On April 20th, 2015, graduate student Diane Miller receieved an award from the Organization of American Historians for her work as primary project director on the National Underground Network to Freedom. We congratulate Diane on her continued service in public history.
From their press release:
BLOOMINGTON, IN—During its annual meeting in St. Louis, the Organization of American Historians (OAH) presented the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom with their prestigious 2015 Stanton-Horton Award for Excellence in National Park Service History. The award, which recognizes excellence in historical projects for, by, and with the National Park Service and is intended to honor projects that make the NPS exemplary in promoting civic dialogue about and appreciation of American history, is named for Robert G. Stanton, who served for almost four decades in the National Park Service, and James Oliver Horton, who is the Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University and Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom. Diane Miller, primary project director.
The inaugural Stanton-Horton Award is given to the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program administered by the National Park Service. The Network to Freedom program originated from a 1998 congressional mandate and has grown to 550 members in 36 states plus the District of Columbia. Members include historic sites and markers, educational and interpretive programs, and facilities, such as archives and museums. There are 33 National Park Service sites included as members. The winning program has distinguished itself in three ways. First, the Network to Freedom (NTF) has identified through a lengthy and collaborative process criteria for NTF significance based upon verifiable primary sources. This criterion legitimates the Underground Railroad beyond its so-called mythic status as a secret network and establishes its existence with documented proof. The results of such rigorous demonstrable evidence are that American historical scholarship is substantially and significantly enlarged in a crucial area of study. Second, the Network to Freedom engages people in a vast network of collaboration and scholarship. Individuals working alone or with an array of nonprofit organizations join together to pool resources and cooperate in education, preservation, and commemorative activities. Third, this vast modern-day network crosses boundaries of race, geography, and interest levels in history. Grassroots activists to professional historians across local and national venues join in the common cause of documenting Underground Railroad activities and sites. The Network to Freedom epitomizes the best in American historical scholarship and promotes active and sustained civic dialogue.
The award was presented on April 18 by OAH’s 2014–15 President Patty Limerick and 2015–16 President Jon Butler. A total of 50 recipients received 2015 OAH awards.
