Our response to the COVID-19 Pandemic & Civil Unrest
A Message from President, Adam Andrews
As we hope is the case with all of you, over the past months Restoration Exchange Omaha has taken the time to examine who we are and how we function within our community. The call for equality and justice by the Black Lives Matter movement and the urgency of the global pandemic have both different and important ramifications on preservation. How we achieve our goal of preserving the past while realizing the greater goals of a more inclusive and healthier future is not easy. Nevertheless, in order to try to meet these challenges we realize that we must be radically different, that the way we have always done things will no longer be the way in which we go forward, and that now more than ever we must all work together in order to achieve a future worth having while respecting our history. As the only historic preservation group in our city, Omaha needs REO, and REO needs you.
COVID-19 World Health Crisis
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we must forego our public events for the foreseeable future.
A large portion our operational income came from these events, which included the Historical Neighborhood Tour, the Restore Nebraska Conference, and special popup tours throughout the year. In place of in-person events we are exploring new activities that will provide safe, engaging, and meaningful experiences to everyone throughout our entire community.
We are intent on using our resources in the best way to save cultural and historic places. To this end, we are developing partnerships with Metropolitan Community College, the Omaha Municipal Land Bank, and other like-minded organizations. As we move forward, we believe we will preserve more buildings, renew historic neighborhoods, create more pride of place, and tell everyone’s story.
Stick with us! This will take time and we ask for your confidence, patience, and financial support over the next year.
Civil Unrest and Systemic Racism
Our focus is to seek out and preserve places that celebrate the diverse and authentic representation of our city
Traditionally, many preservation success stories have been about grand edifices built by rich and powerful white men. At Restoration Exchange Omaha, we recognize and admire those notable places, but they do not represent the total sum of history in our community. Furthermore, we acknowledge it is not enough to just “save places”, we must engage with the communities in which those places exist. We want people to to preserve their heritage, which is embodied in buildings, and to take pride in being part of their future.