Industrial Heritage and Environmental Justice: Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama
Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark; Birmingham, Alabama.
Engaging in historical remembrance on derelict industrial sites means confronting not only histories of economic and social injustice, but also the myth of an ‘irretrievable past’ and the ways that we construct history. Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and the adjacent 35th Avenue Superfund Site in Birmingham Alabama are uniquely positioned for critical engagement with all of these themes. By addressing the Superfund Site, conducting meaningful community engagement, co-creating museum exhibits with audiences, and splitting from the historical ‘museum as teacher’ programming, Sloss could be a powerful agent of change. They could not only have a measurable impact on the long-awaited cleanup of the superfund site, but more broadly, change how industrial museums practice historical remembrance. As a whole, industrial museums need to confront the legacy of pollution and environmental racism that their industries have left behind in order to create real change today. Ultimately, as we reach into our ideas about history and heritage, we should do so with the notion that it has the potential to powerfully affect our future.