For nearly eighty years, the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) has presented Leadership in History Awards to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation, and interpretation of state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people.
Today, AASLH announces the Awards of Excellence winners for this year. The 2024 Albert B. Corey Award winner and History in Progress winners were previously announced.
Awards of Excellence
The Award of Excellence is presented to recognize excellence for projects (including civic engagement, special projects, educational programs, exhibits, publications, etc.), and individual lifetime achievement. This is the main award in the Leadership in History Awards program.
Alabama
Alabama Department of Archives and History for Alabama History Institutes
Alabama Department of Archives and History for History/Now: Conversations on the Past + Present
California
Barona Cultural Center and Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego for Muuyaawkeh! You Should Know!
Gerrye Wong for decades of preserving and sharing Chinese American history in California
LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes for 18th and Grand: The Olympic Auditorium
Colorado
Louisville Historical Museum for the Marshall Fire Story Project
Museum of Boulder for Proclaiming Colorado’s Black History
Connecticut
Connecticut Museum of Culture and History for The Bicycle Game
Culture 4 A Cause for The John Brown Project
Fairfield Museum and History Center for Creating Community: 400 Years of Fairfield Stories
Housatonic Museum of Art for The Practice of Democracy: A View from Connecticut
District of Columbia
Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum for To Live and Breathe: Women and Environmental Justice in Washington, D.C.
Florida
This Day in Miami History for the This Day in Miami History podcast
Illinois
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for Here I Have Lived: Home in Illinois
Glencoe Historical Society for Glencoe’s Black Heritage
Illinois State Museum for Growing Up X
Indiana
The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute, and the Emmett Till Interpretive Center for Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See
Monroe County History Center for Breaking the News: The Past and Uncertain Future of Local Print Journalism
Kansas
Black History Trail of Geary County, Inc. for Black History Trail of Geary County, Phase 1: The Dedication of Six Sites
Shawnee Town 1929 Museum for In Their Footsteps: A Veterans Day Lantern Tour
Maryland
Christopher Haley for thirty years of research and advocacy for African American history in Maryland
College Park Aviation Museum for the Latinas in Aviation Global Festival
Massachusetts
Dr. Patricia Fanning for fifty years of service to local history and the community of Norwood, Massachusetts
Heritage Museums & Gardens for Creating Cape Cod
Newburyport Black History Initiative for Newburyport Black History Initiative Interpretive Signs
Old North Illuminated for Expanding History at Old North Church
Somerville Museum and Somerville High School Local History Club for Above and Beyond: The Remarkable Life of Somerville Olympian Phil Reavis
Missouri
Landmark Builds for Iconic Joplin: Celebrating Joplin’s 150th birthday by recreating local landmarks with LEGO
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Historical Society for The Moose on the Loose: Social Studies for Granite State Kids
New York
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site for Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site exhibits
Ohio
Shelby County Historical Society for the Wallace Family Learning and Innovation Center
Pennsylvania
The Frick Pittsburgh for Clayton Signature Tour Experience: Gilded, Not Golden
Museum of the American Revolution for Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia
Stenton for Inequality in Bronze: Monumental Plantation Legacies
Rhode Island
Lippitt House Museum for the Lippitt House Museum Civics Program for Adult English Language Learners
The Preservation Society of Newport County for The Celestial City: Newport and China
Tennessee
Historic Castalian Springs for Hidden History: A Behind the Scenes Tour of Cragfont
Tennessee State Museum and the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library at Fisk University for Building a Bright Future: Black Communities and Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee
Texas
Dr Pepper Museum for The People Who Made Dr Pepper/Las Personas Que Hicieron El Refresco Dr Pepper
Virginia
Birthplace of Country Music Museum for I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music
Douglass High School Commemorative Committee and Loudoun County Public Schools for the Historic Douglass High School Education and Development Campus
Washington
Washington State Historical Society for Black Washington
Wisconsin
The John Michael Kohler Arts Center for Mary Nohl Art Environment
Wisconsin Veterans Museum for Souvenirs of Service: The Things They Kept
Publication Awards
Large Press: Faith, Race, and the Lost Cause: Confessions of a Southern Church by Christopher Alan Graham (University of Virginia Press)
Small Press: Promising Cures: The Pursuit of Health in a 19th Century New England Community—Lynn, Massachusetts by Andrew V. Rapoza (independently published)
