HERITAGE LEADERSHIP*
The Most Precious Resource: Truth in American Interpretation
The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel has a slogan: History Moves Us Forward. They further emphasize that, “This history is more important than ever.” Located at the place where Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated in 1968, they currently feature exhibits on “Speaking Truth to Power: The Life of Bayard Rustin” and “A Culture of Resistance: Slavery in America, 1619-1861.” Photo courtesy crazyfamilyadventure.com.
Thank you to our contributing authors: Robert Stanton, Bill Gwaltney, Theresa Coble, and Chris Schott
*The posture of a heritage leader is one of cultural humility, a readiness to rebalance power dynamics, and reciprocity.
In the full portrait of the United States, there is no shortage of significance packed into our (very brief) 250 years. Even skillful interpreters might look at the United States’ compact and complicated history and end up relying on convenient, comfortable, and politically palatable explorations of the nation’s identity. To do so would be very much in line with what many Americans expect already: keeping the boat unrocked and water unchartered.
But this is all by design. From their early, formative experiences, Americans inherit stories and beliefs about the United States that have been molded by flattering overgeneralizations and, in some cases, total exclusion of the country’s contested histories. These renditions usually represent the United States in a positive, uncritical fashion, providing the kind of continuing historical throughline that President Trump’s March 27, 2025 Executive Order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, exemplifies. However, we argue that addressing difficult histories, complex realities, or multifaceted truths is not an act of national cynicism but instead an act of responsible citizenship.
For this important conversation, we’re joined by former National Park Service Director, and the first African American appointed to the position, Robert “Bob” Stanton. Alongside Bob, we’re also joined by Bill Gwaltney. Bill’s distinguished career in interpretation has involved everything from working as a Park Ranger to serving as Chief of Interpretation at Rocky Mountain National Park. The rich experiences of our guests, as respected professional interpreters and as Americans, are an important part of our country’s history and identity.
Bill and Bob are joined by UMSL professors Dr. Theresa Coble and Dr. Chris Schott to explore how participating as an American requires more than repeating inherited, and often incomplete or inaccurate, narratives. Instead, it means examining how those narratives were made, how they are taught, who they serve, and what lies just out of frame.
In the film Glory (1989), the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry assembles on the beach. The black and white photo was taken during the filming of Glory and shows, from left to right, Captain Jack L. Thompson, Bill Gwaltney, and Morgan Freeman. The Company B website indicates that, “Company B was formed in 1988 as a U.S. National Park Service ‘Volunteers in Parks’ unit. Having become one of the best drilled and most authentic Civil War reenactment groups in the country, Company B is dedicated to keeping alive the proud heritage of the 54th, and all of the United States Colored Troops, by serving as living memorials and authentically interpreting the life of Black Civil War soldiers and their officers.” The National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) interviewed Bill Gwaltney, summarizing his comments on the Civil War in an article titled, “The War that Shaped America” (2011). Photo courtesy 54thmass.org.
A National Identity by Design
Bob
The gaps in our understanding, and our hesitation to recognize them, seem to result from our educational systems, as well as political and ideological reasoning. Should we conclude that how we are educated in our public and private schools will not improve—and therefore we have to rely on other institutions, like the Archives, Smithsonian, and National Park Service to pick up where our elementary, secondary, high school, and even collegiate level institutions leave off? Why aren't people learning the full scope of American history? Are we satisfied that will always be the case?
Theresa
Well, there's a red state, blue state divide, and political leanings have been instrumental in shaping policy. For example, Texas, Florida, California, and New York have some of the largest public school enrollments across the country and thus they influence textbook content. Texas's recent curriculum wars show a political fight over who is included in history and how slavery is addressed, often resulting in a whitewashed version of history by design.
Bill
This design is certainly aided and abetted by political interests. Conservatives seem to be interested in maintaining and building power. Progressives are generally interested in sharing power. And interpreters, and perhaps all educators, feel like they don’t have any power and therefore are not part of the conversation. When the country’s national narrative, accurate or not, appears to be top-down or politically driven, it’s understandable for any educator to feel hesitant or even defeated when discussing difficult history. It feels natural that we would end up with a fragmented history and untruthful pieces woven into our national story.
Chris
And the longer an incomplete, inaccurate version of history is taught, the deeper it is embedded in our culture. I was in middle school in the 1990s and remember being handed textbooks published at least two decades earlier. At 14 years old, I had very few critical thinking tools to question if those stories and narratives were equitable—or even accurate. Even today as an adult, I recall my first trip to the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis and learning troubling American history for the first time. And this experience seems to be the same for many others who visit the museum. Complacency is passed down generationally and institutionally, but it is also present in our schools.
In 2010, a protester in Texas held a sign that says, “Don’t White-Out Our History” at a rally outside a building where the State Board of Education heard testimony regarding revisions to social studies textbooks. According to the Associated Press, “Historians and education advocates say the new textbooks are inaccurate.” Photo by Dallas Morning News.
On April 7, 2026, Emily Glankler, a former Austin social studies teacher speaks at a rally outside the Barbara Jordan State Office Building to oppose proposed changes to the Texas social studies curriculum. Protesters held signs saying, “Teach the Truth” and “Don’t erase our history.” Photo by Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman.
The text of “The Scourged Back," and the image of Peter Gordon’s scourged back, has been removed from Fort Pulaski National Monument in Georgia.
In February 2026, Outside Magazine published a state-by-state listing of signs that have removed or flagged for removal at national parks in the U.S. (Please note: The Outside Magazine article includes the image of Peter Gordon’s scourged back.) These removals are pursuant to the Department of the Interior's implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order 14253 titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” Recently, national parks were required to display a sign with a QR code inviting visitors to “Please let us know if you have identified…(3) any signs or other information that are negative about past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.”
Increasingly, interpreters must consider how messages are framed, what content interpretive offerings include or omit, and whether "the truth”—or multiple truths—are revealed or obscured. In Kintsugi: Metamorphosis, Et Imperatriz Noctem, a writer living in Wales, mused that “It’s not what people are showing that’s worrying, it’s what they are concealing and the extent of the concealment.”
Truth as a Public Resource
Theresa
The National Parks, over their 100+ year history, have increasingly tried to tell complete stories by including multiple perspectives and partnering with descendant communities of color. Museums often lean more into uncomfortable pasts. However, telling ugly truths often leads to accusations of being "woke" or practicing critical race theory, and there's a push to silence such narratives. The current trend of removing signage following the aforementioned Executive Order reveals to us, in real time, that interpretation is ideological, that truth can be subverted or even completely omitted from the public sphere, and that there’s pressure to regress to a version of history that’s preferred by those in power. How can this fail to influence how people interpret America?
Bob
The most precious resource of the National Park Service is the truth, even though it's often difficult to tell it. Sometimes people don't recognize the truth, even if ugly, as a way forward. Truth-telling can be a real moment of progress. And if we are to progress our culture and vision of the country, responsible interpretation means the truth must be treated as a public good and not a political or ideological inconvenience.
Chris
I believe you’re absolutely right, Bob. And in this way, responsibly and truthfully telling the nation’s story means not just merely presenting information, but also protecting our civic inheritance. Sometimes the truth is difficult, even painful, but it also serves as a pathway to participate in society with clarity rather than misconception. Telling the truth does not diminish a nation, it instead allows its citizens to instead learn, heal, and live honestly.
Theresa
That's a responsible way to view citizenship. But educational systems skew which stories are told, creating tension. Maybe a good question to consider is why people fear the truth? American idealism almost always places pride before truth, especially if it questions American exceptionalism.
Bob
Yes, and we can see this in almost any area of American life. For example, natural heritage was manipulated out of fear when wolves were removed from Yellowstone National Park. The idea was to “tame the wilderness” by controlling the wolf population, who were deemed a menace to other game in the area. This was eventually corrected and people saw the benefit of preserving a fully functioning ecosystem. However, it was a deliberate attempt to shape the public’s view of the wolf as well as the natural beauty of the park.
An image of the Honorable Robert G. Stanton from a documentary titled, “Stewart Udall and the Politics of Beauty” (2021). According to the filmmakers: “No American political figure is as relevant to the issues we face today as a nation—learning to work together, achieving racial and environmental justice, improving international relations, enhancing beauty and the arts, alleviating climate change and moving toward sustainability—as Stewart Udall.” Bob Stanton was hired as a seasonal park ranger at Grand Teton National Park in 1962 under a workforce diversity initiative implemented by Stewart Udall. Photo courtesy of StewartUdallFilm.org.
In 1897, W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an article for The Atlantic titled, “Strivings of the Negro People,” in which he explores the alienation experienced by emancipated slaves and their families three decades after the Civil War. Du Bois writes, “Between me and the other world, there is ever an unasked question: How does it feel to be a problem?” In 2018, The Atlantic created an animated video to once again explore themes contained within Du Bois’ text. Photo courtesy of The Atlantic.
According to AdinkraSymbols.org: “The Akan proverb associated with Sankofa is, ‘Se wo were firi na wosan kofa a, yenkyiri.’ To wit, it is not taboo to go back and get something after you have forgotten it…Sankofa embodies humility, reflection, and respect for ancestry, teaching us that progress comes through understanding and honoring history.” Photo courtesy of AdinkraSymbols.org.
Bill
This wolf management example makes me consider how a dominant culture can so easily impose a split identity. For Yellowstone, it meant admiring wilderness in theory while degrading its integrity in practice. In the United States, it means projecting an equitable society on paper or within the story of America, but not reflecting those values in the real world. It reminds me of Du Bois and his concept of double consciousness to describe the divided self-perception of Black Americans under white supremacy.
Interpreting America must include interpreting the duality of the United States. It also must include interpreting all Americans, especially those who have chosen to ignore the promise of this nation and insist on the dark and ignorant fantasies of White Nationalism, casual discrimination, a return to separate and unequal policies, and the diminution of progress.
Chris
Those are some difficult truths to face when you’re trying your best to love your country.
Bill
Other cultures have found that leaning into hard truths and difficult histories is the only way to thrive. The Ghanaian word “sankofa” means to “go back and fetch” difficult lessons and learn from them. Doing this not only requires bravery and humility, it also demands strong critical thinking skills and patience. The Akan symbol connected to the word shows a bird looking backward toward the past while holding an egg in its mouth—a sign of the future to come.
As part of their #TeachTruth initiative, the Zinn Education Project provides cards that can be used to host a Constitution Gallery Walk. Their cards convey a progressive approach to issues of justice. If you were to host a Constitution Gallery Walk, how would you examine and elicit multiple points of view? The Zinn Education Project also created lesson plans on such topics as The Color Line, Poetry of Defiance: How the Enslaved Resisted, Reconstructing the South, and How Red Lines Built White Wealth (based on the New York Times bestseller The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein). Photo courtesy of Zinn Education Project.
Pride and Critique are Compatible
Theresa
The idea that Americans must choose between loving or criticizing their country is one of the most damaging, embedded, and persistent ideas in American culture. The love or criticize binary is too thin—and largely unrealistic—especially considering the deep complexity of United States history.
Chris
To truly love a country does not require the blind acceptance of a sanitized self-image. Additionally, critique does not have to signal contempt. In fact, if citizens come to expect inclusion, honesty, and accountability, critique becomes a way to participate more fully and accurately in American life.
Bob
My philosophy and perspective on a number of things is influenced by my childhood in which the United States was, by law, a segregated country. It's just amazing how long we allowed that to exist. But I will never forgive the system for hurting my mother. She lost her son in Korea. Under the doctrine of separate but equal, her two brothers who served in World War II and her two grandsons who served during the Vietnam era, none of them could enter the front door of a small cafe where she worked to have a cup of coffee with her. It hurt her, I'm sure. And I’ll never forgive the system for doing that to my mother.
Chris
American pride is a powerful and complicated idea.
Theresa
American pride is so powerful that it places itself before truth. And I would argue that “pride before truth” is a result of fear. Pride is really the flip side of fear, especially the fear of not enough, so people overcompensate. We are repeatedly told America is the greatest, right? We’re American exceptionalists. I think it works at cross purposes with our ability to have a dead-on accurate assessment of who we are as a people, where we've been, what we've done, and how knowing that could inform a better path forward. This is what Chris said earlier about the idea that, you know, we could see truth as something that pushes us forward, a springboard, not as something that trips us up.
In their training event for Black History Month 2026, BlackHistory100.org included a picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., alongside an essay he wrote in high school titled, “The Negro and the Constitution” (read the essay via an NPS online content portal). Interpreters can access and adapt BlackHistory100.org lesson plans, including Project A – Unearthing the Black Past, Project B – Important Events and Dates in Black History, Project C – MLK and Black Reconstruction, and Project D – Living Black History. Photo courtesy of BlackHistory100.org.
The Unfinished “We”
Bob
I remember my homegirl—quite an orator—Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, speaking about the Constitution. But the most important word in the preamble to the Constitution is the pronoun “we.” As I've often said, when that word was adopted as the lead word for the preamble, it was not inclusive by design. It did not include African Americans; it did not include women; it did not include Indians. And I think we are still fighting to get the full meaning of the “we.”
Theresa
Yes! And acknowledging that incompleteness does not reject “The Great Experiment,” as the founding of the United States was called. It means taking part in its ongoing revision.
Bill
And that inclusion of “we” is becoming more obscured now than it was in Congresswoman Jordan’s time. Former Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said that President Trump “is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try.”
A page from Barbara Jordan’s personal scrapbook. The Smithsonian records the complete transcript of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan’s July 24, 1974, speech to the House Judiciary Committee during President Nixon’s impeachment process. Photo courtesy of University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, crediting Texas Southern University.
Bob
You know, I was really astonished when the president announced in a recent State of the Union that we have killed DEI. Never in my life did I think that the words diversity, equity, and inclusion would be adverse to the principles of our country. I never did. So some people argue that we still don't want everybody included in the “we.” Until we address that, we will continue to have these difficulties.
Chris
Addressing it allows Americans to participate in their country with a full heart. Americans deserve to inherit the whole national story, not just moments of flattery or pride. After all, if to truly exist as a national “we” is the goal, we must be honest, careful, stark, inclusive, and more capable of holding and growing from the full American experience.
Thank you to our contributing authors.
