Starts:

Tuesday May 19, 2026

    11:30 AM

Ends:

    2:00 PM

Join Professor Chandra Manning and Jessica Dickinson Goodman, two of the leaders of Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian, for an impact-focused discussion of their volunteers' work to document public exhibitions across Smithsonian institutions and push back against mounting White House pressure.

They will share the origins and rapid development of this grassroots initiative, offering insight into how a dedicated network of volunteers mobilized to capture over 50,000 photos and videos in just seven weeks. The conversation will explore the importance of preserving public history in real time, the challenges faced along the way, and the broader implications of their work for transparency and civic engagement. Attendees will also learn how they can get involved locally in Washington, DC, and contribute to similar efforts nationwide.

EVENT DETAILS: 

• Remarks and Q&A, in-person and via Zoom. 

• 11:30 a.m. cash bar opens, 12:15 p.m. lunch (optional), 1–2 p.m. program.  

• $10 lecture or Zoom only, $30 members and $40 guests for lunch (plus tax). 

Chandra Manning teaches U.S. history, chiefly of the 19th century, including classes on the Civil War, slavery and emancipation, Lincoln, citizenship, the American Revolution, and the History of Baseball at Georgetown. Her first book, "What This Cruel War Was Over: Soldiers, Slavery, and the Civil War" (Knopf, 2007) won the Avery O. Craven Prize awarded by the Organization of American Historians, earned Honorable Mention for the Lincoln Prize and the Virginia Literary Awards for Nonfiction, and was a finalist for the Jefferson Davis Prize and the Frederick Douglass Prize. Her second book, "Troubled Refuge: Struggling for Freedom in the Civil War" (Knopf, 2016), about Civil War refugee camps where former slaves allied with the Union Army and altered the course of the war and of emancipation, won the Jefferson Davis Prize awarded by the American Civil War Museum for best book on the Civil War. A former National Park Service Ranger, she has also advised historical sites, museums, and historical societies, as well as community groups in search of historical perspective. 

Jessica Dickinson Goodman is a dual masters degree candidate at Georgetown University seeking to combine a Master of Science in Foreign Service with an MA in Global, International, and Comparative History. Before graduate school, Jessica worked for 15 years at the intersection of technology, women's rights, and policy, including with survivors of human trafficking in DC; staffing the chair of the Washington state House Appropriations Committee; serving as scheduler to Vice President Kamala Harris when she was California's Attorney General; volunteering an Impact Coach for the U.S. State Department-funded TechWomen program; and working as a campaign manager and political curriculum director in the heart of Silicon Valley. She has volunteered as a campaign manager and technical lead for Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian since its public launch in August 2025. 

For non-member event reservations: please email pfitzgerald@democraticwoman.org or telephone 202-232-7363 Ext. 402 (voicemails will also be accepted).

*Please note: Guests, with the exception of members’ spouses and domestic partners, may attend a maximum of three paid events from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. After the third event, they must join the Club to continue attending events.* 

Please note: By attending a WNDC event, participants agree to being recorded and/or photographed, and the resulting assets may be used for promotional purposes. Should you wish not to be recorded or photographed, please notify a member of the WNDC staff on site.