I had cold-emailed Dr. Nancy Bercaw since February of 2022 asking to work with her. I was a fan of her work on the Slavery and Freedom exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. With a bit of research, I learned that she co-founded the Center for Restorative History at the National Museum of American History, and I was inspired by their mission to do ethical public history. When I finally got the chance to work with Dr. Bercaw and the CRH team this summer, I was over the moon. 

The Center for Restorative History is committed to using a restorative justice framework in public history to address harms in communities it works with. Despite institutional barriers, the CRH centers people and their needs while doing historical work. One of its goals is to build relationships with communities for mutual support, and I learned so much while building a workshop to help members of a local community partner share their local histories using video and audio media. Much of our work was to prepare extensively so that we could be flexible and enjoy the moments of community-building. 

While conducting oral histories, CRH practices ongoing consent. In our interviews with undocumented activists and organizers, we host a series of unofficial and official meetings to establish relationships rather than simply extract information from the interviewees. After asking for consent to record and house the oral histories, we check in with breaks throughout the interview. Even afterwards, any public use of the oral histories requires consent from the interviewee to protect their identities, stories, and any other details they do not wish to share for any reason. This process of ongoing consent mirrors the CRH’s commitment to valuing its partners by ensuring discretion and respecting their needs. 

As I honed skills like handling objects in the archive, creating physical descriptions, and conducting research in curatorial processes, I learned that the CRH demands care, compassion, and ethical grounding every step of the way. One of its many projects is the Goucher Prison Education Partnership (GPEP) Alumni Internship Program. This is a cutting-edge initiative that required institutional change in the background check process, and it challenged not only prejudices but also the entire system to address harms. The Smithsonian institution, among many others, uses free prison labor through Unilever, and the CRH sought to address the need for paid internship experience for formerly incarcerated scholars. 

I had rarely considered what it means to practice and collect living history, especially since my area of expertise is the history of enslavement and race in 19-century America. However, I have become increasingly aware that history is inherently political and that being a historian requires a present and future-facing mission. The Center for Restorative History addresses past and ongoing harms in a productive way that demonstrates humility and a commitment to listening to people and their expressed needs. As I work toward my goal of becoming a historian and educator, I gained an invaluable experience and network that showed me what it means to affect ethical change. Dr. Bercaw and the CRH team pushes against the most rigid of structures and cares for one another in the face of financial, institutional, and time constraints. During my time at CRH, I learned what it means to be an ethical historian from the most incredible people.