national humanities advocacy day

In early march 2020, (then) IPrh once again sponsored a delegation to the annual national humanities alliance advocacy day in Washington, d.c. this annual event gives humanists nationwide an opportunity to advocate for federal funding for the humanities as a part of the congressional budget process. the nha provides training, schedules appointments and develops talking points for meetings with congressional delegates. state delegations then descend on capitol hill to convince legislators to support funding for programs like the national endowment for the humanities, title VI and Fulbright-hayes, and the Institute of museum and Library services.

uIuc sent its largest delegation yet, with professors Jonathan ebel (religion), craig Koslofsky (history), eduardo Ledesma (spanish and Portuguese) and renée trilling (english) joined by intern and Las undergraduate Isabella marquez. the mood in Washington was subdued this year, with the coronavirus crisis already looming. crowds were noticeably smaller, and elbow bumps had replaced handshakes, but the value of these face-to-face meetings became increasingly clear. With government struggling to respond to an unfolding pandemic, advocates could point to real-world examples of public initiatives in education and preservation that illustrate how humanities funding can ameliorate the effects of cultural trauma.

Preservation, in fact, was an important element of this year’s advocacy day. For the first time, delegates were asked to advocate for the national archives. the archives has seen its responsibilities grow exponentially with the advent of electronic communications, but its budget allocation has not kept pace and has in fact seen significant cuts over the past two years. americans rely on the archives for everything from family genealogies to service records to access veterans’ benefits to immigration, naturalization, and census records for proof of citizenship. this year’s advocacy experience was an important reminder that maintaining accessible archives is not just important for scholars, but for everyone, emphasizing the nha’s theme of humanities for all.

HRI INTeRNS

david F. Prindable Intern Issy marquez Issy Marquez served as the david F. Prindable intern last year, assisting with undergraduate outreach and communications. among her experiences, she was the first undergraduate from the university of Illinois to participate in national humanities advocacy day in Washington, d.c. Issy, who is majoring in english, Political science and Latina/Latino studies, will continue to work at hrI in 2020–21 as an odyssey Project intern. Olivia Fleming also worked at hrI assisting with communications and outreach, including production of the new odyssey Project print booklet. a major in communication and social psychology, olivia worked over the summer as a communication intern at the cancer center at Illinois and as a management trainee at Kickapoo state Park. In the fall, she will serve as an intern with hrI’s odyssey Project and she hopes to continue her involvement with the student alumni ambassadors and Positive Illini organizations.

hrI Intern olivia Fleming