Following the May 25th killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, by a police officer, protests have erupted in every state of the country. Yesterday, the National Council on Public History released a statement addressing Floyd’s death and the role of the public history profession in addressing structural racism.
NCPH’s statement emphasizes the importance of understanding the deep historical roots of racial violence in America. NCPH calls on public history practitioners to use their positions to amplify the voices of community members with knowledge of anti-Black violence and use anti-racist methodologies in their work. Further, NCPH recognizes the systemic racism that is a part of the cultural sector itself and argues that it is the responsibility of public historians to become aware of how their organizations further structural racism.
The statement includes anti-racist public history resources and example of public history projects that follow theses calls. NCPH also provides immediate actions individuals can take outside of their work within public history.
View the full statement here.