives. Through thoughtful between the hosts. The interviews them- podcasts, I was surprised to find only a questioning, a bit of humor, and a lot of selves expand our assumptions about handful of shows about museum work. Of editing, Dan Yaeger and Marieke Van which voices within our organizations those, very few have managed to effec- Damme have accomplished what most of should be heard and what role museums tively translate our field’s knack for story- us in the field just dream of for ourselves should be playing in our communities. telling and presentation into the podcast
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34 WINTER 2018 medium. Many run into the pitfall of expand this invaluable Manual of overly lengthy episodes that are less a work in connectivity Digital Museum curated audio experience and more like a beyond the New England Planning recording of a lecture or panel discussion. museum community. t By Ali Hossaini, Ngaire With a DIY equipment budget and edit- Blankenberg, Gail ing skills honed on the job, Van Damme Hannah Dexter Lord, and Barry and Yaeger have produced a podcast of Hethmon is a Lord, eds. impressive quality that quickly drew me Fulbright Fellow (Lanham, MD: Rowman in. Each episode leaves me feeling a bit in Reykjavík, and Littlefield, 2017), more connected to my fellow Museum Iceland, where she is re- 418 pp. People and inspired to think more criti- searching Icelandic muse- Reviewed by Ty Pierce cally about the field. um culture. She holds an As you might expect, there’s a clear M.A. in Medieval Icelandic learning curve at work for much of the Studies and earned her he Manual of first season as the hosts improve their public history stripes as an Digital Museum skills in interviewing subjects, record- AASLH staffer from 2015- Planning aims ing, and editing. If you haven’t listened 2017. She is the host toT provide an overview before, start with the podcast’s second of Museums in Strange of museum technology season. There’s no chronological order to Places, a podcast about Icelandic museums and covers a wide range of binary turf in the episodes, so you won’t miss anything (available on iTunes or at hhethmon.com). the process. At the core of discussion is by jumping in after they’ve significantly She can be reached at [email protected] the concept of the museum as an omni- improved the quality of the episodes. or on Twitter @hannah_rfh. channel institution, a term nimbly coopted The show’s third season wrapped up in from retail that describes a user-centric March 2017, and it appears that a fourth 1 Marieke Van Damme, and Dan Yaeger. “Episode Seven: Museum Studies Programs.” Museum People. approach to “Give customers what they season is in the works. As Museum People Podcast audio, February, 2016. want, when they want it, and how they grows its audience, I hope that more 2 Marieke Van Damme, and Dan Yaeger. “Season want it, through every possible channel” organizations and individuals in our field 2, Episode 8 – September 14, 2016.” Museum People. Podcast audio, September, 2016. (14). The contributors astutely point out will be inspired to take up podcasting and that many museums are already on this
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HISTORY NEWS 35 Book Reviews > provides, as will staff in small and medi- effectively advocating for digital in a field um-sized institutions who wear many that still values analog engagement much path—an organization’s website and social hats. But the ideal reader is museum lead- more highly—and devotes its resources media profiles qualify as multiple chan- ership. Regardless of an institution’s size accordingly. That said, since the book’s nels—and the book holds this concept as a or mission, this book will improve these focus is on actionable ideas rather than strong and consistent through-line. leaders’ digital fluency, allowing them to specific technology, it’s worth a read by Chapters are written for a non-tech- make crucial decisions that balance the digital staff to identify other museum nical audience and wisely eschew dis- costs and impact of digital against other channels for their work and to learn cussions of specific tools or software in initiatives. about new opportunities for impact. favor of applicable ideas. Topics run the This point is underlined by the fact Any number of blogs and learning gamut from social media and analytics to that the longest chapter, “Planning for networks dive into specific pieces of project management and digital place- IT Infrastructure,” serves to demystify museum technology, but few provide a making. Contributors cover each topic the many boxes and wires that make solid foundation across most of the key in a way that leans toward pragmatic up costly internal systems so non- technologies available to our field. As a breadth rather than technical depth information technology staff can bet- comprehensive overview with just the and provide interested readers with a ter understand the building blocks of right amount of future-speak, the Manual thorough overview. The book reinforces their museum’s digital foundation. The of Digital Museum Planning is as timely as concepts through several recurring ele- authors do this very well, and the book it is ambitious. Hopefully this resource ments: graphics are informative, sidebars consistently provides enough information will help inform and foment the change contain key terms and definitions, case to be relevant without getting bogged that moves us all one step closer to the
studies and brief interviews add context, down in ones and zeros. true potential of the digital museum. t and each chapter ends with a summary Understandably, this approach might of key takeaways. The authors also make the book less applicable to tech- Ty Pierce is currently Product cross-reference other chapters to con- savvy readers who require more depth Manager at OCLC after serv- nect material and create a more cohesive and detail. Leadership in the digital ing since 2012 as Manager feel than many edited collections. museum space often comes from manage- of Education and Multimedia Students and those new to the field will ment and staff, rather than the executive Services at the Ohio History Connection. He benefit from the overview this volume level, but there is little discussion on can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tmlpierce.
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36 WINTER 2018 AASLH News
Inclusive Historian’s Handbook Knowing Our Worth n a new collaboration with the National By John Dichtl, AASLH President & CEO Council on Public History and an edi- Itorial team of public history leaders, urning over this issue of History News to our AASLH is helping to develop and promote Emerging History Professionals (EHPs) brings a the Inclusive Historian’s Handbook. Born dig- T jolt of new perspectives to a magazine that’s been ital and free to use, this reference resource capturing the field’s latest and best developments since will offer a critical tool to help public his- 1941. So much has changed in AASLH’s seventy-eight tory practitioners make their work more years. But one thing that hasn’t is the next generation’s desire to make an equity-focused and inclusive. Publication impact in the field of history and to introduce fresh ideas. will begin by fall 2018 on topics ranging Are we ready for them? As the authors in this issue of History News from Accessibility, Heritage Tourism, and remind us, there are more people coming into the field than for whom Collaborative Practice, to Latino History, there currently are full-time jobs. This has long been the case, stretching Intersectionality, Material Culture, and back to the early 1970s. When an academic job market crisis hit, the Public Folklore. The handbook will pro- academy responded by creating what it called “public history,” a name vide key insights, concrete examples, and that described what historical societies, history museums, and others practical wisdom to a range of public had always been doing. Public historians from universities and those history professionals working to improve that got their training on the job never stopped refining the concepts inclusive historical practice. and methodology of the field, and today there are more than 170 public Co-editors of the project are William history Master’s programs in the U.S. and abroad. Prior to the public S. Walker, the Cooperstown Graduate history movement, a similar number of Museum Studies programs were Program (SUNY Oneonta); Modupe spreading. Collectively, academic programs ready hundreds of new EHPs Labode, Associate Professor of History for entry into the field each year. and Museum Studies, Indiana University- To better understand these pathways, AASLH has been working with Purdue University Indianapolis; and the National Council on Public History, American Historical Association, Robert Weible, State Historian of New and Organization of American Historians. Our joint task force is assessing York emeritus. Advisory Committee how the training offered by public history Master’s programs aligns with members include: Sheila Brennan, Roy the types of skills that history institutions say Rosenzweig Center for History and New We must they need in new employees. Our task force also Media; Aleia Brown, Michigan State is surveying recent graduates of public history University, #MuseumsRespondtoFerguson; value programs about their career experiences so far. Bill Bryans, Oklahoma State University; history Having fulfilling jobs for well-trained new Priya Chhaya, National Trust for Historic colleagues is one thing. Being ready for their Preservation; Yolanda Chavez Leyva, work and new ideas is another. I do think AASLH and all University of Texas, El Paso; Allison workers. its fellow associations are eager to make changes. Marsh, University of South Carolina; AASLH’s strategic goals—history relevance, Denise Meringolo, University of Maryland inclusiveness, creativity and experimentation, Baltimore County; Ashley Rogers, Whitney sustainability and transparency, and responsiveness—certainly aim to be Plantation; Julia Rose, Homewood transformative. Museum, Johns Hopkins University; One idea I hear EHPs saying is something on which all of us should Kimberly Springle, Charles Sumner agree: we must value history work and workers. A mentor of mine School Museum and Archives; Gretchen told me a long time ago: if historians don’t respect their own labor by Sullivan Sorin, Cooperstown Graduate assigning a worthy dollar amount to their time, they erode the field. Program (SUNY Oneonta); Jessie Swigger, I would add that we compound our problems when we don’t value Western Carolina University; Chris Taylor, the work of our newer colleagues—for example, through low starting Minnesota Historical Society; and Amy H. salaries and poorly constructed internships. The work we do at all levels Wilson, Editor, Encyclopedia of Local History. of the history community matters. That’s ultimately what we are saying when we engage in history advocacy. We want county government, Advocacy through the National state funders, Congress, the media, and the public to value what we do Coalition for History collectively. Making this case is why AASLH is here and why we will he National Coalition for continue to promote the relevance of history. History (NCH) is a consortium of Tfifty organizations advocating on John Dichtl federal legislation and regulatory issues affecting historians, archivists, teachers,
HISTORY NEWS 37 AASLH thanks the following individuals for their leadership as members of the AASLH News AASLH LEGACY SOCIETY. researchers, and other stakeholders. For the to support the Senate’s version of legislation The Legacy Society provides AASLH past three years, AASLH has had a seat on affecting the Federal Historic Tax Credit. members an opportunity to donate the NCH Board. Priorities for the NCH The major tax reform bill signed by the to the endowment via estate planning. include federal funding for the National president on December 22, the Tax Cuts and Endowment for the Humanities (NEH); the Jobs Act of 2017, kept the Senate’s approach, Ms. Sylvia Alderson* Institute of Museum and Library Services which sets the historic tax credit at 20 per- Winston–Salem, NC (IMLS); the National Archives and Records cent, but requires it be taken over five years Anonymous Administration, including the National instead of all at once as currently. Working Mr. Bob & Ms. Candy Beatty Historical Publications and Records with the American Alliance of Museums Franklin, TN Commission (NHPRC); the National Parks on legislation (S.2271) to reauthorize the Mr. Robert M. & Ms. Claudia H. Brown Service; the Smithsonian Institution; the Institute for Museum and Library Services Missoula, MT Library of Congress; and the declassification will be a priority for NCH in 2018. Mr. & Mrs. Charles F. Bryan Jr. of federal records. Richmond, VA As of this writing, the Senate has not Museums Advocacy Day Ms. Linda Caldwell brought any appropriations bills to the floor embers of the AASLH Council, Etowah, TN Ms. Mary Case & Mr. Will Lowe for the FY2018 federal budget. Both the AASLH President John Dichtl, and Washington, DC House and Senate appropriations bills are MExternal Relations Coordinator John Ms. Terry L. Davis still in play, and NCH continues its efforts Marks will be joining hundreds of col- Nashville, TN with House and Senate contacts to improve leagues from across the country at the 2018 Mr. Stephen & Ms. Diane Elliott funding for key agencies. Although the Museums Advocacy Day (MAD), February St. Paul, MN Mr. John Frisbee* White House had slated NEH, IMLS, and 26-27, in Washington, D.C. Organized by Concord, NH NHPRC for elimination, both the House the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), Mr. J. Kevin Graffagnino and Senate have maintained them at level this two-plus-day event is a powerful way Barre, VT funding. Mr. John A. Herbst NCH has also been advocating for history Indianapolis, IN Mr. H. G. Jones education. On behalf of coalition members, Chapel Hill, NC NCH submitted formal comments last fall to Ms. Katherine Kane the Department of Education requesting that West Hartford, CT history be included along with civics educa- Ms. Kathleen S. & Mr. James L. tion in prioritizing how discretionary (com- Mullins Grosse Pointe Shores, MI petitive) grants made by the Department are Mr. Dennis A. O’Toole awarded. NCH pointed out that “employ- Monticello, NM ability skills” (such as critical thinking, Ms. Ruby Rogers interpersonal skills, and organizational skills) Cincinnati, OH which the Department prioritizes, are fos- Mr. David J. Russo Ontario, Canada tered by historical thinking and activities. Mr. Will Ticknor In cooperation with the National Trust for Las Cruces, NM Historic Preservation, NCH also organized Mr. Jim & Ms. Janet Vaughan its member organizations, including AASLH, Washington, DC Mr. George L. Vogt Portland, OR *Deceased
WINTER 2018 to support history organizations and their visitors and to press the issues impacting museums. Last year, museum advocates hit the hill in record numbers. Whether or not you can go this year or next, every member of AASLH should con- sider attending someday. Advocacy Day is a thoroughly rewarding form of professional development for participants. The policy briefings, group discussions, workshops, net- working, and ultimately the face-to-face visits to Capitol Hill offices position participants to be better advocates at the national level as well as locally. AAM has posted a long list of resources at aam-us.org/advocacy/ resources to build advocacy skills; learn how Congress works; make the case for our field; and speak up for your museum at the fed- John Dichtl, AASLH President and CEO and Bethany Hawkins, eral, state, and local levels. To make the case Chief of Operations, at Museums Advocacy Day 2017. for history, there also is help in the “Value of History” statement from the History Relevance folks at historyrelevance.com. It is important for all public officials (local, state, and national) to know about the decisions. That is why AASLH vital work history organizations do to educate the general public and the role your sponsors, advocates, and lobbies on behalf institution plays in a democratic and civil society. Encounters with history make cit- of state and local history at the national izens more thoughtful about the decisions they make and the consequences of those level through strategic partnerships with other organizations and at important events like Museums Advocacy Day.
Update on the History Relevance Initiative ASLH continues to play a leading role within the History Relevance initia- Ative—a broad coalition of historians and museum professionals working to rebrand history as something not just “nice,” but American Association for State and Local History Local and State for Association American essential. Since 2014, this collaborative effort has helped change the way history museums and organizations talk about the value and impact of their work. More than 200 organizations have endorsed the History Relevance “Value of History” statement, which highlights seven distinct ways history is essential, and have begun integrating its language into their work. Through these efforts, the History Relevance initiative has begun cultivating a critical mass of people and institutions talking about history in sim- ilar ways and making the case to the public about why our work matters. AASLH plays an essential role in both facilitating and amplifying the initiative’s work. We’ve carved out space for History Relevance activities at our Annual Meeting, including panels, roundtable discussions, Steering Committee members for the History Relevance initiative and major meetings of the group’s steering during a meeting at the National Air and Space Museum. committee. We’re planning webinars and workshops with other History Relevance
HISTORY NEWS 39 AASLH News
partners to help spread the message and to develop common metrics of about the value of history to our mem- impact for organizations to employ bers and beyond. AASLH has also in their evaluations. We continue to taken the lead on pursuing grant funds make the relevance of history central for History Relevance to develop a to our work! community conversations series, to research public perceptions of history, AASLH Welcomes New Education and Service Coordinator Alderson HIGHLIGHTS n November, Natalie Flammia FROM 2017 replaced former Education and IService Coordinator Amber Mitchell, who is now the Public Sylvia Farrell In Memoriam Engagement and Community 1930 - 2017 Programs Coordinator at the ylvia Farrell Alderson passed 832 National World War II Museum in away November 14, 2017 in New members New Orleans. A native of New York, Taneytown, Maryland. She 50 welcomed Natalie holds a Master of Library and S was a generous donor to AASLH Information Science with a concen- Leadership in whose major gift in 1997-2004 History Awards tration in Archives Management from laid the foundation of AASLH’s given Simmons College, and a Bachelor of endowment by inspiring matching Arts in Psychology and Spanish from donations from other individuals. Wake Forest University. Prior to 2,351 Sylvia worked for decades as a joining AASLH, Natalie worked as an People served nurse and was actively involved archivist by Continuing with art and music organizations Natalie for several Education Flammia as a dedicated volunteer and 18 events private advocate. Sylvia’s husband, William Books published collec- T. Alderson Jr., was director tions and of AASLH for fourteen years, interned brought its offices to Nashville in 900 at the 1964, and left it with a budget ten Members Country enrolled in StEPs times larger and 150 percent more Music 1,012 members when he stepped down Hall of from the position in 1978. Annual meeting Fame in participants Nashville.
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for STATE and LOCAL HISTORY acknowledges and appreciates these Endowment Donors for their extraordinary support:
Dr. William T. Alderson Society AASLH President’s Society Friends of the Endowment Society Mr. Leslie H. Fishel* National Heritage Museum $50,000+ $10,000 – $49,999 $5,000 – $9,999 Madison, WI Lexington, MA Ms. Sylvia Alderson* Mr. Edward P. Alexander* Atlanta History Center Ms. Barbara Franco Nebraska State Historical Society Winston–Salem, NC Washington, DC Atlanta, GA Harrisburg, PA Lincoln, NE Anonymous Colonial Williamsburg Mr. Rick Beard Mr. James B. Gardner Ms. Laura Roberts Foundation Harrisburg, PA Washington, DC & Mr. Edward Belove Mr. John Frisbee* Cambridge, MA Concord, NH Williamsburg, VA Mr. & Mrs. Salvatore Cilella Historic Annapolis Foundation The J. Paul Getty Trust Atlanta, GA Annapolis, MD Rowman & Littlefield National Endowment for the Lanham, MD Humanities Los Angeles, CA Mr. David Crosson Indiana Historical Society Washington, DC Mr. & Mrs. Charles F. Bryan Jr. & Ms. Natalie Hala Indianapolis, IN Ms. Ruby Rogers Cincinnati, OH Mr. Dennis & Ms. Trudy O’Toole Richmond, VA San Francisco, CA Maryland Historical Society Monticello, NM Ms. Sandra Sageser Clark Ms. Terry L. Davis Baltimore, MD Mr. Jim & Ms. Janet Vaughan Holt, MI Nashville, TN Missouri History Museum Washington, DC HISTORY Mr. John & Ms. Anita Durel St. Louis, MO Mr. George L. Vogt New York, NY Baltimore, MD Ms. Candace Tangorra Matelic Portland, OR Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation Mr. Stephen Elliott Pawleys Island, SC Ms. Jeanne & Mr. Bill Watson* Marshalltown, IA St. Paul, MN Ms. Kathleen S. & Orinda, CA Mr. Dennis Fiori Mr. James L. Mullins *Deceased Boston, MA Grosse Pointe Shores, MI
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