California Historical Society endorses the History Relevance Value Statement

 CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOINS DOZENS OF ORGANIZATIONS AROUND THE COUNTRY ENDORSING VALUES OF HISTORY RELEVANCE

Urges History Fans to Support Effort with #HistoryRelevance Social Campaign

SAN FRANCISCO (March 15, 2017) — The California Historical Society today joins more than 100 historical organizations around the country to endorse the History Relevance Value Statement and declare the importance of teaching and learning history.

To celebrate, California Historical Society is urging history fans to post a selfie of them enjoying their favorite historical spot, and use the hashtag #HistoryRelevance.

The Value Statement is comprised of seven distinct tenets delineating critical ways the study of history is essential to individuals, communities, and our shared future. The full Value Statement can be found at https://www.historyrelevance.com/value-statement. 

Endorsement of the Value Statement sends a positive message to raise the value of history in American society and help history organizations of all kinds to better articulate the value of history with a common language. History studies create a sense of awareness and identity, cultivate critical thinking and analytical skills, and lay the groundwork for empowered communities. They preserve the past and spark inspiration for the future.

History Relevance comprises over 150 like-minded organizations around the world, from the Smithsonian Institution and National Archives to historical societies and archivists; associations and nonprofits; and museums, trusts, estates, and local institutions. The Value Statement is endorsed by organizations that promote and encourage a sense of awareness, identity, and interconnectivity in a multicultural world through history-driven courses of study.

“We are thrilled with California Historical Society’s endorsement in our Values Statement,” said Tim Grove, History Relevance spokesperson. “History – including knowledge as well as the processes of research and reflection – is critically important to our society, culture, and the individual citizens who live it each and every day.”

Visit CHS online at www.californiahistoricalsociety.org. For more information about History Relevance, go to www.historyrelevance.com.

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About the California Historical Society

Founded in 1871, the California Historical Society (CHS) is a non-profit organization with a mission to inspire and empower people to make California's richly diverse past a meaningful part of their contemporary lives. In 1979 Governor Jerry Brown designated CHS the official Historical Society of the State of California. Today, CHS enacts its mission with a wide range of library, exhibition, publication, education, and public outreach programs that explore the complex and continuing history of the State and represent the diversity of the California experience, past and present. Our treasured collection—documenting the history of the entire state from the Spanish Era to the present day—is brought to life through these innovative public history projects that expand and diversify our audience and broaden our public impact.

About History Relevance

History Relevance seeks to foster a dialogue regarding how study of the past links people to the present. The group serves as a catalyst for discovering, demonstrating, and promulgating the value of history for individuals, communities, and the nation. We believe that history can have more impact when it connects the people, events, places, stories, and ideas of the past with people, events, places, stories, and ideas that are important and meaningful to communities, people, and audiences today. For more information, visit www.historyrelevance.com.