by Nanci Gasiel
The Central Territory Museum has been recognized with an Award of Excellence by the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for its exhibit Perspectives. The award is part of the AASLH Leadership in History Awards, the country’s most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history.
The AASLH awards committee was “impressed by the breadth and depth of the project: providing onsite and online exhibitions, utilizing a multilingual platform, reaching out to your entire 11 state territory, launching an oral history project, and adding to your archival collection.”
Perspectives encourages visitors to examine different beliefs, thoughts and feelings through the stories of dozens of officers, soldiers and employees in the territory. The exhibit also looks at how corps, often in marginalized communities, positively impact their neighborhoods through programs and services designed to meet the needs of adults, families and children.
The exhibit recognizes the history of and diversity within The Salvation Army in the Midwest. Using personal narratives, photographs, video and artifacts, Perspectives reflects we are all created equal in God’s eyes. The theme woven throughout is “God sees color, God made color, and color is beautiful.”
Perspectives, an exhibit at Territorial Headquarters, is open not only to Salvationists but to the public and is available in both English and Spanish. It also may be viewed online (sacentralmuseum.org/perspectives).
The museum is humbled to be among 51 recipients of the 2023 Awards of Excellence. The winners represent the best in the field and provide leadership for the future of state and local history. The AASLH awards program was initiated in 1945 to establish and encourage standards of excellence in the collection, preservation and interpretation of state and local history throughout the United States.
The museum previously has received awards from the Illinois Association of Museums for Perspectives and other exhibits and programs. This is its first award from AASLH.
