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ALHFAM President’s Message

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What is it to be “woke” and why would someone be tired of it? According to the dictionary, it is the past tense of “wake”—to cease to sleep; to be brought into a state of awareness. My American Heritage Dictionary was published in 1982, so it was long before the current informal definition of “to be alert to injustice in society.” I, for one, am in no way tired of being woke. Why would you not want to be in a state of awareness? There is a moral imperative to call out injustice. All people have a right to dignity, and by claiming their dignity and their story, they do not lessen mine. They expand it.  

Le Grand Derangement: 250 Years of Acadian History in Louisiana

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In September of 1755, England, a political world power began one of history’s largest mass movements of people united by their Catholic faith. Acadians of Nova Scotia were dispersed throughout English lands without benefit of property, family ties or compassion. Their holdings were torched, as they were loaded on to barely seaworthy ships, on which… Continue reading Le Grand Derangement: 250 Years of Acadian History in Louisiana

On the Program Relevance of Slavery

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African culture was a particularly major component in the development of southern U.S. culture as well as American culture as a whole. In interpreting American and largely southern history, it is so easy to slip into saying how certain great and wealthy men built this and grew that, when in reality much of what is spoken of was not only done by the labor of enslaved African Americans, but were also accomplished through the skill and knowledge of these people. These skills were passed from generation to generation and have often carried forward to today.

It’s Not the Jewish Christmas: An Introduction to Jewish Holidays and Their Observance in North America, Part II

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For most non-Jews, Hanukkah along with Passover, is probably the most familiar of the Jewish holidays. Other than that Hanukkah is celebrated around the same time of year, it has absolutely no relationship to Christmas: it commemorates a great military victory and a great miracle.

It’s Not the Jewish Christmas: An Introduction to Jewish Holidays and Their Observance in North America, Part I

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On October 2, 1911, readers of the Annapolis Evening Capital opened their papers to find the following announcement: “Jew Stores Closed. Today all the Jew stores in town were closed, this being the Day of Atonement, one of the most solemn days in the Jewish calendar.[1]” It is doubtful that most non-Jewish residents of Annapolis… Continue reading It’s Not the Jewish Christmas: An Introduction to Jewish Holidays and Their Observance in North America, Part I

The Future of The Past ALHFAM 2022

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By Peggy Barchi Fort Nisqually Living History Museum invites you to join the fun at The Future of the Past, ALHFAM’s annual meeting and conference June 23-28, 2022! For those not familiar with the history of the site and its influence on Washington State, read on… Fort Nisqually, the first globally connected settlement on Puget… Continue reading The Future of The Past ALHFAM 2022