The Right to Privacy: A Call for a More Inclusive Heritage Practice

Guest speaker Jacqueline Shin, MAHP ‘24, will speak about how heritage practitioners can craft a more inclusive preservation practice by first becoming aware of, and then staying attuned to, the need for privacy amongst individuals from underrepresented communities. For decades our field has been committed to creating a more inclusive and diverse practice, focusing on increasing the visibility of historically marginalized groups and telling “all Americans’ stories.” This drive to increase visibility has worked against the needs of some members of underrepresented groups, for whom privacy means safety and even survival. Jacky will present her idea of heritage “communities of practice” as a means of decentering expertise and as a way for groups to think through issues of privacy and publicity together.

Jacky is originally from Vancouver, Canada. She was an English professor at Towson University for about ten years before switching careers to historic preservation; she now works in the National Register Program at the Maryland Historical Trust and is part of a community-led group called Baltimore's Red Thread.