Our August issue considers issues of authenticity, objectivity, and advocacy in public history. We begin with the Gregory Smoak’s NCPH Presidential Address, delivered virtually in May. Smoak argues that public historians must be advocates, particularly on the existential issue of climate change. As he writes, “we must remain true to our professional ethics and methods, but we must not shrink from advocating for good history and good science. Environmental history can be a powerful tool for doing just that.” Smoak’s exploration of the use of nature and the environment as a “fundamental category” in understanding the past as well as the present climate crisis sets the tone for an issue that tackles questions about the role of public historians as advocates and the meaning of objectivity.

Nino Testa dives deeply into layered meanings of authenticity and advocacy in “‘If You Are Reading It, I am Dead’: Activism, Local History, and...

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