Schedule – Friday, Oct. 19
Friday, October 19
The schedule is in Eastern Time — if you’re in another time zone, make sure to convert the time!
Click on a presenters name to see a session description and presenter biography
| Time (Eastern Time) | Presenter | Twitter handle | Title |
| Keynote 11:15 am – 12:15 pm |
Allison Tucker | @SitesConscience | Memory to Action |
| 12:15 pm – 12:30 pm | BREAK | ||
| 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm | Adina Langer | @artiflection | Welcoming Immigration History: Striking a Balance in Exhibition, Programming, and Public Engagement |
| 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm | Linda Levitt | @lindalevitt | Creating an Iconic Presence for an Iconic Activist |
| 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm | Lindsay Kernohan | @LindsayKernohan | Writing on the Wall: Reconsidering the Historical Plaque |
| 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm | Christopher Graham | @ACWMuseum | Acting On Monument Avenue |
| 2:30 pm – 3:00 pm | BREAK | ||
| 3:00 pm – 3:30 pm | Zachary Wnek | @ZacharyWnek | How Latah County Historical Society will Remain Relevant in Fifty years |
| 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Project Showcase | All are welcome to share! | |
| 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Mahaley Evans | @PubHistMahaley | Public History and the Preservation of Bloomington’s African-American History: A Case Study in Community Archiving |
| 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm | Hope Shannon | @HistorianHope | Communities First: Prioritizing Outreach at Small History Organizations |
| 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm | BREAK | ||
| 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm | Courtney Hobson | @CuppaCourtney | “Do you believe such a cock and bull story?”: Newspaper Coverage of the Lynching of George Armwood |
| 6:30 pm – 7:00 pm | Jenny DeRocher & Ariel Beaujot | @JennyDerocher | Oral History as Activism and Anti-Racism: The Reactive City of La Crosse, Wisconsin |
| 7:00 pm – 7:30 pm | Catherine Bruce | @tnovsa | Re(Acting) to Preservation and Justice: the Public Historian’s role in averting displacement |
Friday, October 19 Session Descriptions and Bios
Keynote 2 — Memory to Action
— Allison Tucker, International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, @SitesConscience
With global atrocities happening all around us, the need to remember often competes with the equally strong pressure to forget. Even with the best of intentions—such as to promote reconciliation after deeply divided events by “turning the page”—erasing the past can prevent new generations from learning critical lessons and destroy opportunities to build a peaceful future. Founded in 1999, the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience is a global network of 255 members in 65 countries dedicated to using the past to address human rights abuses today. In our nearly twenty year history, we have developed a range of tools to help museums and other historic sites engage communities by connecting past to present. For instance, we recently developed Front Page Dialogues, which are rapid response tools that are intended to help historical sites immediately incorporate current events, or a recent atrocity, into their programming. We have written several specific Front Page Dialogues—on guns in the United States, women’s rights, the Paris agreement on climate change, and the refugee crisis, to name a few—which museums can use and adapt to their individual settings.
As the Communications Assistant, Allison (Ally) Tucker manages social media and assists in facilitating collaboration and awareness between Sites of Conscience members and the general public. She seeks out special projects to amplify the work that Coalition members do and promotes the work of the Global Initiative for Justice, Truth, and Reconciliation. Ally graduated from Carleton College as an American Studies major and is now based in New York.
Welcoming Immigration History: Striking a Balance in Exhibition, Programming, and Public Engagement
— Adina Langer, Museum of History and Holocaust Education, @artiflection
On August 30, 2018, the Museum of History and Holocaust Education (MHHE) at Kennesaw State University opened a new exhibit entitled Refuge or Refusal: Turning Points in U.S. Immigration History. The exhibit examines almost 250 years of changing citizenship and immigration policy centered on the United States in order to contextualize the restrictive environment encountered by refugees seeking a new home in the World War II era, and to lay the groundwork for understanding contemporary discussions about immigration and nationhood. Aware of the potentially controversial nature of this exhibit within its local, national, and temporal contexts, the MHHE planned a program for the opening that focused on personal narratives spanning over fifty years. Panelists included a Holocaust survivor, a refugee of the Syrian civil war, and a high school student who was a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient from Mexico, among others. Community organizations that support immigrants and refugees and that provide people with opportunities to learn about diverse cultures were also invited to provide information via tables at the event. Over 150 people attended, and it was the MHHE’s most diverse event to date.
In this presentation, Langer will explore best practices for public historians to use historical scholarship to scaffold reflective conversations about the impact of the past on the present. Are there different roles for exhibitions, public programs, community partners, and visitor participation? Are some conversations more or less appropriate in different engagement contexts? Once you’ve hosted one successful event, what is the best way to keep the momentum going without tipping the scales too far away from reflection and awareness and too far toward advocacy of very specific policies? We recognize that museums are not neutral, but what are the best ways to maintain the trust of the widest possible “public” while guiding people toward ways of being in the world that best recognize our shared humanity?
Adina Langer is an Atlanta, Georgia based public historian, with work experience in Michigan, Chicago, and New York City. Since August 2015, she has served as the Curator of the Museum of History and Holocaust Education at Kennesaw State University. She holds a BA in history and creative writing (with highest honors in history) from Oberlin College, and an MA in archives and public history (with a concentration in public history) from New York University. She is an active member of the Southeastern Museums Conference, Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries, American Alliance of Museums, and the National Council on Public History, where she is a lead-editor of the History@Work blog and member of the Digital Media Group.
Creating an Iconic Presence for an Iconic Activist
— Linda Levitt, Stephen F. Austin State University, @lindalevitt
Civil rights activist Juanita Craft was the first Black woman to vote in Dallas. She marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Texas, and organized protests to desegregate the Texas State Fair. A recreational center, a Dallas city park, and a US Post Office are named in her honor, but we can easily forget the cultural contributions of a person whose name is more significantly associated with a place than with their accomplishments. Juanita Craft’s home in Dallas, now a house museum, afforded one of few opportunities to share her history. In May 2018, a pipe burst in the attic, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage. The museum, always lacking funding, is closed indefinitely.
The absence of Juanita Craft is an example of countless histories that can teach and inspire. Is it unseemly for public historians to think of a person and her stories as analogous to a “brand” for whom we are striving to create spreadable content?
In this presentation, Levitt will be exploring ways that public historians can increase awareness about significant individuals. In a culture of distributed content and distraction, how can we create flows of information that lead audiences to engage with histories that are not broadly known or familiar?
Linda Levitt teaches Communication Studies at Stephen F. Austin State University. Her research is focused at the intersection of cultural memory and media studies. Dr. Levitt’s first book, Culture, Celebrity, and the Cemetery, was published by Routledge in 2018.
Writing on the Wall: Reconsidering the Historical Plaque
— Lindsay Kernohan, @LindsayKernohan
In a time where museums are transforming to embrace inclusion and repatriate objects, and problematic monuments are coming down, a lesser examined item of public memory is the historical plaque. Written for a multitude of reasons, whether educational, commemoration or memory, it is perhaps time for a reconsideration and analysis of the historical plaque. Plaques tend to assume an aura of permanence—marking significant places and people for the rest of time. As other conversations continue in the fields of public history and relevance in a digital age—is the traditional historical plaque accessible? What stories are being chosen, who is telling them, and how are these elements being funded? How does this affect their engagement and interpretation? How does marking a space as significant alter how the public engages with it? How can public historians contribute to the discussion? With historical plaques, every word matters.
Lindsay Kernohan (she/her) is a museum curator, public historian, and heritage advocate from Southwestern-Ontario. She holds a Master of Arts (history) from Western University, as well as a post-graduate certificate in Museum Management and Curatorship from Fleming College. In addition to her work as Museum Curator at Museum Strathroy-Caradoc, Lindsay is the Public Relations and Communications Officer for the Huron Perth Middlesex Museum Network and is a board member of the Historic Sites Committee, London Public Library board.
Acting On Monument Avenue
— Christopher Graham and Stephanie Arduini, American Civil War Museum, @ACWMuseum
Staff at the American Civil War Museum (ACWM), inspired by “rapid reaction” programs at places like the Levine Museum, implemented a new quick response system when the American Civil War became the regular subject of current events in the first days of the current administration. When Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney announced the Monument Avenue Commission in June 2017, the museum moved quickly. The Museum assembled resources—including a document reader, a select reading list, a blog series, and two online exhibits—on the On Monument Avenue website, with the intention of being a reliable community resource for historical information in the city-wide discussion. Additionally, museum staff conducted lectures and facilitated dialogues with community groups, and presented at Monument Avenue Commission meetings and at local museum professional mini-cons.
On Monument Avenue provided a test to ACWM’s emerging interpretive voice as the institution transforms and grows to meet the needs of new generations and new audiences, while being keenly aware of the heated climate of public debates about Confederate monuments and how we choose to remember the Civil War.
This presentation will introduce the On Monument Avenue initiative, and then will delineate three lessons that we consider, three lessons that we consider less-than optimal, and three points that we would relay to other museums thinking about being active resources in community discussions.
Stephanie Arduini (@sfarduini) is the Director of Education and Christopher Graham (@cagraham) is Guest Curator at the American Civil War Museum (@ACWMuseum) in Richmond, Virginia. They co-created the On Monument Avenue initiative.
How Latah County Historical Society will Remain Relevant in Fifty Years
— Zachary Wnek, Latah County Historical Society, @ZacharyWnek
The Latah County Historical Society (LCHS) has re-rejuvenated its policy of collecting documentation of events happening currently in Latah County, Idaho. LCHS believes events, businesses, people, etc. happening today will inform the interpretation of the history of our time. To accomplish this LCHS has been attending historical events at the current time and soliciting documentation from participants. LCHS has collected digital images & videos, signs, hats, buttons and paraphernalia from the historical happenings across Latah County.
This policy has resulted in some intriguing results, which we hope will add to the LCHS collection and ensure that LCHS can continue to tell relevant and engaging stories for the foreseeable future.
LCHS works with donors to develop access policies and retention schedules for collections that are more current. As our reputation for collecting current history has grown so has the variety of historical donors. LCHS now has college students donating their images from social movements and allowing LCHS to document their part of Latah County’s history.
Zachary Wnek serves as the Museum Curator of the Latah County Historical Society. Zachary Wnek works to represent the history of Latah County through exhibitions, publications, and outreach. The Latah County Historical Society operates a historic house museum, the McConnell Mansion, whose offices and museum are located in Moscow, Idaho
Public History and the Preservation of Bloomington’s African-American History: A Case Study in Community Archiving
— Mahaley Evans, Indiana University, @PubHistMahaley
An increasingly important function of public history is activism—working with and for marginalized and underrepresented communities to preserve and promote their histories and experiences. This project examines Evans’ effort to help preserve the history of Bloomington, Indiana’s black community as an archival intern at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures at Indiana University. Evans’ presentation will describe a case study in community archiving and prompt those in the field of public history—archivists, museum curators and educators, librarians, historians, and anthropologists, among others—to examine our role in facilitating and supporting these efforts.
At the Mathers Museum, Evans is processing the Bridgwaters photograph collection, which details much of the black community’s history through the documentation of black families, institutions, and everyday life from 1890 to 1990. This process has involved hours of data entry, researching the events and families in the collection, conducting oral history interviews with community members, and creating a collection guide for future researchers and museum staff to reference. Evans’ hope is that this collection can be used to educate the local and university audience and illuminate the experiences and achievements of black Bloomingtonians.
This presentation will ask questions such as: How can public history institutions engage with marginalized and underrepresented communities and “community archiving” while still allowing them to maintain their agency in preserving their own histories? How can we reckon with our role as outsiders infiltrating communities that we are trying to assist and support?
Mahaley Evans is graduate student at Indiana University-Bloomington in library science and east European history. Evans is passionate about making museum and archival collections accessible and representative.
Communities First: Prioritizing Outreach at Small History Organizations
— Hope Shannon, @HistorianHope
This presentation will focus on some of the ways small history organizations, like local historical societies and museums, can shuffle or modify existing priorities to ensure they play active and essential roles in the communities they serve. In particular, it will consider why so many small history groups have, historically, prioritized collections-based work above other projects, how to adjust this model in the present to make more room for outreach- and community-based work, and how to involve constituents in a way that ensures and demonstrates institutional relevance.
Some of the issues covered will include how to start this conversation in small history organizations, who to bring to the table and how to get them there, how to go about identifying institutional priorities (and, similarly, identifying what can be eliminated), how this kind of self-reflective process can be used to build bridges between people across diverse communities, and how to make hard, self-reflective discussions part of an institution’s regular agenda.
Hope Shannon is a public history professional and historian with a decade of experience working with local history institutions, museums, and cultural organizations. She co-founded Omnia History, a public history collaborative that explores how history can be used to support social change, in 2017. Hope is a former Executive Director of the South End Historical Society in Boston and is currently a PhD candidate in US and public history at Loyola University Chicago.
“Do you believe such a cock and bull story?”: Newspaper coverage of the lynching of George Armwood
— Courtney Hobson, @CuppaCourtney
On October 19, 1933, George Armwood, a twenty-three year old mentally-ill Black man, was lynched outside of the county jailhouse in Princess Anne, Maryland by a mob of over 1,000 people. Armwood was accused of assaulting an elderly white woman and, prior to his death, was relocated by state police three times over concerns for his safety. Armwood’s death is the last known documented lynching in the state of Maryland. This presentation will focus on contemporary newspaper coverage by the Baltimore Sun and the Afro American newspapers, by highlighting the differences between white-centered and Black-centered reporting.
A native of Maryland, Courtney is a public historian who looks at intersections of race, gender, and the law. Currently, she pulls double duty as the Coordinator for the Dresher Center for the Humanities at University of Massachusetts Baltimore County and as Vice President of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, Inc.
Oral History as Activism and Anti-Racism: The Reactive City of La Crosse, Wisconsin
— Ariel Beaujot, Western University, @ABeaujot / Jenny DeRocher, @JennyDerocher
Hear, Here is a community-generated archive of place-based oral histories that reflect the history of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Most stories come from people with marginalized identities and bring light to experiences that are not always represented in historical records. Many stories have themes of racism, homophobia, immigration, sex work, among others. They are accessible via street signs mounted throughout La Crosse’s downtown that display phone numbers anyone can dial to listen to the story that happened in that exact location.
After continuous backlash toward Hear, Here from city officials and prominent community members, undergraduate Jenny DeRocher felt compelled to find an answer as to why white, privileged citizens of the community were working to silencing storytellers. This session discusses lessons learned about how to use privilege and public history for activism, securing yourself professionally while engaging in controversial activism, highlighting the voices of community members of color while protecting them from emotional labor and backlash, and the steps that go into important reactive public history work like Hear, Here.
Ariel Beaujot is a public historian, history professor, and Director of oral documentary project Hear, Here, which is discussed in this session. Originally from London, Ontario, Beaujot studied at the University of Toronto and has lived in La Crosse, Wisconsin for six years, where she is a tenured professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She is currently on sabbatical, as a Visiting Scholar at Western University, writing a book about Hear, Here about directing a reactive public history project.
Jenny DeRocher is a public historian as well as a librarian and is working towards a career integrating the two together. She is from Wisconsin and currently lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where she works in the Archives Department at the local public library. She studied undergrad at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse in public & policy history under Ariel Beaujot and wrote her thesis on La Crosse as a Sundown Town. She received her Master’s in Library and Information Science at Simmons College in Boston.
Re(Acting) to Preservation and Justice: the Public Historian’s role in averting displacement
— Catherine Bruce, Tnovsa Global Commons, @tnovsa
This session will focus on current dilemmas in historic preservation of urban communities, with a focus on two current examples: one an African American church in Maryland which recently closed its doors, and the other, a pending re-examination of Columbia, South Carolina’s historic neighborhood overlay program as operated by that city. The discussion will consider questions of preservation with challenges presented by development, gentrification, economic justice, and other considerations.
Catherine Fleming Bruce founded TNOVSA Global Commons to support work at the intersections of mass communication, historic preservation, philosophy and ethics, international relations, and international law. She has participated in such global governance efforts as the World Summit for the Information Society, held in Geneva and Tunis by the United Nations and the International Telecommunications Union and civil rights engagement, including work with Occupy Columbia, an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement, and electoral politics. She led the effort to preserve the home of South Carolina civil rights activist Modjeska Monteith Simkins, now featured in the newly opened US Civil Rights Trail and is currently involved in an oral history project on Black medical personnel during the civil rights movement. Bruce authored the award-winning book, The Sustainers: Being, Building and Doing Good through Activism in the Sacred Spaces of Civil Rights, Human Rights and Social Movements. In 2017, she became the first African-American winner of annual Historic Preservation Book Prize, presented by the University of Mary Washington Center for Historic Preservation in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She received the Key to the City of Columbia Mississippi in 2016 for her efforts to assist Columbia MS and Columbia SC during natural disasters experienced by both cities in 2014 and 2015 and for promoting the linked histories of the two cities.