Live Webinar: Making History at 250: The Field Guide for the Semiquincentennial

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Webinar Description

In just five years, the United States will commemoration the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence. The Semiquincentennial offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to renew public engagement with history, to transform and strengthen our field, and to help audiences reflect upon the full complexity and diversity of our nation’s past. 

That’s why AASLH is thrilled to announce that on July 1, we will publish Making History at 250: The Field Guide for the Semiquincentennial, a new resource to help the history community prepare for 2026. Developed with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and in collaboration with colleagues across the country, this publication will feature guiding themes, big-picture goals, and inspiring ideas to help you consider how you can contribute to the 250th commemoration. Whether you’ve already begun planning or are still unsure if and how your community will take part, Making History at 250 will help us all consider how we can  fulfill the potential of this anniversary. 

Tweet about the event and the Field Guide using #MakingHistory250


With remarks from:

Vedet Coleman-Robinson, Association of African American Museums

John R. Dichtl, American Association for State and Local History 

Anthea Hartig, Smithsonian National Museum of American History

Crosby Kemper III, Institute for Museum and Library Services

Adam Wolfson, National Endowment for the Humanities 

Roundtable Conversation with:

Terry Brown, America 250 Foundation / National Park Service

Brandie Macdonald, Museum of Us

Aimee Newell, Museum of the American Revolution / AASLH Small Museums Committee


Details

DATE: July 1, 2021

TIME: 3:00 - 4:30 pm EASTERN (Remember to adjust for your time zone)

COST: FREE TO ALL

ACCESS: You will be provided with instructions on how to access the live event upon registration.

Recording and Captioning

We will record this event. Access the Recorded Webinar in the AASLH Resource Center after the event has passed. Registrants of this event receive complimentary access to the recording in their Dashboard.

Real-time captioning is provided for the live event. A transcript is provided with the recording.

How to Register

Click here for instructions on how to register yourself or another user for this event. 

Terry E. Brown

Director of Federal Partnerships

America 250 Foundation / National Park Service

Email: tbrown@america250.org

Terry E. Brown is on special assignment to the U.S. Semiquincentennial Comission serving as the Director of Federal Partnerships. He is the former Superintendant of Fort Monroe National Monument and a long-time veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), with more than 30 years in federal service. Under his leaderhsip at Ft. Monroe, innovation fluorished across all program areas, including science, interpretation, natural resources, law enforcement, cultural resources, and administration. Terry helped organize and lead the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in English North America, which culminated with the joint ribbon-cutting on a Fort Monroe Visitor Center and a Healing Day Ceremony. He served as a liaison to the Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees, and in 2018 he was selected by the Secretary of Interior to serve as a member of the Federal 400 Years of African American History Commission. He is the recipient of several NPS awards and honors. 



Brandie Macdonald

Director of Decolonizing Initiatives

San Diego Museum of Us

Email: bmacdonald@museumofus.org

Brandie Macdonald (Indigenous: Chickasaw/Choctaw; pronouns: she/her) is the Director of Decolonizing Initiatives at the Museum of Us which resides on the ancestral Indigenous homeland of Kumeyaay peoples located in San Diego, California. Brandie's work focuses on the application of anti-colonial/decolonial theory and practice in museums that become a catalysis for systemic reform—which centers truth-telling, accountability, and actionable change to redress colonial impact, structural racism, and inequity. Brandie is also a Ph.D. student in Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. Her research aligns with her work, where she focuses on the tangible and sustainable application of decolonial practices in society that become a catalyst for transformative change. She’s a Salzburg Global Seminar Fellow, American Alliance of Museums’ Nancy Hanks Award for Professional Excellent recipient, a Smithsonian Affiliate Fellow at the National Museum of the American Indian, and she currently sits on the board of the Western Museums Association.    

Aimee E. Newell

Director of Collections and Exhibitions

Museum of the American Revolution / AASLH Small Museums Committee

Email: anewell@amrevmuseum.org

Aimee E. Newell is the Director of Collections and Exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Previously, she worked as the Executive Director of the Luzerne County Historical Society (Wilkes-Barre, PA) and of the Stonington Historical Society (in Connecticut). She has held curatorial positions at the Nantucket Historical Association, Old Sturbridge Village and the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Newell has a PhD in History from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst and an MBA from Suffolk University. She currently serves on AASLH’s Small Museums Committee and the Standards and Ethics Committee.

John Dichtl

President and CEO

American Association for State and Local History (AASLH)

Email: dichtl@aaslh.org

John Dichtl became AASLH President & CEO in 2015. Prior to that he was the executive director of the National Council on Public History (NCPH) for nine years, and worked for the Organization of American Historians for fourteen years as deputy director and in several other roles. John received his MA and PhD in early American history from Indiana University, and from 2006 to 2015 was an adjunct faculty member of the history department at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Before graduate school he worked for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He is a 2004 graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration, a program that stems from an AASLH partnership with the Indiana Historical Society and other organizations. John helped to found the History Relevance Campaign, the International Federation for Public History, and is active in the National Coalition for History.

Click here for instructions on how to register yourself or another user for this event. 

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