Old Salem Museum & Gardens

Old Salem Museums & Gardens and the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) have been accepted as one of the newest members of the highly respected International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.

Founded in 1999, the Coalition has over 300 members in 65 countries. A Site of Conscience is a place of memory, in this case a historic site, that actively utilizes history and memory to ensure a more just, humane, and peaceful future. All Sites of Conscience are unified under a common mission: “to connect past to present, memory to action.”

This prestigious recognition comes as a response to a series of community-related initiatives. For the past few years, Old Salem has been widely recognized for new initiatives that connect past to present and memory to action. The Hidden Town Project, led by Martha Hartley, Director of Moravian Research, is an initiative to research and reveal stories of enslaved and free people of African descent in the town of Salem. On an organizational level, Old Salem’s Equity Initiative fosters self-reflection and the re-envisioning of operational equity. This includes pay and encourages social inclusion as well as diversity in culture, ability, gender, sexual orientation, and race among staff, leadership, programming, and vendor relationships. In addition, the Access Salem Initiative seeks to make all aspects of the historic site accessible to multi-abled guests dealing with cognitive and mobility impairments. Recently, Old Salem’s response to COVID-19 includes using its unique resources to support people in Winston-Salem who are experiencing increased food insecurity during the pandemic and to provide digital learning tools for teachers, students, and families who are learning from home.

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