Submitted by Emily Arendt
June 10, 2025
At a time when the Trump Administration is quickly altering public interpretations of history and removing references to the past on websites and public spaces, it is vital that historians keep track of what is changing. The Early Republic Tracker is dedicated to documenting instances where the federal government is removing facts and stories essential to the public’s understanding American history from public historical sites, museums, websites, and executive agencies.
Where/When did the changes take place?
- The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, California, April 2025
What changed?
- A $460,000 federal grant for the conservation was abruptly terminated a few weeks in advance of the opening of an exhibition featuring historic quilts produced by Black craftspeople dating back to the 1860s. The money was earmarked to ensure the preservation of these artifacts, which comprise one of the largest collections of African-American quilts. Funds from both the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Arts were pulled, threatening the conservation of these fragile artifacts.
Why does the change matter?
- Without this funding, the quilts are likely to deteriorate. As important and tangible artifacts of everyday life, their preservation is important for providing material evidence of Black life in the United States dating back to the American Civil War.
Evidence of change?
Additional sources?
- BAMPFA website
- Patricia A. Turner, Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of African American Quilters (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2009)
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