Historic Sites, Racialized Geographies, and the Responsibilities of Public Historians

The Lower East Side Tenement Museum in Manhattan and the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn bear witness to a significant chapter in U.S. history: the post-war devastation of U.S. cities caused by federally subsidized white suburbanization, urban disinvestment, and capital flight. Are public historians responsible for interpreting the present-day landscapes surrounding these sites? If so, how can historic sites contribute to public understanding of issues that may fall outside of the scope of their core interpretation?