Amelia Blakely
| Public Historian | Journalist | Photographer |
WHY AMELIA BLAKELY IS A STORYTELLER
Amelia is a staunch believer in the power of stories.
What happens in the street, the countryside, and the shadowy places in between makes up the collective past that she takes care to document, contextualize, and disperse as a public historian, journalist, and photographer.
Her Roots
Between 2017 and 2020, she immersed herself in her local community through journalism before pivoting to public service and public history.
Amelia's Journalism
While studying at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, she served as the news editor and a reporter for SIUC’s independent and student-run newspaper, The Daily Egyptian. She also reported daily news and produced features in multiple formats for WSIU Public Radio.
In 2020, she received a Pulitzer Center Campus Consortium Fellowship to report on the contrasting treatments of communities living near brownfield sites in the Midwest. Her reporting and photography were published digitally by WBEZ.org.
Amelia also contributed to the Gateway Journalism Review, the only journalism review for the Midwest.
Amelia as a Public Historian
In 2021, Amelia pivoted to public history. Between 2023 and 2026, she served at the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University as a graduate research assistant. As of August 2026, she holds an MA in History, specializing in Public History.
Outside of the academy, Amelia's passion lies in southern Illinois where she collaborates with her neighbors to preserve their local and personal history.
