What if We Were All Archivists?

In late December, Illinois State Archivist Dave Joens retired after 20 years of public service. I met Dave during my tenure on the Flag Commission. Getting a behind-the-scenes tour of the Illinois State Archives was one of the best "perks" of the job I had all year. I've been an archive nerd going back to when I was a student researcher embedded at the FDR Presidential Library in New York. When I'm on the road around Illinois, I always try to visit our county's historical societies.

Dave is a passionate champion for Illinois history. In his State Archivist role, he found important and ingenious ways to preserve our state's most important documents. Critically, he was also passionate about finding ways to share them. He celebrated the Illinois state bicentennial by creating an online exhibit of the 100 Most Valuable Documents in the Illinois State Archives. They range from the historic - Speech of Kennekuk (1831) a hand-written transcription of remarks Kickapoo leader Kennekuk gave in response to a July 23, 1831, talk of General William Clark, who was the regional Superintendent of Indian Affairs -to the humorous - Governor Adlai Stevenson's Veto of the "Cat Bill" (1949). They include views into history that might be unfamiliar - like the House Roll Calls for a Constitutional Convention to Legalize Slavery (1823) alongside the original - Coroner’s Official Report of Race Riot (1919) - which enable us to tell Illinois history.

This year is Illinois Humanities’ 50th Anniversary and we're rolling up our sleeves to consider how WE can best celebrate and commemorate our first five decades.

Dave's project makes me wonder, what would be our 50 most valuable moments? Or impactful grants? Or meaningful public programs?

How would my list of 50 things be different than the one my colleague Matt Meacham might make? What would be on a list made by our grantee partner, Sherry Williams of the Bronzeville Historical Society? Or on a list made by our Road Scholar Ada Cheng?

Each of us would probably come up with different sets of 50.  It's an exciting thought exercise where inviting different perspectives makes things more complex, but also interesting. I can imagine the conversations we might have together about why we each picked what we did. We could talk about how our choices were influenced by our personal experiences; what we’re curious about; what we value; and what we think would best serve Illinois residents.

The public humanities help us wonder in conversation with one another. We can reflect, alone, about our lives, what matters to us and why. But the public humanities make and protect space for us to engage in challenging conversations.

I have no doubt that our diverse choices would each – in their own way – illuminate what matters most about five decades of investment in the public humanities.  When we put all of those lists together, we find that Illinois Humanities is helping ensure our state is more just, creative, and connected precisely because of our broad, and diverse humanities community.