This column is by Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup, executive director of Vermont Humanities, and his New England colleagues: Hayden Anderson, Maine Humanities Council; Brian Boyles, Mass Humanities; Elizabeth Francis, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities; Jason Mancini, Connecticut Humanities; and Anthony Poore, New Hampshire Humanities.
The horrific events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 gave way to an impromptu history class for the American public. When Congress resumed its proceedings, multiple senators and representatives took pains to cite other events in our history when the nation beat back the terrors of mob violence.
Republicans and Democrats alike took turns offering their interpretations of the War of 1812, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the civil rights movement. History, they told us, should be our beacon during this dark moment.
As leaders of state humanities councils in New England, we embrace this approach to reinvigorating our democracy. The crises we face as Americans require a new start. We must lay the groundwork for a reawakening of civic engagement by encouraging the participation of all residents in this reckoning with our histories.
The rebuilding of America can begin in the public spaces dedicated to learning: libraries, community centers, local museums and historic sites. The national conversation about our past and future should be robust, multilingual, and ongoing. The Biden administration and the 117th Congress can catalyze this national conversation by significantly increasing funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Humanities councils in 55 states and territories serve as local affiliates for the National Endowment for the Humanities, which also supports scholarship and research. Our organizations receive base grants each year from the endowment. The founding legislation for the endowment states boldly, “Democracy demands wisdom.”
The state councils create access to the humanities for the public, providing grants and programs that nurture the wisdom that exists in communities. We support literacy programs and documentary films, public discussions about race and the environment, educational opportunities for underserved communities, and websites that guide students through the histories of our states.
In 2020, the humanities coursed through public life. Undaunted by the pandemic, communities across New England commemorated the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote through free public events held in person and online. With a presidential election looming, your local libraries, museums and historians led unflinching conversations with residents. They looked at 1920 through the lenses of racial justice, immigration and class. In other words, the same issues we face today.
The humanities contributed indelibly to last year’s national reckoning over racial justice. As people of all backgrounds took to the streets to protest police brutality, they asked for justice, not only for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, but for their enslaved and Indigenous ancestors. Residents across New England turned their attention to the monuments in our town squares, inquiring like all great humanists about the individuals we honor and the systems that oppress us.
These questions cause discomfort among neighbors, but these differences need not harden into pitched battles, much less the waving of the Confederate flag in the Capitol rotunda. We need increased support for public humanities institutions and programs, which regularly convene neighbors to face hard truths and engage in dialogue around difficult subjects.
To make these efforts transformative, the humanities require significantly more funding at the federal level. The Trump administration made repeated attempts to defund the National Endowment for the Humanities. Thanks to the endowment’s leadership and bipartisan support in Congress, small upticks in funding each of the last four years brought the allocation to $167 million for the agency for 2021.
By any measure, this remains a woefully low investment in our shared culture. Funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities peaked in 1994, another turning point in our political history, reaching $177 million, or the equivalent to $310 million in today’s dollars. A return to that level would send a clear message about Congress’s appreciation for history.
Humanities councils proved their mettle and efficiency in 2020. Together, our organizations distributed $2.6 million in emergency grants to more than 490 New England nonprofits, part of $75 million awarded by NEH through funding made possible by the CARES Act. With boards made up of members of the public and a commitment to nonpartisanship, humanities councils can seed a rejuvenation of civic life.
Increased funding would also catalyze the preparations for an important milestone: the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. A well-funded National Endowment for the Humanities and its state affiliates could use the sesquicentennial as a goal post for creating more honest appraisals of our history. The endowment has already begun this process with a special initiative, “A More Perfect Union.”
New England certainly deserves a place in any discussion of the Revolution, but the more revolutionary moment will come when the diverse populations of our states see themselves in the stories we tell about American democracy. Such a celebration would serve as a powerful rebuke of what we witnessed in Washington on Jan. 6.
As the tear gas clears, we should not forget the history lessons offered by our elected officials during this moment of crisis. A greater investment in the National Endowment for the Humanities provides an affordable, inclusive first step to relaunch our democracy.
