October 21 – 22, 2022 | Springfield, Illinois

Registration for this event is now closed! We’ll see you in Springfield!

To view Christy Coleman’s keynote address, visit: https://uis.mediaspace.kaltura.com/category/UIS+Webcasts%3EECCE+Speaker+Series+VOD/22578711

To view images from the event, visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ncph/albums/72177720303210841/with/52458018506/

$15 students | $22 general registration | $10 for morning Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum tour and discussion (afternoon tour, keynote, and all Saturday sessions covered in the cost of your base registration)

Book your room at the Wyndham Springfield City Center now via https://bit.ly/3ncph22. Our room rate is $119/night. Don’t wait to book; our block closes September 30! Please email NCPH Program Manager Meghan Hillman at [email protected] with questions or issues.

This two-day symposium will gather National Park Service staff, scholars, and students who will use the Lincoln Home NHS in Springfield, Illinois as a learning lab to think more broadly about interpretation, preservation, and community engagement at a changing urban National Historic Site that seeks to be relevant to its community.

We’ll spend Friday, October 21 on the Lincoln Home NHS campus, learning about the commemorative landscape and the site’s resources in a day of tours and talks with park staff. That evening, we’ll go to the University of Illinois Springfield for a reception and keynote address delivered by Christy Coleman, Executive Director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

The next day, we’ll use the Wyndham Springfield City Center as our home base for a day of conversations informed by the previous day’s tours and keynote. We’ll talk about the past, present, and future of the Lincoln Home campus; brainstorm solutions for the challenges the site faces; and make connections to other interpretive sites.

Program (times are listed in central time)

Friday, October 21

9:00 – 11:00 am
Self-guided tour of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (pre-registration required, $10)

11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Discussion with ALPLM staff about the challenges and opportunities that come with working at a Lincoln public history site (at ALPLM)

1:00 – 3:00 pm

Tour: Insights into the Restoration and Interpretation of Lincoln Home National Historic Site and the Old State Capitol State Historic Site (included with price of symposium)

5:15 pm Bus to University of Illinois Springfield for symposium keynote and reception

6:00 – 7:30 pm
Keynote address, University of Illinois Springfield Brookens Auditorium, Brookens Library

Christy S. Coleman, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, “What We Choose To Remember” 

7:30 – 8:30 pm
Keynote reception, UIS (follow the signs from the keynote)

8:30 pm 
Buses return to the Wyndham

Saturday, October 22

8:00 – 9:00 am
Continental breakfast provided (Ambassador lobby)

9:00 – 9:30 am
Session One | Welcome and Setting the Stage

Moderator: Devin Hunter, Associate Professor of History, University of Illinois Springfield
Panelist: Timothy S. Good, Superintendent, Lincoln Home National Historic Site

9:45 – 11:15 am
Session Two | Lincoln Home National Historic Site in the National Park Service Context

Moderator: Alan Spears, Senior Director of Cultural Resources, National Parks Conservation Association
Panelists: Jackie Gonzales, Historian, Historical Research Associates
Dan Ott, Cultural Resource Program Manager, Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
John Sprinkle,  Bureau Historian (retired), National Park Service

11:30 am – 12:45 pm
Buffet lunch provided (Ambassador lobby)

12:45 – 2:15 pm
Session Three | Civil Rights in Memory and Public History

Moderator: Kate Masur, Professor of History, Northwestern University
Panelists: Lionel Kimble, Associate Professor of History, Chicago State University
Deanda Johnson, Civil Rights Historian, National Park Service
Matthew Pinsker, Professor of History and Pohanka Chair in American Civil War History, Dickinson College

2:30 – 4:00 pm
Session Four | Horizons of Equity and Inclusion for Historic Sites and Cultural Heritage Tourism

Moderator: Lara Kelland, E. Desmond Lee Endowed Professor in Museum Studies and Community History, University of Missouri – St. Louis
Panelists: Callie Hawkins, Director of Programming, President Lincoln’s Cottage
Ken Page, Springfield ACLU President and local historian
Logan Pappenfort, Interim Director and Curator of Anthropology, Dickson Mounds State Museum

4:15 – 5:00 pm
Open Forum | What is the future of Lincoln Home National Historic Site?

Moderator: Ted Karamanski, Professor of History, Loyola University Chicago

Lincoln Home 50th Anniversary Keynote Address: “What We Choose to Remember”

Throughout the US, people are steeped in conversations regarding what should be taught in schools, commemorated on the public landscape and preserved in cultural organizations. These conversations are far from new, nor are they any less thoughtful or virulent than in times past. What is vastly different is voices previously silenced are now engaged. Ms. Coleman shares insights into this phenomenon that will be illustrative to the public, educators, academics and public historians.

Christy S. Coleman, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation

With a career spanning over 35 years, Christy S. Coleman has served as the Chief Executive Officer of some of the nation’s most prominent museums. She’s a tireless advocate for the power of museums, narrative correction, diversity and inclusiveness. Ms. Coleman is an innovator and leader in the museum field having held leadership roles at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the American Civil War Museum. She now serves as the Executive Director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation.

Ms. Coleman is the recipient of numerous awards for her decades of impact, including three Honorary Doctorates. In 2018, Time Magazine named her one of the 31 People Changing the South and in 2019, Worth Magazine named her one of 29 Women Changing the World. She’s written numerous articles, is an accomplished screenwriter, public speaker and has appeared on several national news and history programs.

She served as the historical consultant for the award-winning film Harriett and Showtime’s Good Lord Bird. She’s most recently appeared in award winning documentaries, Grant, Abraham Lincoln, Black Patriots: Civil War Heroes, Neutral Ground, and When The Monuments Came Down.

Please review our COVID-19 procedures. Per regulations in the state of Illinois and by the National Park Service, we are taking these measures:

  • Attendees are strongly encouraged to wear a face mask throughout the symposium, unless actively eating, drinking, or presenting. The CDC recommends N-95 masks for the most protection.
  • If you must cancel due to COVID-related illness, NCPH will issue a refund for registration fees.
  • Please consider getting vaccinated and boosted prior to traveling, taking into account the necessary 14-day waiting period after the second shot. Plan to get boosted before October 7 to make sure you’re fully protected at the symposium!
  • Please note that the hotel and other event venues will host other guests who are not required to wear masks in the building.
  • NCPH will provide complimentary masks at the registration desk.
  • The hotel will provide hand sanitizer stations.
  • When you pick up your badge you can choose one of three differently colored lanyards to show other attendees the level of interaction you’re comfortable with. Select the best color for you, and respect the color choices other attendees make:
      • Green – okay with pre-COVID behaviors such as hugs and handshakes.
      • Yellow – desires some caution and respects social distancing guidelines with elbow/fist bumps only.
      • Red – desires extreme social distancing and highest precautions. May be at high risk or caring for someone at high risk.