Press Release
Contact: |
Arnita A. Jones, Executive Director, American Historical Association |
Date: |
January 10, 2007
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Subject: |
Association Expresses Concern about Jaywalking Arrest
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For Immediate Release
In a letter to Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, Georgia dated January 10, 2007, AHA President Barbara Weinstein, Past President Linda K. Kerber, and Executive Director Arnita A. Jones, expressed the AHA Council’s concern over an incident between historian Felipe Fernandez-Armesto and an Atlanta police officer, that began with jaywalking and escalated to an 8 hour ordeal in jail.
The letter expresses the Association's "profound concern" and dismay "that an Atlanta police officer subjected a member of our association to such rough treatment and, in our judgment, significantly over-reacted to a situation in which the main problem was a lack of communication."
Citing the negative impression this left with many meeting attendees, the letter warns that, "it would only be after the Association has received assurances from the appropriate municipal authorities that this problem has been addressed that we could again consider Atlanta as a future site for the AHA’s annual meeting."
The letter concludes that "We hope that you will take steps to make such incidents less likely in the future, and we respectfully request that a formal apology be tendered to Prof. Fernández-Armesto by the mayor's office."
The American Historical Association is the oldest and largest professional historical organization in the United States, bringing together nearly 5,000 institutions and more than 14,000 individuals, including college and university faculty, public historians, independent scholars, archivists, librarians, and secondary school teachers. The Association was organized in 1884 and chartered by the United States Congress in 1889; its establishment coincided with the professionalization of history as a discipline in the United States. Over the years, the Association has changed as the discipline and profession have changed, but its central mission has remained unaltered: the advancement of historical knowledge.
To meet and address the varied needs of its members, the Association publishes the American Historical Review, the major journal of record for the historical profession in the United States, and Perspectives, the major national news monthly of the profession. The Association's annual meeting, which is held during the first week of January, is the largest annual gathering of historians in the United States.
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Last Updated: July 17, 2007