For the Federal Writers Project, not all of the materials have made it online yet and many of those that are online are hard to find or lack context. Let’s get them all up and usable and then let’s build on that history! Public institutions (education, museums, libraries) are chronically underfunded and have been for decades, so let’s work to build them again and to have funding for jobs where people learn skills and where people can be passionate about their work and be part of something bigger.

It all ties together, even the issues of urban decline and suburban sprawl. When people feel disconnected from where they are (home and community) and from what they do (jobs, community), they become less involved.If we build jobs that matter to people and that reconnect them to their communities, then they become involved and the communities benefit in general from their work and from their involvement. Today is a day of service and I’m happy to be at work making sure more materials go online for everyone’s access and benefit–including my own by being part of the process–and that’s not something I’d be able to say if I worked in many other fields. Let’s build our communities through projects that make people part of those communities again and that allow them to contribute. Times of crisis are times to bond together and rebuild stronger and smarter, so let’s do it and let’s make sure it helps people now while building toward the bigger, better future for all. It’s thrilling to know that I have hope that can be realized. I’m willing to do the necessary work and so many others are as well and we have an administration that’s open to doing things the smart way, to invest now for a better future!

Also, congrats on your 2008 Cliopatra Award for the Best Individual History Blog!