Since our origins as a nation, people have leveraged our democratic public open spaces to take a stand against injustices, whether they be social, cultural, political, environmental, economic, or racial. Images and recollections of marches and sit-ins with gatherings of civil rights advocates, suffragettes, Native peoples, farm workers, and coal miners are inseparable from the landscapes where they occurred.

Anti-draft demonstration, Central Park, NYC, 1968. Courtesy the Bernard Gotfryd photograph collection (Library of Congress)

These cultural landscapes associated with public protests and movements that have changed and shaped the course of American history will be examined through a unique lens in Landslide 2024: Demonstration Grounds, The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF)’s annual thematic report about cultural landscapes that are threatened and at-risk. The goal is to draw immediate and lasting attention to threatened sites by making them more visible, revealing their value, and promoting public engagement in the form of advocacy and stewardship.

Suffrage protesters burn speech by President Wilson at Lafayette Statue in Washington, D.C., 1918. Photo by Harris & Ewing courtesy The Library of Congress

Charles A. Birnbaum, TCLF’s president and CEO said, “Demonstration sites have an unrivaled power of place because of their inherent integrity of setting. As the host location for where it happened, demonstration and protest sites offer rare, rich, and rewarding opportunities to do more than just tell a story, they can ground us in their authenticity.” Such sites are also embedded with environmental and cultural characteristics that provide visual and sensory links, heightening the visitor experience. For example: “witness trees” that survive from the time of the demonstration event and may have offered protection and shelter; the height of the sun on that very same day generations later; the dampness of the ground plane; or the animating qualities of cloud movement reflected in a still water body.

Protesters at the Capitol, D.C. 1971, Photo by O'Halloran, Thomas J., & Trikosko, Marion S courtesy the U.S. News & World Report magazine photograph collection (Library of Congress)

TCLF is seeking Landslide 2024: Demonstration Grounds nominations from the public, which are due June 15, 2024.

Complete the nomination form.

Questions or Landslide nominations can be submitted to Nord Wennerstrom.