May 12 | Community History Roundtable: Gathering, Preserving, and Telling the Untold Stories of Santa Clara County and Beyond [Past Event]
Thursday, May 12, 2022 | 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Community History Roundtable
The Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, Stanford University
Detailed Conference Program
Community History Roundtable: Gathering, Preserving, and Telling the Untold Stories of Santa Clara County and Beyond featured presentations from a diverse range of people who work on community history in Santa Clara County and the surrounding area -- local historians, archaeologists, and educators; filmmakers and photographers; archivists and curators; and those who managed historic sites and museums. Our vision was to:
- learn from one another during a plenary session and panel sessions on a range of topics
- share information about local history resources and the many innovative projects that aim to document the varied histories of our communities
- reflect on the unique challenges of documenting local histories, and
- create new opportunities for collaboration and connection.
Descriptions of the conference sessions, as planned, are provided below.
Plenary Session | Community History in Perspective: Sharing History at Local, Regional, and National Scales
Community history functions and resonates at many different levels: from the micro/local level, to the regional and state level, to the national and beyond. As community history moves beyond local understandings, what different opportunities, challenges, and considerations do public historians face? How does historical understanding change as our focus moves in and out--from the very close up to a more distant perspective? What commonalities exist, regardless of the scale at which histories are articulated? How do community historians at any level work to balance the bitter truths and conflicts of the past with our collective hopes for historical narratives that include all members of our communities?
Susan D. Anderson, History Curator and Program Manager, California African American Museum
Valentin Lopez, Tribal Chair, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band
Stephen Pitti, Professor of History and American Studies, Yale University
Moderator: Albert M. Camarillo, Professor of American History and the Leon Sloss Jr. Memorial Professor/Haas Centennial Professor of Public Service, Emeritus, Stanford University
Session recording
Concurrent Session I
Funding Community History
This session will introduce the audience to representatives of three different funding streams essential to conducting local history research projects, and will discuss the intentions, approaches, and projects appropriate to each. When should an organization or individual seek government grants? What sorts of projects attract private foundation support? How can they best engage private philanthropists? This session will invite panelists and participants to explore the funding models available for conducting local history.
Mauricio Palma, Director, Community-Building, Silicon Valley Community Foundation
Why We Fund Local HIstory Projects. Nan Geschke, Co-Founder, Geschke Foundation
Paths to Public Funds for Community History. Kirsten Vega, Program Associate, California Humanities
Chair: Elisabeth I. Ward, Executive Director, Los Altos History Museum
Session recording
Bringing Community History and Ethnic Studies to the K-14 Classroom
Experts in multicultural education discuss the use of community history in the K-14 classroom and address the current issues regarding ethnic studies curriculums in high schools.
Bridging Stanford University and K-12 Schools and Community Colleges. Gary Mukai, Director, Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE)
Latina/o Studies in the Classroom. Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Professor, Latina/o Studies & Race and Resistance Studies, College of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State University
Curriculum for Native American Studies. Taylor Pennewell, Executive Director/Founder, Redbud Resource Group
Co-Chairs:
Karen Biestman, Associate Dean and Director, Native American Cultural Center, Stanford University
Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, Historian/Educator
Session recording
SF Bay Area Communities and the Archival Record
What is included in the documentary record of communities in the surrounding area, what is missing, and approaches for filling "gaps" and exclusions. How is community history being preserved beyond archives in academic settings?
Preserving Bay Area LGBTQ History. Kelsi Evans, Director of Archives and Special Collections, GLBT Historical Society
Surfacing Black History at San José State. Carli V. Lowe, University Archivist, San José State University, Special Collections & Archives
The East Palo Alto Community Archive Story--Past, Present and Future. Frank J. Omowale Satterwhite, Co-Manager, East Palo Alto Community Archive
Co-Chairs:
Frank J. Omowale Satterwhite, Co-Manager, East Palo Alto Community Archive
Ben Stone, Curator for American and British History; Associate Director, Department of Special Collections, Stanford Libraries
Session recording
Community History Lightning Talks
This session invites those involved in researching, gathering, archiving, exhibiting, or writing about community history to make brief presentations about their projects.
Telling the Untold Story. Bill Schroh, Jr., President and CEO, History San Jose
I KNOW Systemic Racism Exists. Felicia A. Smith, KNOW Systemic Racism Project, Racial Justice & Social Equity Librarian, Stanford Libraries
Using Placed-Base Augmented Reality Art to Explore the Hidden Histories of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino American Community Life in San Jose Japantown. Tom Izu and Susan Hayase, Co-directors, Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown
Disability at Stanford Oral History Project: Recording History, Giving Voice. Alison Carpenter Davis. Co-founder and Project Coordinator
Anti-Racist Description in Stanford's Libraries and Archives. Ann K.D. Myers, Rare Books Cataloger, Stanford Libraries
Our Cultural Record: Where Does It Belong? Roberto G. Trujillo, Associate University Librarian and Director of Special Collections & University Archives, Stanford Libraries
Co-Chairs:
Felicia A. Smith, KNOW Systemic Racism Project, Racial Justice & Social Equity Librarian, Stanford Libraries
Roberto G. Trujillo, Associate University Librarian and Director of Special Collections & University Archives, Stanford Libraries
Concurrent Session II
Revealing Santa Clara County's Hidden African American History
Preserving and interpreting African American contributions to civic culture in San Jose and surrounding communities, from the 19th century to today.
The Importance of Documenting the African American Communities of the Bay Area. Jan Batiste Adkins, Author of Local History Books; African American History House, Inc.; faculty San Jose City College; member of Santa Clara County Alliance of Black Educators
Documenting Community History through Photojournalism. D. Michael Cheers, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, San Jose State University
Black and White Together: The Abolitionist Congregation at Trinity Episcopal Church in San Jose, 1861-1866. Jean Libby, Independent Scholar, Allies for Freedom Publishers
Chair: Susan D. Anderson, History Curator and Program Manager, California African American Museum
Session recording
Community History and Archaeology
How are archaeologists uncovering community history in Santa Clara County and the Bay Area?
Arboretum Chinese Labor Quarters Project. Julie A. Cain and Garrett Trask, Stanford Heritage Services
Muwekma Ohlone Tribal History: Rebellions and Recent Archaeological Discoveries. Michael V. Wilcox, Stanford Department of Anthropology
Chair: Veronica Peterson, Harvard Department of Anthropology
Session recording
Documenting Activism
How do communities document activism and social protest, and how is documenting or telling community stories itself a form of activism? What special ethical challenges exist in documenting these topics, and how can those outside of the community offer support?
Generations: Black LGBTIQQ History Experiences – Teaching Black LGBTIQQ History, Supporting Wellness, and Nurturing Black LGBTIQQ Leadership. Micah Lubensky, Participant Engagement Director, The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet (Stanford School of Medicine / UCSF)
Standing on the Shoulders of Our Ancestors: Documenting Activism to Empower Communities. Nathaniel Moore, Archivist, Freedom Archives
Two-Spirits in the Bay Area. Jim Eagle, Chair, Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits (BAAITS)
Co-Chairs:
Drew Bourn, Historical Curator, Stanford Medical History Center
Katherine R. Jolluck, Senior Lecturer, Stanford Department of History
Session recording
Concurrent Session III
Community Engaged History: Documenting Local Histories of Environment and Housing
How are historians working in collaboration with local communities to document histories of Santa Clara County and the surrounding area, with special attention to histories of the environment and housing?
Race and Housing in Mountain View, CA. Michael B. Kahan, Co-Director, Program on Urban Studies, Stanford University; Nicholas Perry, Member Board of Directors, Mountain View Historical Association
Resilient City: How Diverse Communities Built Salinas, California. Carol Lynn McKibben, Salinas History Project and Stanford University
"The Ecology": Environment, Race, and Infrastructure in San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point. Aliyah Dunn-Salahuddin, Stanford Department of History
Chair: Alesia Montgomery, Subject Specialist, Stanford Libraries
Session recording
Documentary Filmmakers and Community History
How are documentary filmmakers working to narrate the history of Santa Clara County and the surrounding region? What special challenges and opportunities do documentary filmmakers face when trying to tell a community's story?
Documentary Film “A Place at the Table: The Story of the African American Pioneers of Silicon Valley” and Cottontales Podcast. Kathy Cotton, Independent Filmmaker, KC Digitalstoryteller
The Potential Power in Documenting Local Issues. Dorothy Fadiman, Documentary Filmmaker, Concentric Media
Documentary Film “Something Ventured: Risk, Reward and the Original Venture Capitalists.” Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, Geller/Goldfine Productions
Chair: Henry Lowood, Harold C. Hohbach Curator, Stanford Libraries
Session recording
Community History, Local Museums, and Historic Sites
How and why local history organizations can include diverse communities to tell a more complex story, how historic sites help to contextualize spaces, and the challenges in doing so.
The Founding of the La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley and Plans for the ChieChi House. Fernando Zazueta, Founding President, La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley
Place-based Storytelling as a Path towards Inclusivity in Los Altos. Elisabeth I. Ward, Executive Director, Los Altos History Museum
Collecting the Stories of Bay Area South Asian Radical Activists, 1908-2022. Anirvan Chatterjee and Barnali Ghosh, Curators, The Berkeley South Asian Radical Walking Tour
Chair: Ever Rodriguez, Founder, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance; Community Advocate; Assistant Rare Books Librarian, Stanford Libraries