Provocative title, yes? It’s not mine. A very different presentation for me today: a very short post, with no pictures and very little analysis on my part. Basically I just want to offer you a link, to the Minority Report of the two historians appointed to the City Seal Task Force, whose contributions to the Official Report were so butchered and detached from documentation that they felt compelled to compose their own report and submit it to the Salem City Council for its review and consideration of an alteration to Salem’s official city seal since 1839. I’m not sure what’s going to happen here, but we all (including myself—five posts here!) got very swept up in this process. In general, the City Council seems to have a preference for very bland history, which offends no one and affirms some contemporary value, or very commodified history (all witches all the time everywhere), which many people find offensive but is rationalized according to its perceived monetary value, and nothing in between. Very little nuance is permitted, and of course history is all nuance and the City Seal discussion really had a lot of nuance, all of which is presented so well in this Minority Report. And that’s one reason I want to amplify it.
The other reason why I wanted to share this report is that it is excellent in general as well as in nuance! It’s a detailed summary of a major sector of Salem’s maritime history during its so-called “golden age,” drawn from both traditional and new studies, with some great insights into cultural history and public history. It features an array of perspectives, from both the past and the present. Even if you’re not into the seal debate (which is understandable–I don’t know how it creeped up on me either) it’s well worth your time.
Now usually I would analyze and annotate this myself, but I said to myself (for once): I have said (written) enough! I certainly would be interested in your comments here, however (particularly because I haven’t had anyone to discuss this with), and I’ll be back with something new next week. I’m not sure when the City Council is going to take this issue up, but I’ll report back when they do.
