AHA Resources
The Future of the African American Past
On May 19–21, 2016, the American Historical Association (AHA) and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) co-hosted The Future of the African American Past, a landmark conference that brought together over 60 scholars to celebrate the opening of the NMAAHC and consider the future of the study of African American history.
The AHA sent letter to US Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, requesting a timely recommendation to the White House regarding a National Monument in Beaufort, South Carolina, in recognition of Reconstruction.
Whose Memory? Whose Monuments? History, Commemoration, and the Struggle for an Ethical Past
James Grossman: "We cannot erase these histories simply by taking down the reminders."
K-12 Educators Workshop: The Long Civil Rights Movement
Recent historiography is changing historians’ narratives of the civil rights movement. Learn how you can integrate these new developments into your classroom.
"Is It Still Okay to Venerate George Washington and Thomas Jefferson?"
by David Bell, Washington Post (August 17, 2017)
“Charlottesville Violence Was the Result of Political Pressure Cooker, Experts Say"
by Kevin Boyle, Boston Globe (August 13, 2017)
"Irena's Lamp"
by Tyler Stovall, Perspectives on History (December 2017)
“Five Books to Shed Light on America's Problem with White Supremacy"
by Kevin Boyle, The Guardian (August 18, 2017)
Executive Director Interviews
“Historians Question Trump’s Comments on Confederate Monuments"
by Jennifer Schuessler, New York Times (August 15, 2017)
“Are Confederate Monuments Important Works of Art?”
by Nova Safo, Agence France-Presse (August 18, 2017)
"James Grossman on Removal of Confederate Monuments"
with Kimberly Atkins, C-SPAN Washington Journal (August 20, 2017)
“Confederate Statues Were Built to Further a ‘White Supremacist Future’"
by Miles Parks, NPR Politics (August 20, 2017)
AHA Member Op-Eds
“Take the Statues Down"
by Yoni Applebaum, The Atlantic (August 13, 2017)
“‘The Civil War Lies on Us Like a Sleeping Dragon’: America’s Deadly Divide—and Why It Has Returned"
by David Blight, The Guardian (August 20, 2017)
“How Universities Embolden White Nationalists"
by Marcia Chatelain, Chronicle of Higher Education (August 17, 2017)
“Charlottesville Showed That Liberalism Can’t Defeat White Supremacy. Only Direct Action Can"
by Nathan Connolly, Washington Post (August 15, 2017)
AHA Member Interviews
"What Our Monuments (Don't) Teach Us About Remembering The Past"
Interview with Jennifer Allen, NPR Code Switch (August 23, 2017)
"The Shifting History of Confederate Monuments"
Interview with Ed Ayers, PBS NewsHour (August 14, 2017)
“Shock and Outrage at University of Virginia after White Nationalist Rally"
Interview with Brian Balogh, NPR Here and Now (August 14, 2017)
“How Should We Deal with Monuments to Deeply Flawed Historical Figures?”
Interview with Kidada Williams, WDET Detroit Today (August 17, 2017)
Historical Society Statements
ASALH’s Position on Confederate Monuments
by Association for the Study of African American Life and History (September 2017)
Statement on Charlottesville
by National Council on Public History (August 16, 2017)
Medievalists Respond to Charlottesville
by the Medieval Academy of America et al. (August 1, 2017)
On Charlottesville and the Study of the South
by Center for the Study of the American South (August 15, 2017)