MOMENTUM

Director

"It has been a long timesinceyou?veheard from us through thenewsletter I?veenjoyed engaging with you in a broader conversation about therole Historic Preservation plays in our community through this publication Presently, therehave been a lot of things going on in thebackground to set theLandmarks Foundation of Montgomery on a path to continueto serveMontgomery and the River Region through a myriad of programs and opportunities Your relationship with Landmarks is why wecontinueto push for sensibleland useand development in our city and at thesametime, pointing out why it is so important wepreservethe important parts of our region?s culture, diversity, and history Thank you for your commitment

Thefirst third of theyear has been really exciting, culminating with an important May for us This year wehavemoved thePreservation Leadership Seminar in May, which is also National Historic Preservation Month This is a great opportunity for us to expand our understanding of Montgomery?s built environment, engagewith you, and identify new opportunities to further saveour community?s historic places. Wealso took a trip to Mobile, which is featured morein this edition of thenewsletter We?reseeing traction with events, programs, and futureengagement

Wehavealso established a new interactive interpretation at theOrdeman-Shaw complex, the cornerstoneof Old Alabama Town (OAT). Thanks to a grant from theNational Trust for Historic Preservation wehaveplaced interactivetext panels that tell thestory of thesiteand theexperienceof thepeoplethat lived there Through these informational touch points, wecan continuea discussion about theroleof urban slavery

TheOrdeman-Shaw project is something I?m particularly proud of becauseit represents the continuation of Landmarks evolution, a learning process for this organization as wehead into the next decade Admittedly, wedon? t know everything about urban slavery, but becausewe havetheinformation presented to us through previous research, we?rebetter ableto defineour research questions for thefuture. This information has helped us focus on theother known enslaved dwellings on siteas well, which led to a larger conversation around storytelling and Landmark?s responsibility as oneof Montgomery?s historians Through this process, we?verecognized theneed for a permanent position within theorganization focused solely on deeply exploring Montgomery?s history.

Through a generous donation from theCrook family, Landmarks is happy to announcethe creation of theEdith Crook Montgomery History Fellowship This program is thebeginning of what I hopeto bea long-term relationship with Auburn University?s History Department. It will provide Master?s and Doctoral students valuableresearch opportunities and, moreimportantly, practical experiencein thePublic History world, with day-to-day opportunities for exhibit planning, and collections conservation I?m excited about this new opportunity to contributeto theeducation of future historians and bring exciting new research about Montgomery?s history.

In themeantime, keep watching out for events and other opportunities to engagewith theLandmarks Foundation in 2023 and comeseethenew interpretation at theOrdeman-Shaw house, I know you will enjoy it "