Words To Live By

[L Verge]

I have to give a presentation in the next few weeks on how museums share history to the diverse population that now makes up our potential audience in the DC area. I thought I had pretty much finished my 15-minute talk until I was reading a tweet by a former staff member at Surratt House, Lindsey Horn.

Lindsey had posted a photo of a plaque that is in the Maryland Historical Society. It is a quote from a renowned African American writer, whose name is familiar to those who remember the civil rights movements of the mid-20th century - James Baldwin.

I am posting it here for all of us "amateur historians" to remember:

"The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it... History is literally present in all we do."

James Baldwin (1924-1987)