Our Commonwealth: June 2020

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Our Commonwealth: June 2020

A Different View

When we last saw this view from Cole's Hill overlooking Plymouth harbor, it was very different. It was mid-March, cold, dreary and we had no idea it would be nearly three months before we could even begin to imagine seeing it, or our office again. The picture we take of this view now may appear to be the same, but so much about it is different. And rightly so. As preservationists, we work to preserve places, our local and national history and tell the story of the people who came before us. Our history is not, should not be, one view, nor it is a single story. In a 2009 Ted Talk, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie talks about "The Danger of A Single Story" and has some enlightening insight on the how the stories we tell shape views. We have a lot of work to do but we are committed to showing up, listening and doing the work for equity and inclusivity in preservation, and our daily lives. Maybe a year from now the view we see will truly be different.... for the better.

"Change is the only constant in life." Heraclitus, Greek philosopher

Preservation Briefs