Community Care | Tend to Your Legacy

This month, we’re thinking about legacy a little differently. Not whose statues get built or whose panels survive—but what we each want to leave behind.

For some people, legacy is a building. For others, it’s who remembers them, or whose life was easier because of them. If you’re reading this, your work is part of your legacy: documenting, preserving, and protecting the record. 

Here are a few ways to tend to your own legacy this month:

• Capture your family history: Interview an elder, digitize old photos, or start (or restart) a family genealogy project.
• Donate or volunteer: Give to causes you care about. Show up for the institutions that are doing the hard work right now.
• Do a good deed: Legacy is also what people carry with them after an interaction with you. Kindness can go a long way. 

If you’re not sure where to start, take a few minutes to jot down answers to these questions: 

• What does legacy mean to you? 
• What do you want to be remembered for? 
• What evidence are you putting in place to support your legacy? 

This blog post content was originally included in our community newsletter: The Moment -- where we respond quickly and thoughtfully to impactful events and decisions that challenge or disrupt our profession.