historic preservation

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• SOURCE: BBC
  10/24/2022
  

  The Hidden History of Black Coal Towns

  The New River Gorge is one of the newest National Parks. Beyond natural beauty, the region allows visitors to learn the history of African American coal miners and their communities in West Virginia. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  9/4/2022
  

  Landmark Building Embodies Past and Present of DC's Black Community

  The True Reformer Building in Washington is likely the first in the nation to be designed, funded, built and owned by African Americans as part of a comprehensive mission of economic and social self-reliance and uplift in the early 20th century. 

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• SOURCE: Christian Science Monitor
  9/1/2022
  

  New Approach at Montpelier: Let All Voices Rise

  After a controversial battle over how to incorporate the descendants of people enslaved by James Madison, Montpelier is beginning to highlight artifacts—and the process of discovering them—related to the lives of enslaved people at the estate. 

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• SOURCE: NBC News
  8/14/2022
  

  Airbnb Listings Latest Case of Trivializing, Commercializing Slave Cabins

  Preservationists like Joseph McGill Jr., founder of the Slave Dwelling Project, say the commercialization of plantation sites has been happening for decades. 

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• 8/14/2022
  

  Remembering David McCullough Off the Page, as a Champion of Preservation

  by Richard Moe

  Having known the late David McCullough through his work advocating historic preservation, the author says McCullough lived a maxim of John Adams he often quoted: while he achieved success, he was more driven to work to deserve it.

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• 8/7/2022
  

  Climate Change Just Erased the Past in Kentucky. Where Will it Happen Next?

  by Tina A. Irvine

  The archives of the Hindman Settlement School in Knott County were inundated by flood waters on July 28—a devastating loss of one community's history and culture, and a warning to historians that our knowledge of the past is at risk from climate change. 

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• SOURCE: Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
  3/16/2022
  

  Montpelier Board Appoints 11 Members from Descendants Committee

  The move may finally deliver on the board's promise to grant parity in the governance of the James Madison estate to the descendants of persons enslaved at Montpelier. 

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  5/2/2022
  

  Is Historic Preservation Ruining American Cities?

  by Jacob Anbinder

  Historic preservation laws often have a loose relationship to the actual historic significance of buildings, and an even looser relationship to the interests of cities in meeting their residents' social needs. 

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• SOURCE: James Madison's Montpelier
  4/27/2022
  

  Montpelier Board Pushes Back Against Accusation they Excluded Descendants' Committee Leadership

  The Montpelier Foundation board argues that the organization representing the descendants of those enslaved at James Madison's estate has rejected good faith cooperation in order to score political points in the latest escalation of the battle over how the Founder's relationship to slavery should be portrayed. 

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• SOURCE: Our Towns Foundation
  4/28/2022
  

  How Powerful Stories are Rebuilding a Church

  by Deborah Fallows

  "The stories of Mt. Holly have become the sinew that could connect the town, or borough, as it is officially designated, from its past glory days, through some recent decline, to a new version of thriving."

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• SOURCE: Richmond Times-Dispatch
  4/19/2022
  

  Reversal on Power-Sharing Shows Montpelier Really Wants to Stop Talking About Slavery

  by Michael Paul Williams

  “They wanted to yank the narrative of Montpelier away from slavery, despite all of their protestations to the contrary,” said board member James French, chair of the Montpelier Descendants Committee.

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• SOURCE: NPR
  4/20/2022
  

  Montpelier Descendants Call Foul on Board over Firings

  The firing of three senior staff members who support the involvement of the Montpelier Descendants Committee in the public presentation of James Madison's estate, and the slavery practiced there, has raised questions about whether Montpelier is committed to historical honesty. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/18/2022
  

  Montpelier Staffers: We Were Fired for Backing Descendants' Group

  The firings suggest that there is a backlash by members of the Montpelier board against recent changes in the presentation of James Madison's participation in slavery. 

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• SOURCE: National Trust for Historic Preservation
  4/18/2022
  

  National Trust Condemns Actions Against Staff at Montpelier

  "The National Trust strongly condemns these actions against highly regarded and nationally recognized professionals, which will impede the effective stewardship of Montpelier and diminish important public programming at this highly significant historic site."  

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  4/5/2022
  

  WaPo Editorial: Montpelier Estate Board Shredding Agreement to Include Descendants of Enslaved in Decisionmaking

  The Post Editorial Board says "Montpelier has a problem. It has gone from being a model for other such sites nationwide to being an embarrassment."

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• SOURCE: The Metropole
  3/30/2022
  

  Historic Preservation and the Erasure of Women's History in Pittsburgh

  by David S. Rotenstein

  "Preservation is a fraught, power-laden process that reinforces racial, class, and gender biases. As old places become “historic,” they frequently get new names that are then inscribed upon space."

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/25/2022
  

  Madison's Montpelier Board Strips Power from Enslaved Descendants' Group

  "Matt Reeves, the director of archaeology said he fears the effort to cut off the committee is aimed at undoing years of progress in conveying a more honest and complete view of history. 'They really want a narrative that’s restricted to nothing that’s negative about James Madison'.”

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• SOURCE: San Francisco Classical Voice
  3/20/2022
  

  Preserving the Past in the Digital Age Still a Headache

  "Our information and cultural history may not be as secure as we believe it to be."

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• SOURCE: Paste
  2/14/2022
  

  A Civil Rights Tour of America

  Writer Garrett Martin identifies the key sites on a tour of civil rights history institutions in Atlanta, Alabama, Memphis and Washington. 

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• SOURCE: NPR
  1/17/2022
  

  A Texas-Born Princess and Former Scandalous Washington Wife May Lose Roman Villa in Epic Inheritance Fight

  Princess Rita Boncompagni-Ludovisi, born Rita Carpenter, the former wife of Congressman John Jenrette, has worked for 19 years to make Rome's Villa Aurora accessible to scholars.