History Cambridge Neighborhood Storykeeper Project

FAIN: TA-296518-24

Cambridge Historical Society (Cambridge, MA 02138-3300)
Marieke J. Van Damme (Project Director: June 2023 to present)

Creation of a “Neighborhood Storykeeper” to develop co-curated humanities-based programs for underserved communities in Cambridge, MA.

In 2025, History Cambridge will create a new role called “Neighborhood Storykeeper.” Each year, one Storykeeper connected to a different Cambridge community will develop, research, and share with the public a personally meaningful historical story. In 2024, we seek funding for Phase 1: Working with consultants close to our organization (and known humanities experts) to develop a toolkit that will outline the process for implementing this crucial role. We aim to reach the most diverse audience possible and to build trust with partnering communities. This toolkit will be made widely available nationwide to other organizations interested in establishing a similar, replicable program. By co-curating a public history project based on first-hand experiences from marginalized groups in conjunction with primary research, this project will fill in gaps in the historical record and ultimately strengthen cross-community bonds through increased empathy and understanding of neighbors.