Washington D.C. Experience

HEATHER BANASJOSHUA CURZAN

CHARLIE VOUSDENBEN WRY

Our Visits

U.S. CapitolInternational Spy MuseumNational Museum of African

American History and CultureNational Museum Of the

American IndianThe NewseumFBI Museum (no longer does

tours) *Originally slated to visit

Our Objective

To find resources that will help us explore the idea of government surveillance of dissent groups in the 1960s.

Anti-War Groups Civil Rights Leaders & Groups

SDS (Students for a Democratic Society)

CPUSA (Communist Party of America)

The Weather Underground

Cesar Chavez and the United Grape Workers

Chicano Movement SCLC (Southern Christian

Leadership Council) SNCC (Student Nonviolent

Coordinating Committee) Black Panther Party Nation of Islam NOW (National Organization of

Women) AIM (American Indian

Movement)

Dissent Groups We Hoped To Explore:

How did our visits enhance our understanding of civil liberties?

In most cases, accessible and clear information was not readily available in a casual museum visit.

The help we sought from staff members did not meet our particular needs.

Most exhibits did not highlight domestic dissenters such as: AIM, Black Panthers, Weathermen, etc.

What types of “evidence” did museums provide to support their historical narratives?

American achievements were highlighted and presented thoroughly while shortcomings were often barely mentioned. Some newspapers showing Black Panther & Weathermen arrests Acknowledgment of the Native American movement Mention of the mainstream civil rights and women suffrage

movements

Their mission was to support the majority and the offer a lens into what it means to be an American Even a museum such as the Native American Museum did not

offer any particulars on AIM and dissent among Native American groups

Exhibit information from:National Museum Of the American Indian

That’s it?

How did museums frame issues of civil liberties?

The Spy museum provided specifics on spying and intelligence during the Cold War era (i.e. the Rosenbergs) and allowed visitors to assess the reaction of government officials and civilians to communism in America.

However most materials were in relation to deceiving, subverting and sabotaging foreign enemy groups

The museums were geared toward the average visitor, whether American or international, and not toward researchers and academics who had a more specific focus

Whose values and perspectives are best represented, and who is left out?

Clearly the values of the status quo and successful or “safe” leaders/movements in civil liberties were offered, such as: Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony, etc.

Violent or extremely controversial dissenters were not given a proper voice. These perspectives were barely visible and not given discourse.

Would you take students to these museums and if so, how would you structure the visit?

Of all the museums we used for our particular focus, we would focus on taking students to the Spy Museum:

The presentations and layouts of the museum were stimulating for visitors, very tactile. Themes and Objectives were very clear.

Opportunities for lesson/activity: i.e. plan an infiltration of a dissent group, what ways could you investigate as a government agent? How could a dissent group counteract these measures? What specific spy tools and skills and their applications would be used?

How does the political/social context influence how museums present civil liberties

By their nature, non-profit or government sponsored museums in the nation’s capitol would not present anything controversial, or violent, especially toward the American government and institutions

In our experience, private museums were more likely to have a broader scope and took more risks with what they chose to display

What suggestions could we offer to improve/change an exhibit?

Acknowledge dissent groups and their perspective.

Demonstrate how civil liberties originated out of the causes of dissent groups

Show how American history is a history of dissent, and it needs to be celebrated whether it was successful or not

Most often, museums only present what has become mainstream, show the “darker” side of things

How do museums/historic sites enable us to engage the past. What avenues open up.

Historical pasts become embodied in museums, memorials, and historical sites.

Some of these places, such as the U.S. Capitol museum become sacred symbols of our democracy

However, these places of broad and revered symbolism sometimes over-simplify the complexities of struggle for equality and for civil liberties

America!...

FINAL VERDICT

We loved our visit to D.C. and the museums and sites we selected, however it did not provide us with specific and substantial research to use for our stated objectives (gov’t surveillance of dissent groups / freedom vs. security)

We discovered that most of our information would come via declassified government documents and sources (things that we originally hoped to investigate via the FBI museum, etc)