Funding a Mobile Museum: The Philadelphia Public History Truck

A $10,000 grant from the Philadelphia History Initiative (@PhillyHistory) would support the Philadelphia Public History Truck’s (PPHT) mission to “make culture accessible through creative community building based in Philadelphia neighborhoods via history exhibits.” This mobile museum aims to “share stories, create, [and] deliver history,” and a grant would allow the PPHT to engage more communities and personalize their perspective of Philadelphia history.

The Philadelphia Public History Truck, according the founder Erin Bernard, "is about listening to the needs of communities, building synergy and helping neighbors and neighborhoods, which have not really interacted, listen to each other in the hope of inspiring some citywide conversation.” Source for image.

Additional funding could encourage the PPHT to engage residents of North Philadelphia impacted by Temple University’s consistent history of aggressive expansion. In recent weeks, Temple’s President Richard Englert decided after two years of continuous public conversation, “the time was right to take this next step” in the construction of a “multipurpose facility” (i.e., a football stadium). (1) This is just another example of the university expanding its physical footprint into the local community and disrupting the locals’ sense of belonging along north Broad Street. The PPHT could listen to the concerns of the local residents and document their stories for the historical record. This potential project would foster a much-needed relationship between the community and Temple students and faculty in light of the larger institution’s unwillingness to engage their concerns.

A sketch of Temple's proposed football stadium along north Broad Street. Image referenced from Temple News.

The PPHT could utilize the funds in various ways, but the most important expenditure would include the costs of organizing a public meeting (food and beverage costs, renting a facility, supplies, etc.). Ideally, Temple University’s Center for Public History would incorporate this project into a graduate course and limit labor costs. Therefore, the remainder of the grant could be allocated towards the PPHT’s Steem power. The PPHT could use this platform to consistently publish original content and perpetuate its funding for future projects.

The PPHT has a successful track record of responsible financial planning and effective implementation. In 2014, PPHT received an $85,000 grant from the Barra Foundation. This award permitted Erin Bernard, the founder, to purchase a permanent vehicle. The PPHT continued its outreach with projects in North Philadelphia and Kensington, and the National Council on Public History awarded the truck its 2016 Award for Outstanding Public History Project. This ongoing, grassroots effort enables historians to collaborate with local communities and produce meaningful content for immediate relevance.

A grant for $10,000 would not only invest directly in the PPHT, but thanks to the truck’s history of extensive media attention, the funding would also introduce a broader audience to the power of Steemit and other forms of cryptocurrency funding. Temple News, Billy Penn, Philadelphia Magazine, the American Historical Association, and WHYY have all featured the PPHT, and considering the vast coverage the proposed football stadium has received, there’s serious reason to believe this potential project would attract additional media attention. When asked about funding and partners, the PPHT would credit the power of Steemians and cryptocurrency.

Resources:

1. “Temple to seek approvals for multipurpose facility,” Temple News, January 18, 2018.

2. For more information on the Philadelphia Public History Truck and its history see, Erin Bernard, History Truck Unlimited: The New Mobile History, Urban Crisis, and Me,(Masters Thesis, Temple University, May 2015).

^{100% of the SBD rewards from this #explore1918 post will support the Philadelphia History Initiative @phillyhistory. This crypto-experiment conducted by graduate courses at Temple University's Center for Public History and MLA Program, is exploring history and empowering education. Click here to learn more.}