The history community does not do a good job advocating for itself. I am not referring to the actions an individual history organization may take on behalf of its own organization. I’m referring to collective action on behalf of the entire history community within the state.
The major exception to this generalization is the historic preservation community. It sometimes has its own statewide organizations, conferences, and agenda items for lobbying state legislators. Unfortunately, the history community itself may be lacking such an organized and concerted effort.
To read about the lessons from a recent state history conference with regard to history community advocacy click here.
I totally agree. Unless we band together to advocate for ourselves, no one else will do it. Historical societies working in conjunction with municipal historians and local citizens who enjoy history do great work. It is imperative that we work together to get the general public to appreciate not only their local heritage but how collectively we have developed our unique local identities in the mainstream of American history
So how do we go about doing that in Westchester?
Commemorating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution provides an excellent opportunity. In 2014 the town of Eastchester and its two villages overcame past differences as when we collaborated on celebrating the 250th anniversary of the town.