ABSTRACT
Written from an in-house perspective by the founder of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, this article enumerates the many ways in which the museum manifests its mission in order to utilize history to positively impact current and future immigrant experiences in the United States. The Lower East Side Tenement Museum is committed to fostering such history-driven discussions both within its own expanding institution and within other North American museums via The International Coalition of Historic Site Museums of Conscience. The author highlights interactions with the history of immigration that the museum provides in its use of the past to regard the future—from the exploration of immigrant experiences in moderated talks with visitors to programs that empower modern immigrants through knowledge and self-study, allowing the Tenement Museum to maintain a gateway into America’s history that may also lead to a brighter tomorrow.
