McDaniel Consulting LLC

What They Left Behind

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“Museums Honor Victims of Tragedies by Preserving Memorials”

NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, March 24, 2018

 

A few weeks back, I was contacted by NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt—they were planning a piece on how museums are honoring the victims of tragedies by preserving memorials, and they were inquiring about our efforts to preserve the many thousands of tangible expressions of grief after the tragedy at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, in 2015. This past Saturday, NBC aired the piece immediately following their opening segment on the “March For Our Lives” rallies. It was a powerful piece. While the editors chose to feature Charleston only by way of a photograph, they did make it very clear how much it means to family members and the community when museums preserve artifacts that people have left in response. It was touching to see Orlando curator Pam Schwartz in tears as she discussed an artifact and to hear the two family members discuss how important it was to know their loved ones had been remembered and valued. The personal and the professional — two sides to our life in museums.  

 

 

You can view the NBC Nightly News segment on preserving memorials here. 

 

Read more on this important topic in my recent post on “Archiving Grief”—it contains links to additional coverage that describes efforts by curators, historians, and local officials to remember those who were lost, to help families and communities heal, and to help educate future generations so that this tragic period in our history will not be forgotten.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

George W. McDaniel, Ph.D., is President of McDaniel Consulting, LLC, a strategy firm that helps organizations use history to build bridges within itself and to its broader constituents. The company’s tag line, “Building Bridges through History,” is grounded in McDaniel’s personal beliefs and his experience in site management, preservation, education, board development, fundraising, and community outreach. Rather than using history to divide us, he strives to help organizations use history, especially local history, to enhance cross-cultural understanding and to support local museums, preservation, and education.  Dr. McDaniel recently led volunteer efforts with Emanuel AME Church and historical organizations in Charleston to use historic preservation to enhance racial reconciliation and healing. McDaniel is also the Executive Director Emeritus of Drayton Hall, a historic site in Charleston, SC, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

A frequent writer, speaker, and facilitator about such issues, he can be reached at gmcdaniel4444@gmail.com or through his website at www.mcdanielconsulting.net.

 

 

Header Image:  NBC Nightly News, March 24, 2018

 

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