The AHA has a broad responsibility to advocate for the historical discipline and to enable our members and affiliates to carry out their own priorities. We are united across our different missions in our shared commitment to furthering historical work. At a time of unprecedented global threats to historical scholarship, the AHA Council is prioritizing direct action to support the discipline and its institutions as a whole.
The Council received two resolutions for consideration at the 2026 annual business meeting: the “Resolution in Solidarity with Gaza” and the “Resolution Opposing Attacks on Core Principles of Education.” The Council has heard powerful expressions from members about threats to academic freedom and the needs of Palestinian historians and appreciates the work of affiliated societies to address these concerns. In response, the Council has taken direct actions on topics addressed in both proposed resolutions. Under its authority to set the business meeting agenda, and after careful review in light of the obligations and realities the AHA faces in its role as a professional advocate for the entirety of the discipline, the Council will not place the proposed resolutions on the agenda.
In our legal obligations as fiduciaries of the AHA, the Council has a responsibility to act in the long-term best interests of the Association, which represents the whole community of historians and their work. This obligation includes the duty of carrying out the AHA’s mission, safeguarding its charter, and sustaining the work of the Association.
As previously announced, and as part of the AHA’s mission to defend, sustain, and enhance the work of historians in the United States and abroad, the Council unanimously supported the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee to Aid Palestinian Historians. This committee will provide guidance for the Association’s efforts and complements the AHA’s longstanding partnership with Scholars at Risk and the work of other committees, including the Committee on International Historical Activities.
In light of continuing threats to the historical discipline, academic freedom, and freedom of speech, the AHA established the Ad Hoc Committee on Academic Freedom. This committee convenes historians from many institutional backgrounds and other scholars and practitioners with relevant expertise to aid the Association in its longstanding work with affiliated societies and other scholarly associations to advocate collectively for academic freedom.
The Council gratefully acknowledges the work of AHA members serving on committees and working groups and participating in the new Community Action and Resource Exchange network. If you are interested in supporting these or other initiatives now or in the future, please contact us at info@historians.org.