This issue of Fortnightly News [September 2024] includes major policy interventions on the part of the AHA. We’re more active than any comparable association in our activism on behalf of the work of historians, whether the professional integrity of teachers in states considering and/or enacting “divisive concepts” legislation, state social studies standards, or reminding congressional staff that everything has a history and why that history matters. We also occasionally sign onto amicus curiae briefs when historical method and accuracy stand at the center of the issue.
The AHA cannot, does not, and should not intervene everywhere. We don’t comment on controversies in other disciplines. As a membership association, we keep our distance from issues that are controversial within and among our members. And we keep in mind that our effectiveness rests on our legitimacy, our reputation for even-handedness, professional integrity, and appropriately narrow boundaries.
See the AHA’s Guiding Principles for Taking a Public Stance.
~Jim Grossman, AHA executive director