Humanities in Action: Building a Better Future

In this short bonus episode, Rachel Helvering, the Executive Director of the James K. Polk Home & Museum in Columbia, Tennessee, shares an artifact that she thinks the Founding Fathers couldn't have envisioned.

This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federat...

Welcome to the sixth episode of our special series Curating Tennessee: 1776-2076! We're speaking with Rachel Helvering, the Executive Director of the President James K. Polk Home and Museum in Columbia, Tennessee. You'll hear Rachel discuss a portrait that represents President Polk's ideas about creating a more perfect union, and we'll imagine what type of future artifact could show Polk's legacy in the future.

T...

In this bonus episode, Adam Velk speculates about artifacts that he thinks may have been inconceivable to some of America's Founding Fathers.

This episode is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250 is a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils in collaboration with local partners. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife...

For the fifth episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're speaking with Adam Velk, the Museum Director of the Green-McAdoo Cultural Center in Clinton, Tennessee. You'll hear Adam talk about two artifacts related to school desegregation in Anderson County, discuss plans for a new exhibit about the history of school integration around the county, and imagine what future statistics around teacher hiring ...

In this second episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're speaking with Neecole Gregory, the Director of the Morton Museum of Collierville History in Shelby County. You'll hear about a complicated artifact in their collection that reflects historical meaning making and the complicated process of creating a more perfect union. Gregory also shares a recently acquired artifact and what she imagines coll...

In this first episode of our special series Curating Tennessee, 1776-2076, we're joined by Adam Alfrey of the Knox County Public Library.

As we prepare for America's 250th birthday, we're asking museum curators across the state to tell us about artifacts in their collections that represent the revolutionary process of creating a more perfect union. We’re discussing what they are collecting today to show how we the peopl...

In this episode, we're speaking with Dr. Warren Dockter, the President and CEO of the East Tennessee Historical Society and Vice Chair of the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial. 

We’re talking about Tennessee’s role in the American Revolution, the work the Tennessee 250 Commission is doing throughout the state - including making grants to county commissions and organizations, and how he envisions Tennessee...

In this episode, we're exploring uncertainty - the awareness that we've reached the edge of our knowledge - and the role it plays in the public humanities. We'll start by looking at how the Neighborhood Story Project is designed with uncertainty at its core. We'll also look at what happens when the most stable part of a project, our appropriated federal funding, is revoked.

Thank you to Amie Thurber, Janet Palmore, ...

In this special episode, we're speaking with Serina Gilbert at Promise Land Heritage Association in Charlotte about her experiences working with Humanities Tennessee and how she imagines their museum will be impacted if our organization is forced to stop our work because of the termination of our federal funding.

On April 2, 2025, all of the state humanities councils - including Humanities Tennessee - received notice that our fe...

On April 2, 2025, all of the state humanities councils - including Humanities Tennessee - received notice that our federal funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities was terminated effective immediately. Humanities Tennessee receives approximately $1.2 million annually from the NEH. We leverage this public investment with additional individual, foundation, and corporate contributions to fund programs and projects throug...

In this episode, we're speaking with Shamichael Hallman, the Director of Civic Health and Economic Opportunity at the Urban Libraries Council and author of Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy.

We’re talking about his role in reimagining the Cossitt Library in Downtown Memphis, why libraries are a critical part of civic infrastructure, and what he envisions for the future of libraries.

Mus...