The Monumental Project

The Monuments Toolkit
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Welcome to The Monumental Project: How Historic Sites and Monuments of Yesterday Affect Us Today. As the official companion podcast of the Monuments Toolkit program, we will be diving deep into the pieces of American history found across the nation, and how the stories they carry impact the modern day American citizen. The goal of this podcast and the program at large, is to address the question “how do we address monuments of oppression?” What are our options for dealing with painful pieces of our past? How can we learn, heal, and move forward? By the end of this season we’ll have a better understanding. 

  1. May 20

    Monuments in Museums, Part 2: Beyond the Display Case / Más Allá de la Vitrina

    What happens when Indigenous researchers respond to a Western museum calling a codex a "living ancestor"? In this season finale and our first episode entirely in Spanish, Dr. Omar Aguilar Sánchez, Mixtec archaeologist and founder of Colectivo Nchivi Ñuu Savi, and Mtro. Gibránn Becerra Álvarez, archaeologist and member of Voladores de Cuetzalan del Progreso, bring the voices that Part 1 was missing. They speak from their communities about codices as living heritage, rematriation, ongoing colonial processes, and why the definitions of "monument" and "cultural heritage" need to be rethought from the voices of the peoples themselves. — ¿Qué pasa cuando investigadores indígenas responden a un museo occidental que describe un códice como un "ancestro vivo"? En este final de temporada y nuestro primer episodio completamente en español, el Dr. Omar Aguilar Sánchez, arqueólogo mixteco, fundador y director del Colectivo Nchivi Ñuu Savi, y el Mtro. Gibránn Becerra Álvarez, arqueólogo e integrante de Voladores de Cuetzalan del Progreso, traen las voces que faltaban en la Parte 1. Nos hablan desde sus comunidades sobre los códices como patrimonio vivo, la rematriación, procesos coloniales vigentes, y por qué las definiciones de "monumento" y "patrimonio cultural" necesitan ser repensadas desde las voces de los pueblos. Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    1h 26m

  2. May 6

    Monuments in Museums, Part 1: The Amoxtli Tezcatlipoca

    When does an artifact in a museum reach "monumental" status? In this episode, we're exploring the concept of belongings as monuments, primarily focusing on the Amoxtli Tezcatlipoca (or the Codex Fejérváry-Mayer) with Meghan Backhouse from National Museums Liverpool and José Sherwood, an expert on the amoxtli. This will be the first part as the second part will be with Nahua scholars conducted in the spanish language.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    55 min

  3. Apr 22

    Creative Extremism: A Conversation with Michelle Browder

    What is creative extremism? Michelle Browder uses this phrase from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to describe her work as both an artist and activist in Montgomery, Alabama. In this episode, Michelle tells us about her company, More Than Tours, as well as the Mothers of Gynecology monument that she created in protest of the J. Marion Sims statue. Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    50 min

  4. Apr 8

    Protecting Freedmen's Town, Part 2: Preservation with Freedmen's Town Conservancy

    In this episode, we're continuing our conversation about Freedmen's Town by turning toward some of the efforts currently happening to protect the infrastructure while also modernizing it as a livable community. We're joined by Sharon Fletcher, Executive Director of the Freedmen's Town Conservancy, who tells us why Freedmen's Town is a monument of worldwide importance.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    52 min

  5. Mar 25

    Protecting Freedmen's Town, Part 1: History & Advocacy

    In this episode, we're meeting with the folks of Freedmen's Town in Houston, Texas. Freedmen's Town is a historic neighborhood developed entirely by the formerly enslaved people of the greater Houston area after their emancipation. However, preserving the town has been a challenge due to ongoing developments and modernization. Joining us from the Rutherford B. Yates Museum, Catherine Roberts and her colleagues tell us all about the history of the town as well as the advocacy work to keep it preserved as best as possible.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    46 min

  6. Mar 5

    Reconciling with Fort Pillow: Interpreting New Sites with Kevin Levin

    How does a historic site become a national park? In this episode, we meet with Kevin Levin, an educator and public historian who tells about the process of turning Fort Pillow into a national historic site. We discuss the history of Fort Pillow, how students are involved in the discussion on monuments, and the various methods public historians use to reach new audiences.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    40 min

  7. Feb 11

    Remembering La Matanza: A Conversation with Trinidad Gonzales and Benjamin Johnson

    This episode comes in a time of dire need for historical reflection and current action. Over the past few weeks, the Monuments Toolkit team, alongside the rest of the nation, has watched as anti-immigrant sentiments, deportations, and racial violence all reached new heights in the modern era. The events happening in Minneapolis today feel reticent of those in 2020 that led to the creation of the Toolkit and this podcast, including the murder of George Floyd and the summer of protests against oppressive monuments thereafter. However, we must also highlight the difference between the protests then and the protests now as this time our nation struggles to reconcile with its history of violence against the Latine community.  This history needs to be present in the monuments and sites landscape, but it largely remains absent. While we often discuss the need to remove bronze figures of oppression, we also must reinterpret the historic sites of violence to tell the stories of those lost, which is why today, we bring to you a special episode addressing our nation’s history of violence against Americans of Mexican descent in Texas. We’re meeting with Trinidad Gonzales, a history professor, descendant of La Matanza, and formerly a co-founder of Refusting to Forget; and Benjamin Johnson co-founder ofsx Refusing to Forget, a Texas-based non-profit dedicated to strengthening the collective memory of La Matanza and the history of racial violence on the Mexico-Texas border.  Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    1 hr

  8. Jan 28

    Commemorating Sites of Conscience with Ereshnee Naidu

    The process of commemorating a site with complicated histories can be a challenge. Whether you're looking to memorialize a tragedy or highlight the hidden history of a site popular for other reasons, there are several steps of care necessary to consider. Ereshnee Naidu, Executive Director of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, joins us today to tell us a bit more about how these sites can be properly cared for as well as what types of places qualify as a "site of conscience." Credits Song Credits: Melancholy Lull by Vital Royalty Free Music: Bensound.com/royalty-free-music License code: GHSG4LYAWYBKBEES

    31 min
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About

Welcome to The Monumental Project: How Historic Sites and Monuments of Yesterday Affect Us Today. As the official companion podcast of the Monuments Toolkit program, we will be diving deep into the pieces of American history found across the nation, and how the stories they carry impact the modern day American citizen. The goal of this podcast and the program at large, is to address the question “how do we address monuments of oppression?” What are our options for dealing with painful pieces of our past? How can we learn, heal, and move forward? By the end of this season we’ll have a better understanding. 

Information

  • Creator
    The Monuments Toolkit
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    35
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Monumental Project
  • Show Website
    The Monumental Project