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Resource List: Preserving Black History

By Priya Chhaya posted 9 days ago
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During a 2021 interview I did with author and poet Clint Smith , we discussed the origin of the title of his book How the Word is Passed. In that conversation he said, “For many people, history is not about empirical evidence. It is not about primary source documents. It is about a story that they have been told. And it is a story that they tell, it is an heirloom that is passed down across generations, across family, across community.” As preservationists we recognize just how imperative it ...
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The Doctor Is In: Renaming the Edith Farnsworth House

By Special Contributor posted 18 days ago
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By Chris Morris, Rena Zurofsky, and Scott Mehaffey This past year laid bare our growing racial and economic inequities, but also systemic societal inequities that disproportionately affect women of all identities and backgrounds. While we celebrated women’s leadership skills and political prowess, we also confronted the reality that women still face enormous hurdles in our ongoing efforts to achieve economic, professional, medical, and political parity. We in the preservation community also are ...
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On the Hill: A Look Back at 2021 and Expectations for the Remainder of the 117th Congress

By Hanna Stark posted 25 days ago
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As we enter 2022 and the second half of the 117 th Congress, it is important to note the preservation accomplishments of the past year and the federal preservation priorities that still need to be addressed. This year marks a crucial midterm election year where both the House and Senate will look to advance legislation of great importance to the preservation community. Historic Tax Credit Enhancements Throughout 2021 the National Trust for Historic Preservation advocated for enhancements to ...
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A Re-Defining Moment: The Evolving and Creative Practice of Preservation in 2022

By Katherine Malone-France posted 01-05-2022
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By Katherine Malone-France On Main Street in New Iberia, Louisiana, there is a restaurant called Preservation. The first time I ate there, I asked the bartender about the reason for the name and he said, “Everything we do here is about the process of preservation.” He meant, of course, the techniques and cultural traditions of smoking, salting, fermenting, and other ways to preserve food, but that phrase—the process of preservation—has stuck in my mind ever since. In the face of all the challenges ...
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Creating Meaningful Change: A Look Back at 2021

By Priya Chhaya posted 12-27-2021
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Just over a year ago Marisa Brown put together her seven resolutions for 2021 , a clarion call against a return to “normal” after two years of upheaval related to the existential and systemic challenges to the field, particularly in regards to justice and equity. In this story Brown stated, “By year’s end we will begin to know which organizations have instituted meaningful change and which haven’t.” I’ll state up front that there is no magic wand for this work; rather it requires sustained, committed ...
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The National Trust Awards $186,850 in Catalytic Funding to 31 Organizations Across the Country

By Lizzy Barringer posted 12-21-2021
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The National Trust Preservation Fund, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s small dollar grant program, has been providing catalytic funding to organizations across the country for over 50 years. In the October 2021 round, the National Trust received 51 eligible applications and awarded a total of $186,850 in grants to 31 organizations in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about these projects below, and learn how you can apply to our February 1 grant round here and sign ...
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The Performance of Affordable Housing Provisions in State Historic Tax Credits

By Sydney Landers posted 12-15-2021
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According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition report T he Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes (March 2021) , “only 37 affordable and available rental homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households." In the summer of 2021, as the affordable housing intern at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, I wrote a report that evaluated affordable housing provisions in select state historic tax credit (SHTC) laws. State historic tax credits are a legislative means ...
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Next-Generation Preservation Policy: Interrogating the Status Quo

By Erica Avrami posted 12-08-2021
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In 2014, I challenged students with a mock exercise: How would you develop a cost-benefit analysis of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)? Using the Clean Air Act as an example, I demonstrated how a periodic cost-benefit analysis, mandated by law, examines the direct and indirect effects of the legislation. Metrics range from the purely economic to monetized social and environmental indicators, like asthma prevention and better view shed visibility. What would be the metrics—social, cultural, ...
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Revisit PastForward Online 2021 Workshops

By Forum Online posted 11-22-2021
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Over the past three months—before and after PastForward Online 2021 —the National Trust for Historic Preservation hosted a series of two-hour-long workshops as supplements to the conference itself. Each of these sessions are free and open to the public and take a detailed look at some of the bigger issues that preservationists are facing today. These focused workshops are intended to provide a sense of grounding along with practical useable strategies for the work we do as preservationists. From ...
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The 2021 National Preservation Awards

By Forum Online posted 11-04-2021
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The 2021 National Preservation Awards are being presented this week at PastForward 2021 Online . The awards honor inspirational projects, individuals, and organizations that have demonstrated excellence in the field of preservation. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } Louise ...
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Transitioning Older and Historic Sacred Places: A New Tool for Congregations Contemplating the Sale of Property

By Special Contributor posted 11-02-2021
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by Rachel Hildebrandt   In every city, suburb, small town, and rural community across America, congregations in older and historic properties are transitioning their buildings. This is due to well-documented trends signaling the decline of faith-based institutions. For the first time in 80 years, more than half of American adults report that they do not belong to a church, synagogue, or mosque. Not coincidentally, congregations are shrinking—failing to attract younger folks or young families— seeing ...
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Leading the Change Together: A National Impact Agenda for the Preservation Movement

By Special Contributor posted 10-26-2021
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By Di Gao, Leslie Canaan, Renee Kuhlman, Jim Lindberg, Rob Nieweg, and Amy Webb Calls for change in the preservation movement have become increasingly urgent in recent years in response to national and global events including the ongoing pandemic, climate-related disasters, and acts of abhorrent social injustice. In response, the National Trust is facilitating the development of a national agenda for change , titled Leading the Change Together . The draft agenda reflects ideas and recommendations ...
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Standard Operating Procedures for Easement-Holding Organizations

By Raina Regan posted 10-25-2021
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How can preservation organizations ensure consistent stewardship of preservation easements over time, particularly with staff or organizational changes? Developing and adopting policies and procedures can improve the long-term stewardship and enforcement of the agreements they hold. Whether your organization is considering holding easements for the first time or you are looking to update your easement practices, implementing standard operating procedures can direct your program’s success. The National ...
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Blog Series: Reconsidering Celebrations at Sites of Enslavement

By Forum Online posted 10-18-2021
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I n 2019,   Color of Change , the country’s largest online racial justice organization, raised important issues regarding the practice of hosting weddings and other celebrations at historic slave plantation sites. In response, the National Trust for Historic Preservation hosted in December 2020 the Plantation Weddings Symposium, which brought together staff who work at the National Trust’s sites of enslavement, descendants of slavery, and public historians to work collectively to come up with new ...
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Resource List: Locating Latinx History in the United States

By Priya Chhaya posted 10-13-2021
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Every year, the PastForward conference offers a series of meetings that focus on the state of protecting historic sites, landscapes, and the cultural history of various diversity affinity groups . Organized by community members, these sessions discuss successes and challenges and provide resources and guidance to those in attendance. In 2021, the affinity program will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 2. For more information on these sessions—which are free and open to the ...
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Moe Family Fund Grants Awarded to Address “Preservation Priorities”

By Jim Lindberg posted 10-07-2021
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Six organizations are receiving grants from the Moe Family Fund for Statewide and Local Partners to support innovative projects that address key challenges facing the historic preservation movement. Established by former National Trust President Richard Moe and his family, the Moe Family Fund accepts applications from current dues-paying members of the National Preservation Partners Network (NPPN). For 2021 and 2022, grant proposals must address one of four preservation priorities:  Affordable ...
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Four Key Strategies to Designating Denver's La Alma Lincoln Park Historic Cultural District

By Special Contributor posted 09-28-2021
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By Shannon Stage, Annie Levinsky, Kara Hahn On Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, Denver City Council approved the designation of the La Alma Lincoln Park Historic Cultural District by unanimous vote, the first Denver district, and one of the first nationally, designated for association with the Chicano Movement. Among the many eloquent remarks that evening, Tony Garcia, executive artistic director of local nonprofit Su Teatro Cultural & Performing Arts Center , stated, “This is a story about community, ...
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Enhancing Easement Stewardship through GIS

By Special Contributor posted 09-22-2021
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By Raina Regan and Daniel Watts Easement-holding organizations can utilize a variety of technology tools to track their easement stewardship activities. Microsoft Access or Filemaker Pro are two databases that can track information such as property owner contact information, approvals, inspections, property data, and more. However, geospatial technology can provide organizations with additional tools that can aid in the ongoing stewardship of preservation and conservation easements . At the ...
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New Issue Briefs on Key Preservation Issues from the Preservation Priorities Task Force

By Special Contributor posted 09-15-2021
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By Rebecca Harris and Jim Lindberg A group of preservation advocates from across the country have come together to develop a new series of publications on key issues facing the preservation movement. Released today and available online, the “Issue Briefs” address four significant, interrelated issues: Affordable housing and density Diversity, inclusion, and racial justice Preservation trades and workforce development Sustainability and climate action Participants in a ...
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National Trust Grants and Celebrating Women-Related Preservation Projects

By Special Contributor posted 09-13-2021
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By Winter Roybal The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s campaign for “ Where Women Made History ” aims to identify, honor, and elevate places across the country where women have changed their communities and the world. Granting funds to preservation projects is one way that the National Trust follows through with this vision. In 2019 and 2020, about 20 percent of the grant applications submitted to the National Trust were for projects related to women or projects that had the potential ...
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