By almost any measure, 2020, just past the halfway mark as I write, has been an extraordinary year. As with 1945 and 1968, mention of 2020 will likely conjure a distinct and powerful set of associations (and material culture) for people long into the future (Figure 1). Various features of this issue—a series of museum curators' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, statements on racial justice and Confederate monument removal from SAH leaders and affiliate and preservation group members, a letter to the editor regarding monument removal—respond to these charged and ongoing circumstances.1 History is always in the making, but its making is more evident at some times than others. This year marks one of those times. If, as the saying goes, news is the first draft of history, this issue of JSAH is newsier than most.2
As professional historians, we are tasked with “making” history. Mostly,...
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