Press and Media Coverage

Commonwealth Monument Project

The following articles relate to the various activities and outcomes of the Commonwealth Monument Project, a project of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, between 2018 and 2021.

• “Messiah University’s Digital Harrisburg Initiative wins the Leadership in History Award from the American Association for State and Local History” (Current, July 12, 2021)
• “Pennsylvania History Wins National Award” (Pennsylvania Historical Association, July 11, 2021)
• “2021 Leadership in History Award Winners” (American Association for State and Local History, June 28, 2021)
• “Toni Morrison bench unveiled in Harrisburg as part of first African American monument” (PennLive, June 15, 2021)
• “A Gathering at the Crossroads: Memorializing African American Trailblazers and a Lost Neighborhood in Harrisburg” (Pennsylvania Heritage, March 25, 2021)
• “Toni Morrison bench unveiled in Harrisburg to commemorate African American history” (The Burg, June 15, 2021)
• “Making One Hundred Voices” (The Digital Press, February 25, 2021)
• “The Library Honored to Carry the Culture Awareness Torch Lit by the Commonwealth Monument Project: ‘T. Morris Chester Welcome Center’ Will Be Centerpiece of Planned McCormick Riverfront Library Expansion” (Harrisburg Regional Chamber, January 27, 2021)
• “Books about Crossroads: 4 Reads on Key Places, Events in Central Pa. History” (PennLive, December 5, 2020)
• “Student Voices: The Commonwealth Monument Project” (Humanities for All, November 17, 2020)
• “Statues added to monument celebrating voting rights and old Harrisburg neighborhood (ABC 27 News, November 17th 2020)
• “Harrisburg Commonwealth Monument Project: Final Installation and Completion” (IIPT, November 16, 2020)
• “Commonwealth Monument Project to Complete Installation of Historic Monument at the Pennsylvania Capitol” (City of Harrisburg, November 10, 2020)
• “Monumental Concern: Central PA company has carved out a business from sculpture” (The Burg, September 30, 2020)
• “Voices of the Past: New book tells the stories of Harrisburg’s historic African American community” (The Burg, September 30, 2020)
• “Local leaders, elected officials cut the ribbon on African American history monument” (The Burg, August 26, 2020)
• “Historic monument unveiled, honoring Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward” (CBS 21, August 25, 2020)
• “Monument honoring Harrisburg’s 8th Ward, 15th and 19th amendments to be dedicated” (ABC 27 News, August 25, 2020)
• “Monument commemorating Harrisburg’s historic Old 8th Ward to be unveiled this week” (PennLive, August 25, 2020)
• “One Hundred Voices from Pennsylvania’s Past” (UND Today, August 25, 2020)
• “Monument commemorating Harrisburg’s historic Old 8th Ward to be unveiled this week” (PennLive, August 25, 2020)
• “Bronze map of Old 8th Ward presented to Dauphin County; Commonwealth Monument Project offers update” (The Burg: Greater Harrisburg Community Magazine, August 5, 2020)
• “Waking up to our region’s history of racial injustice” (PennLive op-ed, July 28, 2020)
• “Harrisburg’s legacy project – one step of reconciliation” (PennLive op-ed, July 4, 2020)
• “Voices of Our Community: Lenwood Sloan” (The Burg, June 30, 2020)
• “For Juneteenth, Harrisburg gets a reminder of what’s been lost, a preview of what’s to come” (The Burg: Greater Harrisburg Community Magazine, June 19, 2020)
• “In times of stunning change, Friday could be a Juneteenth for the history books” (PennLive, June 18, 2020)
• “Harrisburg to honor old 8th Ward neighborhood during Juneteenth celebrations” (Fox43, June 18, 2020)
• “‘Mr. DuBois’ uses magic to weave a history of Black Philadelphia” (WHYY PBS, June 17, 2020)
• “History Keeper: As Harrisburg changes, Calobe Jackson Jr. tells the stories of what came before” (The Burg, May 29, 2020)
• Audio Interview with Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, William Howard Day fellowship recipient, reflecting on the person and legacy of William Howard Day (Interview, March 2020)
• “The Commonwealth Monument Project” (WHBG TV 20 YouTube Video, February 24, 2020)
• Press Conference: Commonwealth Monument Project 2-18-20 (WHBG-TV 20 YouTube Video, February 24, 2020)
• “Support grows for overdue African-American Harrisburg neighborhood” (PennLive, February 18, 2020)
• “Big donations advance monument honoring Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward” (The Burg: Greater Harrisburg Community Magazine, February 18, 2020)
• “Harrisburg mayor announces monument to honor old 8th ward neighborhood” (CBS 21 News, February 18, 2020)
• “Mayor Papenfuse joins project artists and partners in presentation on city’s challenge grant” (HarrisburgPA, February 18, 2020)
• “Getting to know Frances Harper: Pa. activist for civil rights, women’s suffrage” (WHYY PBS, February 17, 2020)
• “Harrisburg’s new monument: A Testament to the 15th and 19th Amendments and the Old 8th Ward” (Pennsylvania Capital-Star, January 27, 2020)
• “Monument planned on Pa. Capitol grounds honoring expanding voting rights” (PennLive, January 27, 2020)
• “This sculpture honors a long-gone Harrisburg neighborhood and 2 constitutional amendments” (LancasterOnline, July 5, 2019)
• “IIPT Harrisburg Peace Promenade Project to Commemorate African-American/Immigrant Community Long Gone” (International Institute for Peace Through Tourism, June 28, 2019)
• “Planned monument to honor history, contributions of Harrisburg’s ‘Old Eighth Ward’” (PennLive, March 19, 2019)
• “Pieces of the Puzzle: A century ago, Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward was wiped off the map. A group of activists wants to remind us what was lost” (The Burg: Greater Harrisburg Community Magazine, March 1, 2019)
• “A monument at the Capitol will honor Harrisburg’s long-gone immigrant and African American neighborhood” (Pennsylvania Capital Star, February 25, 2019)

Racial Redlining

• “Waking up to our region’s history of racial injustice” (PennLive op-ed, July 28, 2020)
• “Redlining in York: How government policies kept African Americans poor and segregated” (York Daily Record, September 4, 2019)
• “My City Was Gone: How redlining helped segregate, blight Harrisburg” (The Burg: Greater Harrisburg Community Magazine, August 31, 2018)

Harrisburg Giants Documentary

• “Remember the Giants” (WITF’s Smart Talk, December 8, 2017)
• “Harrisburg Giants team highlighted in documentary for historical senior project” (Messiah College Features, 2017)

City Social, City Spatial Mapping Project

• “Four Publicly-Available Articles on Public Health Published in Pennsylvania History” (Pennsylvania Historical Association, May 20, 2020)
• “Pennsylvania History Presents…” (Pennsylvania Historical Association, February 17, 2020)
• “Digital Harrisburg helps Future Generations” (The Bridge: Messiah College Magazine, Fall 2018)
• “Did You Know? Four Blocks Along Verbeke Street” (Harrisburg Magazine, June 5, 2018)
• “Breakthroughs: Digital Humanities shows us shape of the past” (Harrisburg University, May 23, 2018)
• “HU professor, students map out Harrisburg’s history” (Harrisburg University, January 10, 2018)
• “Geospatial Technology program offers hands-on experience to give students career jump start” (Harrisburg University, July 22, 2015)
• “City Beautiful, City Searchable: Digital Harrisburg uses today’s technology to peek into our past” (The Burg: Greater Harrisburg Community Magazine, September 30, 2015)