Museum lovers, below is a list of some of the Black museums in North Carolina that preserve and present the history, culture, and voices of the Black community. Check them out, follow them on social media, plan visits once they reopen after COVID-19, and consider donating to support their work. I know I will be…
In the field of public history, the interpretation of women’s history has become a hot topic with increasing attention and emphasis being placed on including women's perspectives in museum exhibits and other public history initiatives. This post is a literature review and essay on how women's history has historically been presented via museums and historic…
In honor of Black History Month I am visiting local historical sites of significance in African American history. I am learning so much about local Black history. My first post of the month was about the Boyette Slave House in Kenly, NC (Johnston County). Today I am shifting to neighboring Wilson County. The Oliver Nestus…
Recently, I toured Dumbarton Oaks, which is a research library and collection in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The collection and estate was donated to Harvard University by Robert and Mildred Bliss, collectors of art and artifacts from around the world. The Blisses were particularly fascinated with Byzantine and Pre-Columbian art, as well as…
Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. is an operating theater to this day, but historically it is best known as the site of Lincoln's assassination. On April 14, 1865, while Lincoln was attending a play at Ford's Theater with his wife and Major Henry Rathbone, John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate spy, shot Lincoln in…
Many elementary school children have heard of Betsy Ross, one of the few female figures of the Revolutionary War period of early American history that receives attention in classrooms. She is commonly known as the seamstress that created the first American flag. However, historical evidence actually does not exist to support this well-known "fact." The…
Finally coming to the end of my Public Historian on Vacation series. I spent so much time writing about San Antonio even though we were only there for 2 days because we packed a lot into 2 days, it was our first time visiting, and it was so beautiful and interesting. After we visited the…
A week ago I slept overnight in the Bellamy Mansion Museum's slave quarters. Your reaction might, like others who I told before the overnight stay, range from "What?" to "Why?" to something like, "You don't hear that everyday." So, let me provide some context and explain why I decided to sleep overnight in a slave dwelling.…
Beth Nevarez Historical Consulting 