My project focuses on strategies for sharing some of the most pressing preservation issues of our time in a palatable format for larger audiences, essential to moving the field into a much bolder and bigger direction. Through writing and creating a public-facing content, I look forward to sharing how historic preservation interfaces with just about every aspect of public life. This effort not only will help shift the field toward more inclusive models of civic engagement, but also resonate with communities across the country that have not “seen” themselves in the work that is so fundamental to who we are as a nation. With current US political discourse around banning the teaching of certain aspects of American history, for the sake of “comfort,” historic preservation should be at the forefront of helping to shape conversations toward just and equitable outcomes for all.

The photograph of Monica Rhodes was taken by Corban Swain.