Dr. Nancy Bercaw is a curator of Political History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, where she co-founded the Center for Restorative History. Her work focuses on history as a redressive practice and on creating space for histories excluded from our national narrative. Before joining the NMAH, she co-curated the landmark exhibition Slavery and Freedom at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. At NMAH, she co-curated the exhibitions Reckoning with Remembrance: History, Injustice, and the Murder of Emmett Till; Girlhood (it’s complicated) and Changing America: 1863 Emancipation Proclamation/ 1963 March on Washington. She founded the Undocumented Organizing Collecting Initiative; and co-produced Tell Me What Democracy Looks Like. As a university professor, Dr. Bercaw authored and edited several volumes on race, gender, and emancipation. She received her BA in history from Oberlin College and her MA and PhD in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania.

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