Diversity, Inclusion, Underrepresented Communities, and Historic Preservation: A Study of Preserving Jewish Heritage in the Seattle Central Area Engaging an Intersectional Framework

Abstract

The historic preservation field is grappling with a “diversity deficit:” resources that are officially recognized as significant do not fully represent America’s diverse population, and historically marginalized communities are underrepresented in National Register of Historic Places listings and local landmark designations. Historic preservation has focused on diversity and inclusion by developing context statements and conducting surveys and inventories of resources associated with underrepresented communities. These efforts have increased diversity; however they often take a “single lens” approach and don’t fully recognize the experiences of multiple underrepresented groups who have coexisted, intersected, and occupied the same spaces, or include the intersectional qualities of identity. Intersectionality is entering the preservation field as a paradigm for creating a truly diverse, democratic, and socially just practice by attending to the complexities of identity, contested spaces, and difficult histories, and building coalitions amongst diverse stakeholders with mutual interests in heritage preservation. The Jewish experience in the Seattle Central Area offers an important case study for how an intersectional framework can be engaged to elevate and preserve the heritage of multiple underrepresented communities. Using historic preservation tools such as developing a historic context statement and conducting a survey and inventory of sites associated with Jewish history, along with two case studies of current preservation projects that engage intersectionality, this thesis explores and offers recommendations for how Jewish history can be preserved through formal preservation practices and informal placemaking initiatives in an urban environment that has been the historic home of significant concentrations of Jewish, Black, and Asian populations.