It took less than one month for the Trump administration to begin erasing the history that is shared at historic sites managed by the National Park Service.
We now know for a fact : There were No Trans doing anything at Stonewall! It was all Gay People hence Gay Rights Movement! For many decades the LGB supported “ transsexuals “but not anymore! Mostly because the newer T (Genderists /hangers on) began high jacking the alphabet group and then started Trans/washing Gay History aka Same “Sex” Rights movement . There were no bricks, no bottles that is also 100% FALSE & FABRICATED 🚫
I remember one particularly excellent NPS interpretive guide I worked with who was missing half his teeth. Because why would you expect someone to be able to afford dental care on what we pay people to teach us our history?
As my wife is a Federal civil service retiree, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Federal employees do not get dental benefits as a general OPM rule. If they have a special plan, such as a union's, they usually get dental benefits but I think these workers pay indirectly for it.
Under Kaiser Permanente, we get dental SURGERY but not other dental benefits. Your NPS guide most likely had surgical coverage. There is a co-pay and I don't know what that could have involved, cost or coverage. Some HMOs offer plans with dental coverage but this benefit comes at a much higher cost. (As my teeth are falling out, I'm 77, I may see what coverage benefit I can get!)
Contrast: I was once a commissioner for San Francisco. As a municipality, it offered medical and dental protection even though I was not a civil service employee (and my commission was not one that paid stipends). Already having the federal coverage, I just enjoyed the dental prophylaxis coverage (e.g., cleaning) during the time I pontificated.
PS as employees in "positions requiring public contact" and especially those like NPS's, it seems like Uncle Sam ought to chip in when their choppers are constantly flashing to the general public. Why don't we suggest this coverage be added to...F-elon and t-Rump??
Well, a decade or so ago, it took clever political leadership by my retired wife's boss: Nancy Emerita Pelosi, who talked Obama out of bailing on health care and built the Act so it could squeeeek thru the House and Senate for Obama to sign it, and still have benefits for most Americans to get some reasonably-priced care. In SF, we call it PelosiCare, not ObamaCare.
I completely agree with you. Trump will appoint pro-Confederacy people to leadership in the NPS and they will begin to erase history. It will be a national tragedy. Since they got the ball rolling at Stonewall expect other places to follow in relatively short order, especially those dealing with African Americans, women, and other minorities.
Despite our fears, during the last Trump administration, we received little in the way of direction or commentary from above that might have affected how an individual park told its story (in my case, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP). Not in four years did I receive a directive that affected the work our staff was doing on the ground, every day, with thousands of visitors. We continued to challenge visitors to see the battles and the war through the broader lens of history and through the varied eyes all who were affected by the conflict--enslaved, free, civilian, soldiers, on the battlefields and on the home front. With few exceptions (Kevin knows and has documented those well), visitors appreciated having more ways to engage the story. They appreciated seeing these events as a human experience with immense implications for the nation and those affected. In fact, I'd offer that the period between 2015 and 2021 represented the greatest leap forward this nation has ever experienced in terms of understanding the American Civil War and its place in American culture.
This time around seems a different animal altogether. My heart breaks for the young people--committed and energetic--who have had their seasonal hires squashed and those early in their careers who may have their appointments terminated. It's impossible to overstate how important the constant infusion of young, smart, questioning minds have been to the evolution of interpretation in the NPS--not just at battlefields. They have affected even some of the hardest and most traditional old souls in the NPS (there are more than a few).
I lament for those professionals who will be told to do less than their best when it comes to the practice of history or science, who have to measure their statements and research not against historical evidence and scholarship, but the proclamations of ahistorical or anti-historical operatives.
The flat-hatted Park Ranger is an iconic symbol of American's engagement with their nation in all its forms--its places, its history, and the many lessons both have for us. They point (a lot), they famously gesticulate. They often also know more about the places they interpret than anyone on earth. They engage millions of visitors every year.
The engagement of those visitors with the places and stories of the National Park Service is essential to the health of our nation. NPS sites--and the people who work at them--help Americans connect across generations, across cultures, over distances. They help foster among visitors a common connection to our nation by helping them see their place in the American mosaic. That essential, fundamental mission is threatened. And, sadly, that seems to be the point.
In the first Trump presidency he was feeling his way.
A friend in EPA had her program cut, so EPA shifted those employees to divisions where they still protected the environment! Now, she'd just be fired.
During the Nixon regency, he had one Saturday Night Massacre. Now they're daily.
Are you going to Yosemite here in California? Don't try. It's in a panic: despite having tens of thousands of tourists a month, its staff is being cut. OTOH: wait 'til they realize employees are mostly MAGAs living nearby in Red Districts! Then Stephen Miller will just ensure references to the African American 10th Cavalry policing Yosemite are painted over! And the historic Ahwanee Hotel will get rebranded into a gold-painted palace.
Only you could write this comment. I would have bee more than happy to learn that I have blown this completely out of proportion, but I don't remember writing anything like this at the beginning of Trump's first term in office and that held for the entire four years.
I can only imagine what all of this looks like from your perspective. You were instrumental in developing interpretation at Civil War sites and fearless in tackling the tough subjects.
Perhaps there is still room for optimism, but I fear that this window is closing fast.
Also, as to this: "Perhaps there is still room for optimism, but I fear that this window is closing fast":
Maybe so--and I'm the guy who thought Vice President Harris would win bigly, so what do I know?--but in this moment in history, I keep seeing Americans who make me think that that window, even if it does close for a while, can't stay that way.
This latest development is yet another example of disturbing amounts of overreach. It took so long for NPS to start addressing the lack of appropriate interpretation of Black history & the issue of enslavement as well as the histories of anyone else not white and male. From what I've seen even in a few locations as recently as 2019, the interpretations at some NPS sites still have a long way to go to rid themselves of settler-colonialism and the dehumanization of many populations in their exhibit language and presentation. The last thing they need is someone demanding they go backwards and undermine recent improvements to interpretation and exhibits.
Some of these sites have a ways to go, but as you are no doubt aware, there are a lot of factors that influence site interpretation with funding at the top.
Most definitely! As a museum leadership professional, I'm always impressed at how much progress is sometimes made in rather unlikely spaces with tiny budgets, and more than a bit disappointed at how little is made in some egregious cases with much larger budgets. Getting buy-in from leadership & Boards is hard enough and can take years of challenge before getting to the "now we have to secure the funding" stage. All the more reason any rollback is cause for alarm.
I'm curious what will happen at sites like Arlington House. I visited that memorial this time last year. Many of the informational placards were flagged with a note saying they were in the process of being updated in consultation with descendent families to reflect the multiple perspectives of people who lived on the property, both enslaved and free.
If incoming Secretary of Education Linda McMahon won't say that Black history will be allowed in American schools, then yes, anything involving race, slavery, and emancipation is likewise endangered at battlefield parks. Get ready for a lot of fighting uphill, me boys.
We now know for a fact : There were No Trans doing anything at Stonewall! It was all Gay People hence Gay Rights Movement! For many decades the LGB supported “ transsexuals “but not anymore! Mostly because the newer T (Genderists /hangers on) began high jacking the alphabet group and then started Trans/washing Gay History aka Same “Sex” Rights movement . There were no bricks, no bottles that is also 100% FALSE & FABRICATED 🚫
It may well open the door for installation of more proCSA memorials and even interpretive material
I'm actually not worried at all about that.
I remember one particularly excellent NPS interpretive guide I worked with who was missing half his teeth. Because why would you expect someone to be able to afford dental care on what we pay people to teach us our history?
As my wife is a Federal civil service retiree, I appreciate your thoughtfulness. Federal employees do not get dental benefits as a general OPM rule. If they have a special plan, such as a union's, they usually get dental benefits but I think these workers pay indirectly for it.
Under Kaiser Permanente, we get dental SURGERY but not other dental benefits. Your NPS guide most likely had surgical coverage. There is a co-pay and I don't know what that could have involved, cost or coverage. Some HMOs offer plans with dental coverage but this benefit comes at a much higher cost. (As my teeth are falling out, I'm 77, I may see what coverage benefit I can get!)
Contrast: I was once a commissioner for San Francisco. As a municipality, it offered medical and dental protection even though I was not a civil service employee (and my commission was not one that paid stipends). Already having the federal coverage, I just enjoyed the dental prophylaxis coverage (e.g., cleaning) during the time I pontificated.
PS as employees in "positions requiring public contact" and especially those like NPS's, it seems like Uncle Sam ought to chip in when their choppers are constantly flashing to the general public. Why don't we suggest this coverage be added to...F-elon and t-Rump??
Well, a decade or so ago, it took clever political leadership by my retired wife's boss: Nancy Emerita Pelosi, who talked Obama out of bailing on health care and built the Act so it could squeeeek thru the House and Senate for Obama to sign it, and still have benefits for most Americans to get some reasonably-priced care. In SF, we call it PelosiCare, not ObamaCare.
Thanks again!
Kevin,
I completely agree with you. Trump will appoint pro-Confederacy people to leadership in the NPS and they will begin to erase history. It will be a national tragedy. Since they got the ball rolling at Stonewall expect other places to follow in relatively short order, especially those dealing with African Americans, women, and other minorities.
All the best and be safe,
Steve
Despite our fears, during the last Trump administration, we received little in the way of direction or commentary from above that might have affected how an individual park told its story (in my case, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania NMP). Not in four years did I receive a directive that affected the work our staff was doing on the ground, every day, with thousands of visitors. We continued to challenge visitors to see the battles and the war through the broader lens of history and through the varied eyes all who were affected by the conflict--enslaved, free, civilian, soldiers, on the battlefields and on the home front. With few exceptions (Kevin knows and has documented those well), visitors appreciated having more ways to engage the story. They appreciated seeing these events as a human experience with immense implications for the nation and those affected. In fact, I'd offer that the period between 2015 and 2021 represented the greatest leap forward this nation has ever experienced in terms of understanding the American Civil War and its place in American culture.
This time around seems a different animal altogether. My heart breaks for the young people--committed and energetic--who have had their seasonal hires squashed and those early in their careers who may have their appointments terminated. It's impossible to overstate how important the constant infusion of young, smart, questioning minds have been to the evolution of interpretation in the NPS--not just at battlefields. They have affected even some of the hardest and most traditional old souls in the NPS (there are more than a few).
I lament for those professionals who will be told to do less than their best when it comes to the practice of history or science, who have to measure their statements and research not against historical evidence and scholarship, but the proclamations of ahistorical or anti-historical operatives.
The flat-hatted Park Ranger is an iconic symbol of American's engagement with their nation in all its forms--its places, its history, and the many lessons both have for us. They point (a lot), they famously gesticulate. They often also know more about the places they interpret than anyone on earth. They engage millions of visitors every year.
The engagement of those visitors with the places and stories of the National Park Service is essential to the health of our nation. NPS sites--and the people who work at them--help Americans connect across generations, across cultures, over distances. They help foster among visitors a common connection to our nation by helping them see their place in the American mosaic. That essential, fundamental mission is threatened. And, sadly, that seems to be the point.
In the first Trump presidency he was feeling his way.
A friend in EPA had her program cut, so EPA shifted those employees to divisions where they still protected the environment! Now, she'd just be fired.
During the Nixon regency, he had one Saturday Night Massacre. Now they're daily.
Are you going to Yosemite here in California? Don't try. It's in a panic: despite having tens of thousands of tourists a month, its staff is being cut. OTOH: wait 'til they realize employees are mostly MAGAs living nearby in Red Districts! Then Stephen Miller will just ensure references to the African American 10th Cavalry policing Yosemite are painted over! And the historic Ahwanee Hotel will get rebranded into a gold-painted palace.
Thank you, John.
Only you could write this comment. I would have bee more than happy to learn that I have blown this completely out of proportion, but I don't remember writing anything like this at the beginning of Trump's first term in office and that held for the entire four years.
I can only imagine what all of this looks like from your perspective. You were instrumental in developing interpretation at Civil War sites and fearless in tackling the tough subjects.
Perhaps there is still room for optimism, but I fear that this window is closing fast.
I wanted to know more about Mr. Hennessy, so I looked around and found, from the time of his NPS retirement, this testimonial from Kevin:
https://cwmemory.com/2021/09/05/on-john-hennessys-retirement-from-the-national-park-service/
Also, as to this: "Perhaps there is still room for optimism, but I fear that this window is closing fast":
Maybe so--and I'm the guy who thought Vice President Harris would win bigly, so what do I know?--but in this moment in history, I keep seeing Americans who make me think that that window, even if it does close for a while, can't stay that way.
Thanks for sharing the link, Steven. No one has taught me more about the many challenges of interpreting the Civil War at NPS sites.
This latest development is yet another example of disturbing amounts of overreach. It took so long for NPS to start addressing the lack of appropriate interpretation of Black history & the issue of enslavement as well as the histories of anyone else not white and male. From what I've seen even in a few locations as recently as 2019, the interpretations at some NPS sites still have a long way to go to rid themselves of settler-colonialism and the dehumanization of many populations in their exhibit language and presentation. The last thing they need is someone demanding they go backwards and undermine recent improvements to interpretation and exhibits.
Some of these sites have a ways to go, but as you are no doubt aware, there are a lot of factors that influence site interpretation with funding at the top.
Most definitely! As a museum leadership professional, I'm always impressed at how much progress is sometimes made in rather unlikely spaces with tiny budgets, and more than a bit disappointed at how little is made in some egregious cases with much larger budgets. Getting buy-in from leadership & Boards is hard enough and can take years of challenge before getting to the "now we have to secure the funding" stage. All the more reason any rollback is cause for alarm.
It’s a movement to make America white again, what they call “patriotic education.” White backlash.
I'm curious what will happen at sites like Arlington House. I visited that memorial this time last year. Many of the informational placards were flagged with a note saying they were in the process of being updated in consultation with descendent families to reflect the multiple perspectives of people who lived on the property, both enslaved and free.
I am worried as well. The NPS staff has done a marvelous job of updating and expanding exhibits in partnership with the descendants of those enslaved.
If incoming Secretary of Education Linda McMahon won't say that Black history will be allowed in American schools, then yes, anything involving race, slavery, and emancipation is likewise endangered at battlefield parks. Get ready for a lot of fighting uphill, me boys.
I've already heard through the grapevine that lesson plans on the Stonewall site have been deleted.
Here's another brick in the wall: https://www.wmar2news.com/local/maryland-national-guard-will-not-participate-in-frederick-douglass-parade-due-to-guidance-set-by-dod
I saw this, Ken. The crazy thing is that Douglass is included in Trump’s silly National Garden of Heroes. There is no logic behind any of this.