New York History Month

November Is New York State History Month

November 9, 2015 by Editorial Staff 7 Comments

In 1997, the New York State Legislature established November as New York State History Month “to celebrate the history of New York state and recognize the contributions of the state and local historians.” The celebration has been mostly ignored since 2002.

In 2014, the New York State Museum launched a New York State History Month page on its website, which included links to state-wide and regional history resources and a listing of museum events. This year, there is a more comprehensive History Events web calendar. [Read more…] about November Is New York State History Month

Bruce Dearstyne: Leadership and NYS History Month

November 18, 2014 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

New York State History Month (November) is just over half through. November was designated in statute in 1997 as State History Month but it has been mostly ignored, until this year.

Last year, State Historian Bob Weible wrote a post in these pages entitled “Is NYS History Month Dead?” which suggested using the month for public history events. Thanks to Bob’s leadership and initiative, State History Month now has a higher visibility and momentum, as described in his recent follow-up. [Read more…] about Bruce Dearstyne: Leadership and NYS History Month

NYS Museum Celebrates NYS History Month

November 6, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The New York State Museum will celebrate New York State History Month (November) with a variety of free, public programs for children, families and adults.

The Museum will also open a new exhibition that explores the history of the Shaker community on November 15, The Shakers: America’s Quiet Revolutionaries. [Read more…] about NYS Museum Celebrates NYS History Month

History Month Events At Albany University Club

October 31, 2014 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The University Club of Albany is presenting a series of 10 events to celebrate New York State History Month – all are open to the public.

The events will be held at the University Club, 141 Washington Avenue at Dove Street, in Albany, NY. Programs are listed below; reservations may be made online at www.universityclubalbany.com or by calling (518) 463-1151. [Read more…] about History Month Events At Albany University Club

The State Historian on NYS History Month 2014

October 29, 2014 by Robert Weible 4 Comments

It’s been a very good year for history in New York. The state’s historians, archivists, educators, preservationists, and curators have, over the course of the past twelve months, coordinated their efforts and raised public awareness of New York’s history as never before. And now, as November approaches, it’s clear that History Month is going to make a good year even better.

There will indeed be more and better History Month programming taking place all across New York in 2014 than in recent years. And thanks to the New York State Museum, a program of the New York State Board of Regents and State Education Department, there’s even a History Month logo to help unite and brand all of the state’s History Month programs. Any historical or cultural organization offering November history programs can—and should—use the logo. It’s easily available. Just grab the logo above, or e-mail Bridget Enderle at benderle@mail.nysed.gov for a higher resolution copy. [Read more…] about The State Historian on NYS History Month 2014

November Is New York State History Month

October 13, 2014 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

November is New York State History Month, designated by Section 52.04 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law as the time “to celebrate the history of New York state and recognize the contributions of state and local historians.”

This is the perfect time to get some well-deserved recognition for officially designated local government historians, historical societies, and others who are preserving, interpreting, and presenting state and local history. It should be a particularly good opportunity for local government historians — their appointments are authorized by law and State History Month is designated by law. [Read more…] about November Is New York State History Month

Ignoring New York’s 350th Birthday

September 16, 2014 by Bruce Dearstyne 3 Comments

One of the news items in a recent summary of “This Week’s Top New York History News” here at The New York History Blog had a link to an article from the Albany Times Union (reprinted from the New York Times), entitled “New York Won’t Celebrate 350th Birthday.” The article noted that neither the city nor the state was commemorating the takeover of New Netherland by the British in August, 1664.

The writer suggested that “a dispassion for the past” among the public was a basic explanation. [Read more…] about Ignoring New York’s 350th Birthday

Bruce Dearstyne: The Proposed NYS History Commission

June 5, 2014 by Bruce Dearstyne 4 Comments

Last week, Assemblyman Steve Englebright held a “roundtable” on his bill to create a Commission on New York State History (Assembly 6226-A) at the Legislative Office Building in Albany.

I was unaware of the bill before being invited to attend and speak at the meeting, but was very encouraged after reading the bill, and even more encouraged after hearing from Assemblyman Englebright. The proposed Commission is the most promising development in state and local history policy in several years.

The bill has the potential to lead and coordinate activities and programs that now operate mostly in isolation from each other, provide support and advice for historical programs, strengthen the role of officially designated local historians, foster more extensive and creative use of public history, encourage the use of technology, help with heritage tourism, and overall strengthen the state’s historical enterprise. [Read more…] about Bruce Dearstyne: The Proposed NYS History Commission

New York State History Month: What Can We Do?

October 29, 2013 by Bruce Dearstyne 1 Comment

November is New York State History Month. The purpose, according to Section 52.02 of the state Arts and Cultural Affairs Law is to “celebrate the history of New York State and recognize the contributions of state and local historians.”

State Historian Bob Weible’s very informative October 22 post on the history of History Month reminds us that “its fate really depends on us.”

That’s certainly true for History Month, and true for the future of the historical enterprise generally. [Read more…] about New York State History Month: What Can We Do?

Bob Weible: Is NYS History Month Dead?

October 22, 2013 by Robert Weible 9 Comments

It’s true. November is New York State History Month.

In 1997, New York’s legislature added Section 57.02 to the state’s Arts and Cultural Affairs Law and 1) designated November as New York State History Month, 2) defined the purpose of the month as the celebration of state history and the recognition of the contributions of state and local historians, and 3) authorized the Education Department to undertake projects to recognize the month (while the legislation failed to identify any specific projects, it did suggest student essay contests as one possibility). [Read more…] about Bob Weible: Is NYS History Month Dead?