Framing History at Three Commemorative Sites to Atrocity: the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Whitney Plantation Museum, and National Memorial for Peace and Justice

In this work, I engage in comparative analysis of the institutional histories of three American commemorative sites to atrocity: the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., the Whitney Plantation Museum in Edgard, Louisiana, and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. Using comparative case studies and employing a narrative-focused analytical framework to analyze each site, I determine how the origins of each site influences the ways it uses atrocity, and how the specific framing of atrocity in each space shapes historical consciousness and collective memories for visitors. This thesis demonstrates the power of commemorative sites to influence historical understanding in the U.S., and the potential for commemorative sites to foster inclusivity and promote more socially just mindsets and practices nationally