Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites

Foreword by Lonnie G. Bunch III Edited by Max A. van Balgooy

Not available to order

Publication date:

24 December 2014

Length of book:

210 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780759122802

In this landmark guide, nearly two dozen essays by scholars, educators, and museum leaders suggest the next steps in the interpretation of African American history and culture from the colonial period to the twentieth century at history museums and historic sites. This diverse anthology addresses both historical research and interpretive methodologies, including investigating church and legal records, using social media, navigating sensitive or difficult topics, preserving historic places, engaging students and communities, and strengthening connections between local and national history.

Case studies of exhibitions, tours, and school programs from around the country provide practical inspiration, including photographs of projects and examples of exhibit label text.

Highlights include:

Amanda Seymour discusses the prevalence of "false nostalgia" at the homes of the first five presidents and offers practical solutions to create a more inclusive, nuanced history.
Dr. Bernard Powers reveals that African American church records are a rich but often overlooked source for developing a more complete portrayal of individuals and communities.
Dr. David Young, executive director of Cliveden, uses his experience in reinterpreting this National Historic Landmark to identify four ways that people respond to a history that has been too often untold, ignored, or appropriated—and how museums and historic sites can constructively respond.
Dr. Matthew Pinsker explains that historic sites may be missing a huge opportunity in telling the story of freedom and emancipation by focusing on the underground railroad rather than its much bigger "upper-ground" counterpart.
Martha Katz-Hyman tackles the challenges of interpreting the material culture of both enslaved and free African Americans in the years before the Civil War by discussing the furnishing of period rooms.
Dr. Benjamin Filene describes three "micro-public history" projects that lead to new ways of understanding the past, handling source limitations, building partnerships, and reaching audiences.
Andrea Jones shares her approach for engaging students through historical simulations based on the "Fight for Your Rights" school program at the Atlanta History Center.
A exhibit on African American Vietnam War veterans at the Heinz History Center not only linked local and international events, but became an award-winning model of civic engagement.
A collaboration between a university and museum that began as a local history project interpreting the Scottsboro Boys Trial as a website and brochure ended up changing Alabama law.

A list of national organizations and an extensive bibliography on the interpretation of African American history provide convenient gateways to additional resources.

Foreword by Lonnie G. Bunch, III
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Chapter 1: Pride and Prejudice: Interpreting Slavery at the Homes of Five Founding Fathers, Amanda Seymour
Chapter 2: Developing Comprehensive and Conscientious Interpretation of Slavery at Historic Sites and Museums, Kristin L. Gallas and James DeWolf Perry
Chapter 3: Interpreting Difficult Knowledge, Julia Rose
Chapter 4: Expanding Interpretation at Historic Sites: When Change Brings Conflict, David W. Young
Chapter 5: There is a Doctor in the House--and he's Black, Michelle L. McClellan
Chapter 6: Finding Sarah Bickford, William Peterson
Chapter 7: Documenting Local African American Community History, Lila Teresa Church
Chapter 8: Interpreting the Upper-Ground Railroad, Matthew Pinsker
Chapter 9: Churches as Places of History: The Case of Nineteenth Century Charleston, South Carolina, Bernard E. Powers, Jr.
Chapter 10: Imagining Slave Square: Resurrecting History through Cemetery Research and Interpretation, D L Henderson
Chapter 11: Furnishing Slave Quarters and Free Black Homes: Adding a Powerful Tool to Interpreting African American Life, Martha B. Katz-Hyman
Chapter 12: Six Degrees of Separation: Using Social Media and Digital Platforms to Enhance African American History Projects, Lynn Rainville
Chapter 13: Asking Big Questions of a Small Place, George W. McDaniel
Chapter 14: Power in Limits: Narrow Frames Open Up African American Public History, Benjamin Filene
Chapter 15: Connecting Students with Community History, Stacia Kuceyeski
Chapter 16: Do You Have What it Takes to be a Freedom Fighter?, Andrea K. Jones
Chapter 17: Preserving Los Angeles’ African American Historic Places, Jenny Scanlin and Teresa Grimes
Chapter 18: More Than Just a Building: Interpreting the Legacy of the Frederick Douglass Elementary School, Wendi Manuel-Scott and Sara Howard-O’Brien
Chapter 19: Soul Soldiers: Giving Voice to Vietnam’s Veterans, Robbie Davis
Chapter 20: Making African American History Relevant through Co-Creation and Community Service Learning, Robert Connolly and Ana M. Rea
Chapter 21: The Scottsboro Boys Museum: University-Community Collaboration Yields Unanticipated Results, Ellen Griffith Spears and Shelia Washington

Selected Bibliography on the Interpretation of African American History and Culture
National Organizations
Index
About the Author and Contributors

What a gift it will be when museums and historic sites can help our publics understand that they are shaped, touched, and made better by African American history, all day, every day. The essays in this volume give me hope that that day is not too far distant.