When NCPH began planning for our 40ᵗʰ anniversary more than a year ago, life looked vastly different than it does today. Now is not the time for large celebratory gatherings and parties, but we still want to take this opportunity to reflect and plan for what comes next. We think it is the moment to think about the future of our field and how we can, and must, learn from our past to envision a different path forward.

We did not foresee the events that led to the cancellation of our in-person conference in Atlanta and regret that that also led to the cancellation of our 40ᵗʰ anniversary sessions. We’re working now to share the reflections of our founders that were scheduled for the opening plenary in Atlanta in another venue (likely via upcoming issues of Public History News), and the “Threads of Origin” session presenters are working to publish their thoughts in The Public Historian later this year. This fall we’ll also be publishing a 40ᵗʰ anniversary e-publication with reflections from the NCPH community on our most pivotal and challenging moments. We’re thinking more broadly about commemoration as well, and are now accepting pitches for a series of pieces for History@Work and The Public Historian on commemoration and public history: https://ncph.org/history-at-work/pitches-commemoration-public-history/​.

But in the meantime, this is a moment unlike any other in the lifetime of our organization or our members. We ask you help us mark the occasion by sharing a wish for NCPH or for the field. What do you hope we do next? What do you want the field to look like forty years from now (or five years, or ten)? What should we keep from our past and what should we change?

We’d also like to know how you, our NCPH family, are feeling at this particular moment. When we look back on our 40ᵗʰ anniversary in years to come, we’ll no doubt do so in the context of this unprecedented set of challenges for the public history field, and for all of you who are doing that work. So: how are you doing?