#ncph2015, let's go! First up: The Challenges of Community Historians to Document, Teach, & Preserve Racially Sensitive Histories #s48

— Amelia T. Grabowski (@AmeliaTGrabow) April 18, 2015

Mississippi music an emphasis in Segregated South panel. #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Kicking off the last day of #ncph2015 at #s48: View of the Segregated South. Love the table decorations!

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Speaker: I've heard from a lot of colleagues some history is too controversial to talk about #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Session starting w/how we see Mississippi, as non-residents. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

The different perspectives need to include community members. #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

YES! Carpenter: Bring community historians into your work & classroom. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Speaker: include community historians in your projects from beginning to end #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Include community historians in your projects, let them tell their story. #ncph2015 #s48

— Carson Sailor (@carsonsailor) April 18, 2015

Panelist Williams at #s48 was the first Af Am educator to integrate Shaw HS in Greenville, MS #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

#S48 this session has people who have lived through the history of Mississippi that the session is talking about. Amazing #ncph2015

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

Loving all this music! "A Change is Gonna Come" playing in #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

"Separate is not equal. It was just a figure of speech to satisfy the law" #s48 #ncph2015

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

Williams describing growing up in post-Brown segregated schools, & the boundaries in Greenville, MS #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

"My father demanded that we all go to college…Eventually, I chose ed…bc my father asked me to help him learn to read." #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Williams describes teaching her bricklayer father how to read (graduate HS in 1962) #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Williams began teaching at the predominantly black HS in Shaw; moved to the white HS in 1968 #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

"If I can teach the black children, I can teach the white children." #s48 #ncph2015

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

The Italian students were esp sensitive to my plight. #s48 #ncph2015

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

There are many types of community historians: those of the community, in it, from it, and those working with the community. #ncph2015 #s48

— Amelia T. Grabowski (@AmeliaTGrabow) April 18, 2015

Williams describes the varied reactions of students & faculty, which were related to economic class. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

@abbygateau Also related to ethnicity (Italians were more sympathetic as well, having faced sig discrimination in MS) #ncph2015 #s48

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Williams describing demographic shifts in education: segregation, desegregation, white flight #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Williams: American history is the history of all groups. #ncph2015 #s48

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

"Telling your own stories….is what MUST be done to preserve the true American history" #s48 #ncph2015

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

Jennie Williams: you have to know your history and roots or you are "doomed" #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

"People Get Ready" A little Curtis Mayfield to get us ready for Helen Sims. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

"I left Chicago bc I was tired of hearing ppl talk about me as a country bumpkin from MS." #ncph2015 #S48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Sims went to Chicago, returned to MS bc she was tired of the way ppl talked about her in the past tense–dirt roads,etc #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Helen Sims: some people think they know more about our story then we do #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Helen Sims: don't water down history and rely on others to tell it. Do it yourself #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Same stories about rural south years later – dirt roads, outhouses. How do we change the stories? #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Not what you have but what you do w/what you have Sims #s48 #ncph2015

— Linda Barnickel (@LindaBarnickel) April 18, 2015

"We decided that no more would MS be last, no more would MS be least." #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Sims talking about Rev Lee, murdered for his civil rights activism #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Helen Sims: it wasn't popular to tell the story but I can because I know it #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

"I can tell my own history. I know; I was there." #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

"They put a target on your back because you decided to tell your own history." #s48 #ncph2015

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

Sims: telling civil rights story put your life at risk; it's a dangerous story. Describing ongoing white supremacist culture #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Sims: "No one can tell you the challenge I face" #ncph2015 #s48

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Teaching African American history empowers black community – some places don't want to see that happen. Even today #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Helen Sims inspiring – I'm ready to march! #s48 #ncph2015

— Linda Barnickel (@LindaBarnickel) April 18, 2015

Mother Blues on stage now telling of her many children HSims #s48 #ncph2015

— Linda Barnickel (@LindaBarnickel) April 18, 2015

Smith: Describing the relationship between the blues & spiritual music, connecting w/landscape #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Connection between gospel and blues – lyrics change but rhythm stays the same #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Smith: The notes are the same, but the way you sing/hear them depends on your emotion. Much like history. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Listen closely to how people sing blues and gospel. Sound depends on emotion of singer and what emotions you bring too #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

The Blues, spirituals, and the train horn are all similar to each other. The importance of ace to the dvlpmt of music. #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Smith: Greenville was a safe haven for black singers/musicians #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Smith describing "freedom of choice" plans post-Brown, pre-desegregation #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Mississippi ought to be paying these ladies for making everyone in the room want to plan a visit #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Road trip to Mississippi? #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Make plans now Delta #Blues Fest Greenville MS #ncph2015 #s48

— Linda Barnickel (@LindaBarnickel) April 18, 2015

If you've ever heard a train horn, you've heard the blues. Train tracks were a constant in African American communities.#ncph2015 #s48

— Carson Sailor (@carsonsailor) April 18, 2015

Smith: MS authorities trying to find ways to co-opt the story & make money from it, including blues & civil rights #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Museums in MS trying to downplay the history of the African American community and make it seem like it wasn't that bad. #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

How can we document and teach significant yet sensitive subjects – like race? Many stories have been lost. #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

"How can public historians learn from community historians?" #S48 #ncph2015

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

Williams: To get the real history, you need primary sources–not secondary or "thirdary" sources #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Williams: The truth of history requires us to trust our sources. Without trust, history becomes distorted. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Writing history is like a game of telephone. Everyone has to put their 2 cents in. is it 100% true when you finally read it? #ncph2015 #s48

— Maria Ross (@mariamoxie) April 18, 2015

Williams: history has been lost because we don't trust others, we tell our own opinion #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Trying to document stories of African American community is challenging because older community members still are scared #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims: Older ppl living in fear, "bossman mentality," is a barrier to learning about the past #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Black Mississippians still living in fear of the boss man mentality–Helen Sims #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Smith: You have to be available to meet with community members when they have time; many work #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Speaker: we have to have meetings when people can come and help them afford the trip #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Financial burdens taken on by community historians #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Sims: Cannot rely on the state to provide any resources bc they are invested in the status quo #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Sims: Financial sacrifice is the last thing on our minds to do what must be done #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Preserving and promoting authenticity of African American history is challenging – hard to get resources to do so #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims: Outside researchers may use community stories for personal gain–professional or monetary #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Sims: people are guarded so you have to be dedicated. Your reward is the history #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Sacrifice of black community historians – many not paid. Passionate and determined people – cannot live in fear. #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Many (most?) Community historians make immense sacrifices to preserve & interpret their histories #s48 #ncph2015

— Linda Barnickel (@LindaBarnickel) April 18, 2015

People co-opt story if you don't tell them yourself. Suspicion of outsiders telling stories and profiting off of them #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims describing the potentially exploitative relationship between academics & community historians. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Sims: community historians are important because they know the stories and they're the ones who can tell it correctly #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Smith: Govt meetings for historic markers/planning may be open to public, but often at times when working ppl can't attend #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Exploitation – big issue in telling stories of traditionally oppressed groups. How do we navigate this as public historians? #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims: Partnerships can be one-sided; reciprocity is essential #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Williams: partnerships promote the history but it has to be a two way street #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Partnerships can be difficult. Many times not a real partnership. One side may not want to give back. #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Issue of new state CR museum in MS – they aren't reaching out to community and ignoring people already telling the story #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims: Community historians need partners who are still active & involved in the freedom struggle #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

MS museum telling story of freedom struggle in MS? But not involving local historians and people who experienced the movement #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Smith: If you want to know the history, listen to the people who were there/lived it. Listen first, talk later #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Sims: Partnerships are not about money. Loving this critique of capitalism. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Love hearing from community historians for whom activism and scholarship are intertwined #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Carpenter: If you're taking these stories to a museum/book, what are you bringing back to the community? #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Speaker: have to make sure communities understand you #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Getting people outside traditional tourism traps in MS to experience the bigger story #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Concern about telling local stories on state & national level taking stories out of localities without anything in return #s48 #ncph2015

— Amelia T. Grabowski (@AmeliaTGrabow) April 18, 2015

"Blues can't stay in the past bc it's still going on. It's the present." #ncph2015 #s48

— Maggie McClain (@MaggieMcclain90) April 18, 2015

Faulkner is still right. Smith: The past is not past, it still exists #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Still living the freedom struggle – the past is not the past. Can't limit the telling of the story to 40s-70 #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Civil Rights Museum in MS is going to be in a space where ppl were imprisoned during the struggle. Need to honor that story #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Smith: MS wanted to limit Civil Rights museum to 40 through 70s. Had to convince them it was still going on #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

State museum not a Civil Rights Museum – very different things #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Smith: Even if it's painful, if you're going to tell it, tell it right. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Smith: Every partnership is not going to work. It's not personal. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Question: how to handle resistance within own community? #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

Sims: Have to understand the structural obstacles that affect the way ppl understand their past #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Similar conversations going on in #ncph2015 #s48 and #s51 about partnerships' successes and failures https://t.co/gIm1LarNTI

— Evan Spencer (@EvanRSpencer) April 18, 2015

Opposition and resistance from community but don't let that stop that from telling the story of the freedom struggle #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims: Can't be afraid to confront ongoing structural barriers–white supremacy is still alive and well #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

We all bleed red – need to look beyond the false boundaries we have created #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

#s48 is reiterating that just telling the story, the true story, is resistance & activism #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

A true "American" history would help solve many of the problems we face. Include all of the American people in the narrative #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Williams: we need to eliminate histories and focus on a single history and a combined story #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015

If you are an outsider, be sympathetic and REALLY LISTEN and PAY ATTENTION – helps to create better relationship #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Smith: Listen more than you talk, respect the story & the storyteller, focus on the shared humanity #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Response to #s48 : Animated storytelling can be used to reach students #ncph2015

— Amelia T. Grabowski (@AmeliaTGrabow) April 18, 2015

We have all had pain, no matter your color. Understanding this helps us to better navigate complicated relationships #s48 #ncph2015

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Sims: You don't have to look like me to tell my story, but you have to tell it right. Figure out how to give back. #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Youngest historian (8) in the room asking a question about why these stories are not being told in schools? #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

8yr old wants to know why we arent learning this in school? hope you grow up 2B a teacher young man! We need more like you ! #s48 #ncph2015

— Linda Barnickel (@LindaBarnickel) April 18, 2015

Learning does not just have to happen in the classroom – talk to children, tell stories to them #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

Aud member: We need to interrogate the racial makeup of our field. Need more POC involved at all levels #ncph2015 #s48

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

@witherskid3 raises great point: The makeup of the field can help perpetuate these issues. #ncph2015 #s48 #museumsrespondtoferguson

— Amelia T. Grabowski (@AmeliaTGrabow) April 18, 2015

Hold meetings after hours when community members ARE NOT working, and CAN go #s48 #ncph2015

— Amelia T. Grabowski (@AmeliaTGrabow) April 18, 2015

Aud: What do grad students need to be prepared to work/intern w/ community historians? #ncph2015 #s48

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Don't just bring your community historian in to consult: HIRE THEM #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

Good question by @abbygateau – how do we help people tell their stories even if they weren't at the center of big events? #ncph2015 #s48

— Carrie Barske (@carolynbarske) April 18, 2015

When you have conflicting perspectives, let community members in on the process to develop categories for understanding #s48 #ncph2015

— Dr. Abigail R. Gautreau (@abbygateau) April 18, 2015

It was great seeing history from the community side and learning to bridge the gap at #s48 #ncph2015

— Zach Hottel (@ZachHottel) April 18, 2015