James Grossman
@jgrossman.bsky.social
200 followers 2 following 25 posts
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Today is Yom Kippur. Fasting this year seems especially important because we atone not only for our individual sins, but as a community ask forgiveness for the sins of the community.
Someone should organize a #FreeDC campaign. Patronize only businesses that show some kind of #FreeDC indicator (city flag, etc).
Amna is very kind; they are all worth reading and we're all grateful to David Blight and Michael Tomasky. And to each other.
The September issue of The New Republic features articles by 11 historians on doing history in the current environment. Thus far seven have been posted online, including mine. Thanks to David Blight for organizing and MIchael Tomasky as the editor at TNR.
newrepublic.com/series/67/tr...
Trump Against History
How is Trump changing our sense of who we are? We asked eminent Yale historian David W. Blight to round up some colleagues to consider the question. Here’s what they had to say.
newrepublic.com
Arne Duncan has it right:
"The only hope 4 higher education is total & unrelenting resistance 2 Trump.Every college in America & every stakeholder must join together & pursue every possible strategy — legal or otherwise — to stop him."https://www.chronicle.com/article/an-open-letter-from-arne-duncan
In another era I would have thought this to be brilliant satire. Now it is more in the realm of terrifying. Everyone should watch it and ask what we need to focus on politically in the coming months. It should be clear what our priorities have to be. This has to end.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmMQ...
Inside Interior | July 4, 2025
YouTube video by US Department of the Interior
www.youtube.com
Argument for civics education informed by historical literacy and historical thinking (and, considering ideas about pluralism and its relationshp to democracy):

thehill.com/opinion/educ...
thehill.com
I agree. An odd kind of "misunderstaning."
Many #NationalArchives researchers have expressed alarm about a NARA website post regarding restricted access to Archives II in College Park. NARA has clarified that research rooms will remain open to the public.

For details see www.historians.org/news/update-...
Update on National Archives at College Park - AHA
Many AHA members have expressed alarm about a post on the National Archives website regarding restricted access to Archives II in College Park, Maryland. In a message on X (formerly Twitter), which we...
www.historians.org
According to Wikipedia, Irving Berlin's "1943 production This Is The Army featured the first integrated division army unit in the United States." Looks like the composer of "God Bless America" was a "supporter of DEI" according to standards and wording articulated by certain Federal officials.
Why is the Secretary of Defense demanding that Harvey Milk's name be removed from the USNS Harvey Milk? He says it's "DEI." No. The ship is quite reasonably named after a major American political figure who was assassinated. So the naming is totally legitimate in the tradition of ship naming.
Reposted by James Grossman
historians.org
AHA executive director @jgrossman.bsky.social appeared on CNN on Friday, May 24, where he spoke about the recent cancelation of NEH grants and funding. The cuts, he emphasized, were made by DOGE, not NEH staff: “Nobody was involved who actually knew what they were talking about.” 🗃️
Trump’s cultural overhaul throttles local arts, humanities programs nationwide | CNN Politics
For 60 years, Boston’s Museum of African American History has transported people to the past, letting visitors to a 200-year-old meeting house see where abolitionists like Frederick Douglass spoke and...
www.cnn.com
Reposted by James Grossman
historians.org
AHA exec. director @jgrossman.bsky.social participated in a panel discussion as part of the Max Weber Foundation’s Historians on Democracy conversation series. Grossman participated in part one of the series, “What was, what is, and what can be done?” on April 9, 2025. Watch the discussion online 🗃️:
www.youtube.com
Regarding the Administration's campaign against anti-semitism in Higher Ed. Read the law: "Title VI is a real law, and it has real demands, and here’s what they are, and they’re markedly different than anything the administration is claiming" www.chronicle.com/article/why-...
Why Anti-Jewish Discrimination on Campuses Might Not Violate Title VI
Trump’s campaign against higher ed relies on the idea that antisemitism and anti-Zionist discrimination violates federal civil-rights law. That’s not always true, two professors say.
www.chronicle.com
It's after the 2 minute mark
historians.org
AHA executive director @jgrossman.bsky.social appeared on CNN on Friday, May 24, where he spoke about the recent cancelation of NEH grants and funding. The cuts, he emphasized, were made by DOGE, not NEH staff: “Nobody was involved who actually knew what they were talking about.” 🗃️
Trump’s cultural overhaul throttles local arts, humanities programs nationwide | CNN Politics
For 60 years, Boston’s Museum of African American History has transported people to the past, letting visitors to a 200-year-old meeting house see where abolitionists like Frederick Douglass spoke and...
www.cnn.com
Drew Faust (Former VP @historians.org) reminds us of our "reciprocal obligation" to the past.
US Army soldiers in Civil War fought to preserve democracy. Their victory was institutionalized in 13-15th Amendments.Our obligation is to preserve the word & the spirit of those amendments
lnkd.in/e28mEgAU
Opinion | We Are Not Being Asked to Run Into Cannon Fire. We Just Need to Speak Up.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by James Grossman
historians.org
AHA executive director @jgrossman.bsky.social will appear on CNN on Friday, May 23 at 7:45 p.m. ET as part of a segment on humanities funding, including the cancelation of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants and cuts to the NEH. 🗃️
AHA Executive Director to Appear on CNN to Discuss NEH Cuts and Humanities Funding
AHA executive director James Grossman will appear on CNN on Friday, May 23 at 7:45 p.m. ET as part of a segment on the NEH and humanities funding.
www.historians.org
Reposted by James Grossman
Reposted by James Grossman
historians.org
AHA exec director @jgrossman.bsky.social, @oah.org president @dblight.bsky.social, & OAH exec director Beth English co-authored an article, "Trump May Wish to Abolish the Past. We Historians Will Not" for @newrepublic.com on the executive order, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling.” 🗃️
Trump May Wish to Abolish the Past. We Historians Will Not.
Commentary from the heads of two prominent historical associations on Trump’s recent executive order on “radical indoctrination” in schools.
newrepublic.com