Advocacy | National Council on Public History

NCPH participates in a variety of advocacy efforts, as outlined in the NCPH Advocacy Committee of the Board Policy (last updated in 2023), to represent the interests of public history practitioners and promote historical understanding, which is of essential value in civil society. The NCPH Board of Directors speaks out on behalf of the membership by:

Developing partnerships and relationships with other organizations, professions and professionals, and communities;
Engaging our many publics in conversation about the relevance of history;
Being a strong advocate for the interests of public history practitioners in service to the public; and
Supporting history education with a public historical perspective at all levels.

If you would like the organization to consider weighing in on an issue, please email the board via [email protected].

NCPH’s recent advocacy alerts:

A Note from the NCPH Advocacy Committee (February 24, 2026)
NCPH Call to Action (September 9, 2025)
NCPH Advocacy Alert (August 21, 2025)
NCPH Call to Action: Sustainable Summer Advocacy (July 1, 2025)
NCPH Call to Action: Public Participation at NPS Sites (June 13, 2025)
NCPH Call to Action (June 3, 2025)
NCPH Advocacy Alert (May 13, 2025)
NCPH-OAH Call to Action: Threats to Public History (February 5, 2025)
NCPH Call to Action (February 25, 2025)

NCPH’s recent efforts include:

On May 28, 2026, voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s Statement on the Florida FACT US History course framework
On April 28, 2026 voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s Statement Opposing Restrictions on Teaching and Learning at Texas Tech University
On March 25, 2026 voted to endorse a letter from CivxNow in support of robust, sustained federal funding for civics education.
On February 6, 2026 voted to endorse a letter from PEN America calling for the Board of Regents of Texas A&M University to Rescind Censorship Policies.
On January 27, 2026 voted to endorse the Organization of American Historians’ Statement on the Freedom and Slavery exhibit removal at Independence National Historical Park.
On December 5, 2025 voted to join the American Historical Association on an amicus brief in support of Harvard University’s lawsuit against the federal government over the university’s ability to host foreign scholars and students.
On October 22, 2025 voted to endorse a letter from the Wakasa Memorial Committee regarding the Wakasa Memorial Stone and Site.
On September 22, 2025 voted to endorse a letter from the National Parks Cultural Resource Protection Coalition asking for support of the Senate Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
On August 20, 2025 voted to endorse a letter from the Coalition for Outdoor Renaming & Education to Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum calling for the full and immediate rescission of Secretarial Order 3431: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.
On August 19, 2025, voted to endorse the American Council of Learned Societies’ statement, “Regarding the White House Review of Smithsonian Institution Museums.”
On August 7, 2025, voted to endorse a joint statement with AASLH, OAH, ASALH, and AAAM, “Trust Americans to Learn from the Past,” in support of the National Park Service.
On June 4, 2025 voted to endorse a letter to Congress in support of historic preservation from GreenLatinos
On April 21, 2025 voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s Statement Condemning the Targeting of Foreign Scholars
On April 1, 2025, voted to endorse the National Humanities Alliance’s Statement on Threats to the NEH
On March 31, 2025, voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s statement Historians Defend the Smithsonian
On March 24, 2025, voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s statement Condemning Indiscriminate Cuts to the Federal Government
On March 21, 2025, voted to endorse the American Council of Learned Societies’ and The Phil Beta Kappa Society’s joint statement on the executive order to close the US Department of Education
On March 13, 2025, published a set of Advocacy Resources linked above.
On March 13, 2025, voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s and Organization of American Historians’ Joint AHA-OAH Statement on Federal Censorship of American History
On February 25, 2025, issued jointly with the Organization of American Historians a Call to Action: Threats to Public History
On February 5, 2025, issued a Call to Action: Defending Public History in the Federal Government
On February 4, 2025, voted to endorse the American Historical Association’s and Organization of American Historians’ Joint OAH-AHA Statement on Executive Order “Ending Racial Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.