GHS Race Dialogue and Equity in Museums and History

In a follow up to our previous statement on the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, and others, the Germantown Historical Society is creating a resource list to help inform conversations on the historic protests around the world for the Black Lives Matter movement. GHS is also working on creating a resource database of African American history in the local area that you can explore. As an educational and historical institution, we are committed to providing resources that help to contextualize our present moment with a historical lens as well as documenting and preserving history in the making. These initial resources are from other organizations in the museum sector, education sector and media sector. We aim to provide engaging learning tools to help facilitate thoughtful and informed discussions about our communities. By confronting and learning from our histories, we can build a better future for Germantown on the foundation of the past.

And, take a look at Montgomery Countryside Alliance’s (for the Protection of the Agricultural Reserve) response to the national protests

Local Legacies:

Black-owned businesses in the area, courtesy of the MoCo Show

Local History:

Visit Maryland African American History Website

Boyds Negro School from Boyds Historical Society

Menare Foundation and History of the Underground Railroad

Walking Tour of African American History in Rockville

Walking Tour of African American History in Rockville Video

History of African American Education in Germantown Area

Map of African American Historic Places in the County

Maryland Historical Trust document on African American History of the Black and White Inn in Gaithersburg

Selection of African American Churches in Montgomery County

African American Cemetery Inventory from Montgomery Preservation

Resistance to Slavery in Maryland Guidebook from the National Park Service

Sugarloaf Region Bicycle Trail, note points #2 and #9 on African American historic sites

Brownstown Historic District located on Germantown Road

Black Rock Mill Historic Marker on Diverse Farming Community

Article on the Preservation of a Historic African-American Cemetery in Bethesda

Local Conversations:

Discussion on Germantown’s Involvement in the Black Lives Matter Movement on Twitter

Discussion on Germantown’s Involvement in the Black Lives Matter Movement on Patch

Statistics on Germantown’s Diversity

Conversation on history of segregation and desegregation in Germantown

Museum Dialogues:

NMAAHC’s Talking About Race Web Portal

How to Have Tough Conversations on Race

History of Racialized Policing in the US

Eastern State Penitentiary 

Learning Tools:

Smithsonian’s Blog Series on COVID-19 and Racial Injustice Pandemics

History of Racism in the World learning tools (at your own pace)

Podcast on the History of Policing in America

Early History of the Black Lives Matter Movement

The History of Juneteenth

Zinn Education Project

Smithsonian’s Asian Pacific American Center’s (APAC) Statement on Anti-Asian Xenophobia during COVID-19

Smithsonian’s APAC Oral Histories of current history in the making

Frederick Douglass’ speech on July 4th