Courtney Tollison, Assistant Professor of History, Furman University
Proposal Type: Other: Presentation
Seeking: Additional Presenters,General Feedback and Interest
Abstract: In the Fall of 2012, our country commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. While the nation reflected on and celebrated the wise decisions of President Kennedy and EXCOMM which kept us from nuclear war, the city of Greenville, SC experienced this anniversary differently, as it had also experienced the crisis differently as well. Greenville both celebrated and mourned in 1962 and thus our commemoration reflected that duality; the only casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis was a young Air Force pilot from this medium sized southern city. In May 1963, a memorial was erected in Major Rudolf Anderson, Jr.’s honor. In anticipation of the 50th anniversary of the crisis, the city collaborated with Furman University, the Upcountry History Museum, a local architecture firm, and a local film company to undertake a major research and public history project.
Seeking: The history of the Cuban Missile Crisis is that of a major international event involving conflict among the world’s superpowers, but in the case of Greenville, SC, this is also highly nuanced local history.
As director of research for this project, my intern and I sought sources from Russian archives to Air Force Service records to the local newspaper. We juggled the disparate cultures of city government, the university, a local museum, an architectural firm, and a film production company in an effort to reinvigorate a memorial to the crisis’ only casualty.
We took a 49 year old memorial and completely redesigned and re-landscaped the space; today the memorial, located in a public park, draws people in a way it had not before. We held a community-wide re-dedication ceremony with Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, daughter of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy, as our keynote speaker. We received national media attention, and also produced a documentary that has become very valuable throughout the community.
Inherent in this project are the struggles common to any historical research project that seeks to amalgamate the global, national, and local. Other common challenges involved reconciling the very different cultures (and calendars) of a university, a museum, city government, and for profit business companies.
I hope to share more specific examples of what I learned from this collaboration and complex commemoration. Thank you for considering this proposal.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to share contact information for other people the proposer should reach out to, please get in contact directly: Courtney Tollison,Courtney.tollison[at]furman.edu
If you have general ideas or feedback to share please feel free to use the comments feature below.
All feedback, and offers of assistance, should be submitted by July 3, 2015.
Related Topics: Civic Engagement, Memory, University-Community Collaboration