2024 Annual Report Update: Doing Public Humanities Today

As part of the 2023 Black Alumni Reunion, former Ruth J. Simmons Center fellows reflected on their journeys as leaders in curation, preservation, and interpretation. Sharing insights from their work in museums and cultural institutions, they discussed how the Center’s community and vision continue to shape public humanities and the pursuit of restorative justice.

As part of Black Alumni Reunion, former graduate fellows of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice reflected on their current work in cultural heritage organizations. Today, these fellows are emerging leaders in the fields of curation, preservation, and interpretation. Panelists discussed curatorial and archival practice, oral history projects, and preservation initiatives they have led focused on the legacies of racial slavery, race and racism, and restorative justice.

A speaker stands at the podium and gestures to the side. “The Center was my home on campus… It was the place where I felt intellectually and emotionally safe and where I felt listened to…there’s something about when people believe in you that you start to empower yourself.”

Elon Cook Lee A.M. ’14
Director of Interpretation and Education for the Historic Sites Department National Trust for Historic Preservation

A woman sitting in front of a microphone stand addresses the audience while her fellow panelist glances over and listens in. “None of those departments really felt at home for me until I found the center and began working with Dr. Bogues, and working with Shana because of the kinds of questions the center asks, and how to engage us researchers and how to engage our communities, and how it brings people together to ask difficult questions, but important questions, to really interrogate the structure of our world and what our work can do to bring about this notion of justice.”

Anni A. Pullagura A.M. ’16 AM ’22 PhD ’22
Margaret and Terry Stent Associate Curator of American Art, High Museum of Art

A speaker addresses the crowd at the podium, fellow panelists listen in. “My time as a Public Humanities student and fellow at the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice deeply shaped and impacted my growth as a cultural practitioner. From curating exhibitions to creating multimedia storytelling, the Center provided the platform and support for a hands-on education in public-facing research and community-engaged work.”

Johanna Obenda A.M. ’19
Curatorial Specialist at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)