Despite their profound cultural and historical importance, civic leaders often neglect the preservation of African American churches in the South in favor of saving buildings that promise economic benefits or contribute to the development of private or public communities. Yet, these churches have always been central to African American communities, serving as places of worship, centers of civil rights activism, and sacred spaces for social and moral support. Read More
In 1997, my hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado, was ravaged by a flood. During the deluge, the Johnson Center Mobile Home Park was completely destroyed. As a young child, I walked through the empty lot where the homes used to sit and wondered about the community that had been erased. Read More
The tourist perception of Las Vegas is often limited to its iconic neon lights, or recently, the Knights hockey team winning the Stanley Cup championship. While The Strip has played a significant role in shaping the city, it tends to overshadow Las Vegas’ rich history and community. Read More
Editors’ Note: This essay is by the recipients of the National Council on Public History 2023 Excellence in Consulting Awards-Group Award Honorable Mention. The award was presented to Guy Hermann, Sara Zarrelli, and Jacques Brunswick of Museum Insights for their Connecticut Landmarks Portfolio Assessment.Read More
Editors’ Note: We publish the editor’s introduction to the August 2022 issue of The Public Historian here. The entire issue is available online to National Council on Public History members and to others with subscription access.Read More
On the morning of April 1, 2022, I was among throngs of remote researchers who visited the National Archives and Records Administration website to access data from the newly released 1950 Census. I had waited thirteen years to answer one research question: Who was the Black woman working in a family home that I had first researched in 2009? Read More
The Pennhurst Haunted Asylum and the Pennhurst Museum, operated by Pennhurst LLC in collaboration with the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance (PMPA), exist side-by-side on the grounds of the shuttered Pennhurst State School and Hospital in Spring City, Pennsylvania. The sites might seem to have opposite goals: one to frighten and entertain, the other to educate about past wrongs. Read More
Many countries have erected memorials to the state-sponsored suffering of their citizens, such as the Gedenkstaette memorial in Dachau, Germany and Freedom Park in Pretoria, South Africa. For more than 150 years, millions of Americans with developmental disabilities were segregated, isolated, neglected, and abused in overcrowded, state-funded institutions, as poignantly detailed in disability rights scholar Burton Blatt’s Christmas in Purgatory.Read More
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series of reflections from winners of NCPH awards in 2021. Sarah Marsom won honorable mention in Excellence in Consulting for her projects Crafting Herstory and #DismantlePreservation. This is part two of a two-part Q&A about #DismantlePreservation (part one was published on June 24, 2021). Read More
Editor’s Note: This post is part of a series of reflections from winners of NCPH awards in 2021. Sarah Marsom won honorable mention in Excellence in Consulting for her projects Crafting Herstory and #DismantlePreservation. This is part one of a two-part Q&A about #DismantlePreservation.Read More
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