Heritage Areas Practice Facilitating Dialogue on Difficult History

As part of a three-day training on facilitating dialogue about difficult histories, National Heritage Area partners toured the Carrie Blast Furnaces, a relic of an industrial era that has left behind a complex legacy.

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Homestead, PA (July 2, 2019) – Last week, staff from several National Heritage Areas (NHAs) and their partners met at the historic Bost Building outside of Pittsburgh for a training about Facilitating Dialogue on Difficult Histories. The three-day professional development workshop was led by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience and hosted by Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, with support from the National Heritage Areas Program of the National Park Service.

Rivers of Steel President and CEO Augie Carlino welcomed participants to the workshop, held in the Bost Building, a National Historic Landmark. The Bost Building served as union headquarters during the 1892 Homestead Lockout and Strike.

NPS Photo

Through the workshop, participants developed tools and techniques to facilitate constructive dialogue about history and its relevance to today, especially on topics that people may have trouble discussing because of various experiences or perspectives. The National Park Service has often partnered with the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a worldwide network of places of memory (such as historic sites, museums, or memorials), because of their experience in facilitating conversations about difficult history and their commitment to connecting past to present, memory to action.

Participants came from a wide range of institutions, from museums to national forests, in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. Some of them work directly with the public in educational or community engagement roles, while others work more often behind the scenes. (Many did a little bit of everything!) Whatever their primary jobs, attendees were able to practice facilitating dialogue in a variety of situations, whether it be through one-on-one interactions, public programs, community meetings, partnerships, exhibits, social media, or more.

As part of the workshop, participants took a guided tour of the Carrie Blast Furnaces to learn about the steel manufacturing industry and its impact on the culture of the Pittsburgh region, which continues long after the industry’s collapse in the 1980s. An important part of US Steel operations from 1908 to 1982, Carrie Blast Furnaces Number 6 and 7 were designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. They are now managed by Rivers of Steel NHA, who host events and guided tours at the complex as part of their mission to preserve the industrial and cultural heritage of southwestern Pennsylvania.

Attendees left the training with concrete plans on how to use them in their own work. Auni Gelles, Community Program Manager of the Baltimore Museum of Industry, said the workshop “provided an invaluable opportunity to understand best practices in facilitating dialog, which will be an essential tool as I plan public programs as part of the Baltimore Museum of Industry's Bethlehem Steel Legacy Project.”

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