This week, the Alabama Humanities Alliance had to inform five new grant applicants that we don’t have funding available for them. These asks came from a book club, a small public library, a historic preservation alliance, an arts association, and a university — all nonprofits, from different parts of the state. All attempting to create free, public programming for their communities. That is the impact of last week’s announcement that the federal Administration was terminating our 50-year partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities — along with the Congressionally appropriated funding we’ve received that makes up two-thirds of our annual budget. Right now, AHA’s existence is at stake, along with the future of public humanities programming in Alabama. We are moved and inspired by the support Alabamians have shown us this past week. Please keep it flowing. We still need you. You can help by donating to AHA today. Your gifts preserve our programming already scheduled this year and buy us time to secure long-term funding, once again. Contribute at alabamahumanities.org/support. Please also keep contacting your representatives in Congress. Ask for their help in restoring federal NEH funding to support state-based humanities programming. Share your personal stories. Illustrate the humanities’ impact in your community. And drop us a note. Your kindness sustains us these days as much as any dollar does. Thank you, Alabama! (fb)

It has been a tough week, yes. But last night was a balm. A balm made possible by funding via the National Endowment for the Humanities, through us, and directly to a very special evening in Montgomery. Federal funding that, as of this week, has been halted...an action that not only threatens to shutter the Alabama Humanties Alliance, but will harm our local partners and grant recipients around the state. Museums, libraries, historical societies, literacy groups, arts and culture orgs, and so many more. That is the reality of this moment. But last night was indeed a welcome reprieve. And for that we are very grateful. We gathered with fellow history lovers and civics champions at the Alabama Department of Archives and History for an evening exploring our past – as part of a bicentennial commemoration of the Marquis de Lafayette’s tour of Alabama 200 years ago this week. The Alabama Humanities Alliance was proud to support a reception and conversation at the Archives that featured a special appearance – and speech! – by the Revolutionary War hero himself on the Archives’ marble stairs. :) And a fascinating conversation about Lafayette’s Alabama visit, thanks to a panel of scholars: Alex Colvin, Ph.D., Alabama Archives; Julien Icher, The Lafayette Trail; John Beaver, The Muscogee Nation National Cultural Center and Archives; Shari Williams, Ph.D., The Ridge Macon County Archaeology Project. We came away with two big takeaways from the evening: One, Alabama’s story is ever-evolving and ever-vibrant. When Lafayette visited Alabama, we were only six years old – the youngest state in the Union. Lafayette encountered a people still establishing their government, building a shared culture, and learning to live together. He passed through the sovereign Muscogee Creek nation to reach Alabama soil. And he delighted in talking with Alabamians about what it meant for a young democracy to pursue liberty, equality, and human rights. Two, especially in these difficult days for the humanities and for our cultural institutions in Alabama and America, we are grateful for these moments. We have been overwhelmed by the support and love we’ve received this week from partners, allies, and fellow lovers of the humanities all over this state. And that includes some incredibly moving words of support we received from our good friends at the Alabama Department of Archives and History last night. Community is nourishing, always. No matter what the future holds for our organization, we are heartened that the spirit of curiosity, discovery, and community-building burns just as brightly today in Alabama as it did 200 years ago. Here’s to the next 200! America250AL The American Friends of Lafayette Alabama Historical Commission Alabama 200 (fb)