Alabama Department of Archives & History’s Post

Transcript

How do you tell the story of a state? Its land, its government, its peak. Is its history merely an account of what happened in the past, or is it useful for today? How can you ensure that its story is documented, preserved, accessible and useful not only for the present, but for generations to come? In Montgomery, the Alabama Department of Archives and History works to answer these questions. The home of Alabama history since 1901, the Archives exists to collect and preserve the historical records and artifacts of the people of Alabama and to use that material in sharing their stories. The Archives collects and preserves thousands of artifacts and documents, from official state government records to private. Journals and letters from business and church records to photos and film, from flags, quilts and clothing to farm implements and toys. The Archive shares these collections these stories by offering resources for state and local governments, history museums, researchers, educators and history enthusiasts, by making an ever growing number of items accessible online, and by weaving together artifacts, original films, immersive scenery and interactive programs in the Museum of Alabama to tell our state story from its first peoples to the present. At the Alabama Department of Archives and History, the pieces of Alabama story are stitched together to help us better understand where we came from and where we're going. Estate story means to understand who we are, because to tell the story of Alabama, you have to tell the story of its people. You have to tell the story of the first people who called this land home and the story of where they are today. You have to tell the story of farmers who toiled upon this land to provide food and fabric for the world. The story of enslaved people who sang of a home and a land of freedom and of their descendants who worked for equality. The story of coal miners, furnace workers, meal workers, politicians. Doctors, lawyers, judges, scientists, musicians, artists, military service members and so many more. The story of human industry and achievement making. Still that made America. Building ships that defended our freedom. Building vessels to send us to the stars. The story of people who did the right thing. Even when it was difficult. Even when it was dangerous, so that liberty and justice would prevail not just in our state but throughout the world. To tell the story of Alabama, you have to tell the whole story, layered with its struggles, its successes, its scars. You have to tell the whole story because it's our story. And our story is worth remembering. Worth preserving? Worth learning from. Worth teaching to our children? Worth protecting? This is the work of the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Our stories live here.