AHR Featured in Nation Article on Tulsa Race Massacre (June 2021)

A Nation article by David M. Perry featured Karlos Hill’s essay, “Community-Engaged History: A Reflection on the 100th Anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre,” which appears in the June 2021 issue of the American Historical Review. Perry’s article, “Confronting the Myth of Objectivity,” discussed Hill’s work teaching the Tulsa Race Massacre.

AHA Member and Perspectives Article Featured on Slate (June 2021)

AHA member Dina Kalman Spoerl (Naper Settlement) was featured in a Slate article, “‘This Blue Is the One She Wore Last,’” on May 30, 2021. The Slate article shares photos and excerpts from the scrapbook introduced in Spoerl’s April 2021 “Clothing Scrapbook” contribution to Perspectives on History’s “Everything Has a History” series.

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Article on Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy (May 2021)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in a Hechinger Report article published at NBC News, “Can Critical Race Theory and Patriotism Coexist in Classrooms?” about divisions in how to approach history and civics curricula. “If people are fighting about history, that shows that it’s important,” Grossman said. “It’s what historians want them to do.”

National Coalition for History Issues Statement Opposing “Divisive Concepts” Legislation (May 2021)

The National Coalition for History (NCH) has released a statement opposing the passage of so-called “divisive concepts” legislation currently under consideration in numerous state legislatures. NCH “deplores the intent of these bills to foment confusion and have a chilling effect on teachers,” the statement said. “We denounce such bills as thinly veiled attempts to place limits on a curriculum which fosters a comprehensive and critical look at our history from a variety of perspectives.” The NCH provides leadership in history-related advocacy. The AHA is a member of the Coalition, and AHA representatives serve on its executive committee.

AHA Letter on Texas Education Bill Featured in Houston Chronicle (May 2021)

The AHA’s recent letter objecting to Texas House Bill 3979, legislation regarding the social studies curriculum in Texas public schools, was featured in a Houston Chronicle article about historians’ opposition to the bill.

AHR Featured on National Public Radio (May 2021)

An NPR article by Suzanne Perez featured Andrew Denning's essay "Deep Play? Video Games and the Historical Imaginary," which appeared in the American Historical Review’s March 2021 issue. In Perez’s article, Denning discussed historically themed video games such as Call of Duty: World War II, their potential applications in teaching history, and ways the public might use them to connect with history. 

Inside Higher Ed Publishes Article by Former AHA President and Current Executive Director (May 2021)

Former AHA president Mary Beth Norton (Cornell Univ.) and AHA executive director Jim Grossman have published an opinion piece in Inside Higher Ed, “Everything Has a History — but Only for the Elite?” TThe op-ed examines the recent decision by Aston University (UK) to dissolve its history department in the context of a broader attack on humanities teaching. “Especially at nonelite universities, governing boards and administrators have mistakenly assumed that history and other humanities subjects do not prepare students for jobs,” Norton and Grossman write. “History, like other humanities disciplines, might not prepare students for particular jobs. But it prepares them for a life of careers. Students who learn to think historically will be lifelong learners. In the 21st–century economy, that is rather practical indeed.” 

AHA-FDU Survey Featured in Time (April 2021)

In Time, AHA member Pete Burkholder and AHA deputy director Dana Schaffer report on the findings of a recent national survey “of people’s understandings and uses of the past.” The survey is a collaboration between the American Historical Association and Fairleigh Dickinson University, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the full results will be released later this summer. While “the survey data suggest the divisions are real when it comes to how we think about our collective past,” Burkholder and Schaffer write, “our findings offer a possible path out of the history wars by changing the focus from what sets of facts are taught to how they are taught.” 

AHA-FDU Public Engagement with History Survey Featured on History News Network (April 2021)

At History News Network, AHA member Peter Burkholder reported on some interesting trends revealed in a national survey recently conducted by the AHA and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the survey explored public engagement with history and showed that Americans prefer to “get information about the past” through video more than any other source.  The full results of the survey will be published later this summer on the AHA website. Burkholder also spoke about the survey in an interview with WCCO radio (Minneapolis) in May 2021. 

AHA President Quoted in New York Times (April 2021)

AHA president Jacqueline Jones (Univ. of Texas, Austin) was quoted in a New York Times article, “A New Benefit Raises an Old Question: Which Mothers Should Work?” about the expansion of the child tax credit. 

AHA Executive Director Quoted in Article on the Great Migration (April 2021)

AHA executive director Jim Grossman was quoted in a Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal article by Danny McArthur on the history of the Great Migration and racial violence in the South. “The country is reshaped,” Grossman said. “When 7 million people move from one region to two other regions, the West and the North, every aspect of national life is affected.” 

AHA Managing Editor Featured in Podcast (April 2021)

AHA managing editor Laura Ansley spoke with AHA member Christina Gessler on the New Books Network podcast The Academic Life for the episode “An Inside Look at the American Historical Association: An Interview with Laura Ansley.” According to the episode description, “In this episode you’ll hear about: Laura’s reasons for leaving academia, the path to her job at the American Historical Association, what the AHA is, how the insurrection on the US Capital on January 6th made historians ’relevant,’ and how historians continue to teach both inside and outside academia.” 

AHR Article Featured in Smithsonian Magazine (April 2021)

Monica H. Green's article “The Four Black Deaths,” which appeared in the American Historical Review’s December 2020 issue, was featured in a Smithsonian Magazine article by by David M. Perry. Perry described the significance of the “landmark” article and spoke with Green about her interdisciplinary research process. 

AHA Statement on Violence against Asians and Asian Americans Featured in Media Coverage (March 2021)

The AHA’s recent Statement on Violence against Asians and Asian Americans has received coverage in several media outlets, including Hyperallergic; the Moultrie News, which reprinted the statement in full; and The Michigan Daily. 

AHA Executive Director Quoted in the New York Times (March 2021)

AHA executive director James Grossman was quoted in a New York Times article by Concepción de León on the life and legacy of Black artist Augusta Savage. “Public art,” Grossman noted, “should align with a community’s values.” 

Perspectives on History Article Reprinted in Hill Rag (March 2021)

AHA’s Lawsuit Challenging ICE Records Disposition Covered by News Organizations (March 2021)

The AHA’s participation as plaintiffs in a successful lawsuit against the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has received coverage from the American Independent, Business Insider, and The Hill. The lawsuit challenged NARA’s approval of ICE’s records disposition, which would have authorized ICE to destroy several categories of records documenting mistreatment of immigrants detained in ICE custody.

AHA Director of Research and Publications Featured in KKTV11 News Segment (March 2021)

AHA director of research and publications Sarah Weicksel was featured in a KKTV11 news segment on the effort to restore the name of Devils Tower, a national monument in Wyoming and “sacred, hallowed ground” to at least 15 tribal nations, to Bear’s Lodge.

AHA Letter to John Carroll University Leaders Featured in Ideastream (March 2021)

Ideastream reported on the recent decision by John Carroll University’s Board of Directors to add a “budgetary hardship” amendment to the university’s Faculty Handbook, a de facto elimination of tenure. The article cited the AHA’s letter to JCU leaders urging them to reconsider the decision. 

ACLS Letter to Iowa Lawmakers Featured in The Gazette (March 2021)

The Gazette reported on a letter the American Council of Learned Societies sent to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and state legislative leaders on March 4. The letter, which was signed by the AHA and more than 30 other scholarly societies and associations, strongly encouraged lawmakers to oppose House File 496 and Senate File 41, “which would remove the status of tenure for professors and discontinue the practice at Iowa’s three public universities.”