AHA Executive Director Quoted in USA Today Article on Presidential Records Act (September 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in a USA Today article by Maureen Groppe and Nick Penzenstadler about potential changes to strengthen the Presidential Records Act after the Trump administration’s reported mishandling of federally owned documents. “During Watergate, we learned why it was important for records to belong to the American people,” Grossman said. “As long as there was a notion that those tapes and other records belonged to Richard Nixon, that made it impossible for the American people to know what happened.”

AHA’s 2022 Jobs Report Featured in Inside Higher Ed Article (August 2022)

The AHA’s recently published 2022 Jobs Report, which analyzed academic hiring in history for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 cycles, was featured in an Inside Higher Ed article by Colleen Flaherty. The Jobs Report used AHA Career Center data, along with other sources, to examine history faculty job hiring.

AHA Special Projects Coordinator Testifies to Texas State Board of Education (September 2022)

On August 30, AHA special projects coordinator Julia Brookins provided testimony at a meeting of the Texas State Board of Education regarding proposed revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies. “Learning to do history gives students powerful examples of individual agency and decision-making and it teaches them to see larger patterns in human societies. They can recognize not just commonalities but also fundamental, almost unimaginable differences in human experiences across time and place. This will expand their vision and help them live well in today's world,” Brookins said. “The students of Texas deserve good lists of great thinkers, but much more than that, they need to learn how to think. I hope this body will focus on that. Indulging authoritarian impulses, whether they come from parents, voters, or state officials, is not the way to get Texas students ready for the marketplace of ideas. You cannot censor your way to great schools.” Brookins’ testimony begins at 1:49:15 of Part 1.

AHA and OAH Amicus Curiae Brief for Haaland v. Brackeen Featured in Native News Online (August 2022)

An amicus curiae brief submitted by the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians was featured in a Native News Online article by Andrew Kennard. The article summarizes the amicus briefs submitted to the US Supreme Court for Haaland v. Brackeen, a case that questions the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (IWCA). The brief submitted by the AHA and the OAH, Kennard writes, “puts ICWA in the context of the United States’ legacy of removing Native children from their homes, dating back to the federal Indian boarding school era.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Times Article on Portrayals of Slavery at Presidential Homes (August 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a Washington Times article by Sean Salai about the increased presence of information about slavery at presidential homes such as Washington’s Mount Vernon, Jefferson’s Monticello, and Madison’s Montpelier. “It is not possible to exaggerate the importance of ideas about race and the dynamics of human slavery in trying to understand the world views of Jefferson, Madison, and Washington,” said Grossman.

AHA Special Projects Coordinator Testifies to Texas State Board of Education (August 2022)

On August 1, AHA special projects coordinator Julia Brookins provided testimony at a special meeting of the Texas State Board of Education regarding proposed revisions to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Social Studies. “Texas history and the histories that you are considering here really have a lifelong impact on a lot of people,” Brookins said. “The drafts could continue to use review by scholars in each of the major subject areas, in particular for factual accuracy. . . . I recommend that the Board ask the work groups to revisit that language and I encourage . . . the integration of social studies practices into the actual course outcomes.” Brookins’ testimony begins at 2:41:16 of Part 2.

Amicus Curiae Brief and AHA-OAH Statement on Dobbs Decision Featured in News Outlets (July 2022)

AHA Executive Director Featured on KNX In Depth Podcast (July 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was featured on the KNX In Depth podcast from KNX News, Los Angeles, discussing the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in. Grossman spoke with hosts Mike Simpson and Charles Feldman about Watergate’s significance and its parallels to the events of January 6, 2021.

AHA Executive Director Featured in Article on Academic Conferences in the Post-Roe Era (July 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was featured in a Chronicle of Higher Education article by Sylvia Goodman about the challenges of choosing locations for academic conferences after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision by the Supreme Court. “A law banning abortion makes it impossible for us to ask our members to convene,” Grossman said, noting that the AHA sees this as an issue of equal rights, including access to “appropriate and equal medical treatment.” Grossman also discussed the AHA and OAH’s joint statement on the Dobbs decision, which criticized the majority opinion’s use of history that “did not meet professional standards.”

AHA’s Amicus Brief Featured in Akron Beacon Journal Article (June 2022)

The amicus curiae brief submitted by the AHA and Organization of American Historians for the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was featured in an Akron Beacon Journal article by Michael Douglas. This amicus brief was based on decades of study and research by professional historians, and aimed to provide an accurate historical perspective of abortion in the US. In the article, Douglas discusses the historical inconsistencies that appear in Justice Samuel Alito’s leaked draft opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson.

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Times Article (June 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a Washington Times article by Sean Salai about the waning presence of Flag Day in public schools. Grossman noted that the holiday has come to matter less than “how [the flag’s elements] mean different things to different people. … Perhaps the flag is best thought of not in terms of students memorizing facts about it, but as a source of thoughtful questions in a history or civics class.”

AHA President and AHA Executive Director Featured on New Books Network Podcast (May 2022)

AHA president James Sweet and AHA executive director James Grossman were featured on an episode of the New Books Network’s podcast series on scholarly societies. They spoke with host and New Books Network assistant editor Caleb Zakarin about their involvement with the AHA, the work of historians and humanities scholars, and the AHA’s efforts in advocacy, the academic community, and the public sphere.

AHA‘s Teaching History with Integrity Initiative Featured in Washington Times Article (May 2022)

The AHA’s Teaching History with Integrity initiative was featured in a Washington Times article by Sean Salai about responses to proposed bans on education about race and racism in K-12 classrooms. “To address division, we need to understand its origins and evolution,” AHA executive director James Grossman said of the initiative. “And it’s foolish to pretend that American society does not suffer from a variety of lines of division right now. Everything has a history, including conflict and discord.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Times (April 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a Washington Times article by Sean Salai about the upcoming celebration of Ulysses S. Grant’s 200th birthday, including Grant’s changing legacy over the years. Historians, Grossman explained, have come to see the Civil War as a “war of liberation, rather than a tragic and preventable conflict in which both sides had honorable goals. … Grant becomes the leader of an army of liberation. He also, as president, is increasingly understood as attempting to enforce the implications of that victory, rather than oppressing a victimized region struggling to redeem its governments from the alleged excesses of Reconstruction.”

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Times Article about Rejected Textbooks in Florida (April 2022)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a Washington Times article by Sean Salai about textbooks recently rejected by the Florida Department of Education “because they did not meet state benchmarks or they contained examples of critical race theory and social-emotional learning.” For the majority of the textbooks, no specific explanation was given for their rejections. “It is irresponsible to reject materials while refusing to provide actual examples of what is objectionable,” Grossman said. “This is akin to Joseph McCarthy referring to lists of communists in his pocket.”

AHA Executive Director Featured on NPR Weekend Edition (February 2022)

On NPR Weekend Edition, AHA executive director Jim Grossman discussed the Trump administration’s violations of the Presidential Records Act(PRA) and the importance of preserving presidential records. “All documents are required to be saved by the White House unless the president consults with the archivist of the United States. . . .[T]hese records obviously belong to the American people,” Grossman said. “You never know what's going to get grabbed by the media and by historians as kind of a ‘whoa, they really thought that?’ The point here is that everything must be kept.” The AHA recently released a statement condemning violations of the PRA.

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Washington Post Article on Faculty Response to “Divisive Concepts” Legislation (February 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in a Washington Post article about college faculty members’ pushback against state-level legislation that would limit or prohibit the teaching of “divisive concepts” in American history, especially regarding race and racism. “The ability of students to learn American history that is taught with professional integrity is not a partisan issue,” said Grossman.“No state wants its students to graduate ignorant.”

AHA Executive Director Featured in Article on the Future of Scholarly Societies (February 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was featured in a Scholarly Kitchen article by Robert Harington about the future of scholarly societies in a society fundamentally changed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The AHA “considers the changing landscape of scholarly associations to be filled with new opportunities,” Grossman said. “The AHA has been a vocal advocate for the role of history in public culture and the importance of maintaining the professional integrity of history education as well as research. In the current environment this work is essential and we are confident that our colleagues will continue to support our work.” The article also quoted from Grossman’s recent Perspectives on History column on the future of AHA online programming.

AHA and NCH Executive Directors Quoted in NBC News Article on Presidential Records Act Violations (February 2022)

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Article on Associations’ Responses to “Divisive Concepts” Legislation (February 2022)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in an Associations Now article by Rasheeda Childress about how associations are pushing back against state-level legislation that would prohibit or limit teaching about racism in the US. “One of the things that divides the country is partisanship; another is race,” Grossman said.“If we don’t understand the histories of what divides us, we’re never going to be able to unite, to work together, to establish the kinds of communities that a democracy needs and wants.”