Messages in Philadelphia’s Catto Memorials
When the School District of Philadelphia memorialized a 19th century civil rights leader by naming a disciplinary school after him, the organization sent a message about the value of black students.
Insights Blog
‘See You in the Streets’–Art and Public History Q&A with Artist and Author Ruth Sergel
Q&A with author, artist, and agitator Ruth Sergel about her arts, humanities, public history, and social activism practice, writing ‘See You in the Streets,’ and more.
From Exhibit To Experience: Designing ‘A Time For Change’ Heritage Tour
Last year I was lucky to be able to attend the opening of the ‘A Time For Change’ exhibit at […]
Whither Washingtonia? Design Plans for Renovated MLK Library Leave Questions
By Matthew B. Gilmore As I reported in August, 2016, the Martin Luther King Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. is […]
Tapping into the History of Alcohol in the Old Dominion
The Virginia Historical Society History on Tap Program brings history into the present by recreating alcohol recipes from the past.
How Young Professionals Can Get Involved in the Museum World
As the millennial generation has grown up and entered the job force, museums have faced a new challenge: coming up with new methods and ideas to get a new generation of visitors through its doors and successfully implementing them.
Still Struggling, Still Preserving: Update on the District of Columbia’s Archives and Public Records Office
By Matthew B. Gilmore
The Office of Public Records (OPR) is a division under the District of Columbia’s Office of the Secretary. OPR currently operates an Archives and Records Center facility at Naylor Court. This facility is supplemented by other city and Federal facilities to store public records. The Naylor Court facility has reached its storage capacity and its physical and mechanical deficiencies make it inadequate for the long-term preservation of the city’s archival records.
Two Kings and the NMAAHC
By Mariam Williams
Not seeing black people as active participants in American history and its ongoing push toward democracy always has been a hurtful and angering thing to me. It says to black people—and especially to black children who have little, if any, control over their education—that they are irrelevant and that black people have deserved all race-based mistreatment they’ve received, past or present.
For Emerging Professionals: Museums and Historic Sites on a Budget
Philadelphia is a beautiful city with more than its fair share of amazing museums and historic sites. As a young professional, you might feel that visiting some, or most, or all of these museums and historic sites would benefit you, but you might not have the money or the time in which to do it. But there are plenty of ways in which visiting the city’s museums and historic sites will benefit you, and plenty of ways to take advantage of what they have to offer.
Day-Tripping through Time: National Park History in Maryland and Pennsylvania
Inspired by the upcoming NPS centennial, which President Obama discussed in his most recent weekly address, I have spent parts of this summer posting about my visits to mid-western memorials, parks, and sites run by the NPS from central Ohio to eastern Missouri through a blog I named the National Park History Tour. Of course, one need not travel outside the Mid-Atlantic to learn about the past from the NPS, in fact one can cover over a century of American history in a weekend in Maryland and Pennsylvania.