Sam Keiser

4415 Chisholm Rd Apt E3

Florence, AL 35630
samkeiser14@gmail.com
(256) 777-5276

Education
Masters of Arts in Public History
University of North Alabama expected May 2017

Bachelor of Arts in History

Spring Hill College May 2015
Thesis: Blackstone Rangers and the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement in Chicago

Professional Experience
Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area August 2015 to present
Florence, Alabama

I am a graduate assistant with the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area. I have worked
on several projects for this organization including: an educators resource packet, a
database of African American sites in the five counties the heritage area operates in, and
most recently, I have been working on revising and writing several entries in the Roots of
American Music Trail biographies.

Historic Oakleigh House Museum Intern January to May 2015

Mobile, Alabama

I interned in collections at the Oakleigh House during my final semester of college. My

main project was to catalogue and label objects before entering information into the Past
Perfect database. I also gave tours, took care of maintenance concerns, and developed a
short tour of a room in the Union barracks building.

Alabama Veterans Museum June 2013 to August 2014

Athens Alabama

I worked for the Alabama Veterans Museum in the summers during college. I gave tours,
reorganized collections, and learned museum conservation techniques. I was also
involved in a project to catalogue and document local cemeteries to create a map of the
cemeteries where veterans were buried.

National Trust for Historic Preservation June 2016 to July 2016

Washington D.C.

I was brought on to the National Trust for Historic Preservation as the African American
Historic Place Intern. While there, I worked on a myriad of different projects. I edited
revised and created several databases relating to African American preservation. I also
researched and co-wrote a case study on the Maryland Commission of African American
Culture and Heritages ability to secure funding.

Volunteer Experience
Joe Wheeler Home Docent September 2015
Hillsboro, Alabama

I volunteered as a docent for Pond Spring: The General Joe Wheeler home during the
celebration of Wheelers 179th birthday. I was responsible for giving the tour of Joe
Wheeler Jrs room, where I explained both his life and relationship with Pond Spring.

University of North Alabama Walking Tour Volunteer August 2015

Florence, Alabama

I gave a short history of Willingham Hall on the UNA campus walking tour during
UNAs 185th anniversary celebration.

Public History Projects

Tuscumbia-Courtland Railroad Packet August 2015 to December 2015

One of my first projects for the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area was to create an
educational packet on the Tuscumbia Courtland Decatur Railroad. During the course of
this project I worked with both the Tuscumbia Depot Museum and the Courtland
Heritage Museum.

Cultural Resource Survey August 2015 to present

http://omeka.lib.auburn.edu/

For this project, I am documenting and mapping African-American and Native-American

sites in Colbert County, Alabama. The cultural resource survey is a joint project between
the University of North Alabama and Auburn University for the Alabama Bicentennial in
2019.

African American Historic Site Database January 2016 to present

For this project, I am documenting and creating a database of African American sites in
Colbert, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Franklin, Morgan, and Limestone counties in Alabama.
This project is for the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area and will assess, based upon
the sites found, whether tours can be coordinated for these locations.

National Trust Database June 2016 to July 2016

For this project I was tasked with organizing, cleaning, and categorizing the National
Trust for Historic Preservations African American site database. The goa of the project
was to clean up the database so everyday people could read and understand the content.
The other goal was to divide the database into three categories based on activism,
preservation, and achievement.

Database on African American Historic Preservationists June 2016 to July 2016

For this project I was tasked with finding and creating a database on up and coming
African American preservationists. I contacted 20 schools in order to assess whether their
programs had African American graduate students and if so, add those students into the
database. I was also tasked with finding African American preservationists who had
already graduated from their respective schools.

African American Historical Commissions Database June 2016 to July 2016

I researched and created a database of every African American historical commission that
focuses on preservation. This information will be used by the Trust to create more
opportunities of cooperation between various commissions.

Case Study June 2016 to July 2016

I researched and co-wrote a case study on the Maryland African American Heritage and
Culture Commission success in obtaining $1 million dollars in perpetuity in grant funding
in 2015. This was done to show other commissions possible strategies on how to obtain
large amounts of grant funding in order to push the African American preservation
movement into the future.

Article on the Black Panther Party June 2016 to Current

For this project I and a colleague from the Trust will be writing a short article for the
National Trusts Forum blog. The article will be a piece focusing on five sites of
importance to the Black Panther Party.

Research Historian for New South Associates September 2016 to Present

Currently, I have been brought on by New South Associates as a research historian to

help with the National Historic Landmark for the Civil Rights District in Birmingham,
Alabama. My primary role consists of researching the boundaries of the district in
addition to the sites located within. The project will involve collecting oral histories as
well as more traditional forms of research.

Roots of American Music Trail January 2017 to Present

For this project, I have been tasked with revising and writing several biographical entries
on some of the most important musical figures in the Muscle Shoals Area. These entries
will be paired with filmed oral histories that even more background and detail to the story
of music in the Shoals.

Memberships
American Association for State and Local History June 2015 to present

Software Capabilities
Proficient with Past Perfect museum software

Omeka /Dublin Core

Completed online courses

AASLH Basics of Archives June to July 2015

Publications
Blackstone Rangers and the Civil Rights and Black Power Movement in Chicago
North Alabama Historical Review

The Unprecedented Success of Savvy Grassroots Politics in Preserving African

American Heritage National Trust for Historic Preservation Forum blog.

References

Dr. Carolyn Barske

Director and Professor of Public History
University of North Alabama, History Department
One Harrison Plaza Florence, AL 35632
Phone: 256-765-4529
Email: cbarske@una.edu
Judy Sizemore
Special Projects Manager, Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area
468 N. Court St., UNA box 5231 Florence, AL 35630
Phone: 256-765-5028
Email: jsizemore@una.edu

Melanie Thornton
Director, Historic Oakleigh Complex
350 Oakleigh Pl Mobile, AL 36604
Phone: 251-432-1281
Email: manager@historicoakleigh.org

Dr. Thomas Ward

Professor and Chair
Spring Hill College, History Department
4000 Dauphin St, Mobile AL
Phone: 251-380-3060
Email: tward@shc.edu

Brent Leggs
Senior Field Officer, Preservation Division
National Trust For Historic Preservation
The Watergate Office Building
2600 Virginia Avenue NW Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202.588.6185
Email: BLeggs@savingplaces.org