Overview

This website, the Clotilda Memorial Story Portal, provides information on the Clotilda Memorial project as well as collects community stories and input that will inform its design.

The detailed Terms of Use, Privacy and Participation Policies, and Accessibility Statement can be found below and should be read in full, but we wanted to highlight a few key pieces that relate to stories and input you may submit:

1. You retain the ownership of materials you submit.
2. AHC can use materials you submit for educational, editorial, memorial, research, interpretive, and public engagement purposes associated with the Clotilda Memorial project.
3. You have the right to request the removal of materials you submit from AHC’s internal archives and digital public-facing systems. Requests for removal can be submitted to theclotildamemorial@gmail.com.
4. Materials you submit are designated permanent records and AHC has an obligation to maintain them in accordance with their records retention authority and institutional stewardship practices.

Please reach out to theclotildamemorial@gmail.com with any additional questions.

1. Terms of Use

The Clotilda Memorial Story Portal V1 (“Story Portal V1”) is provided to support public education, community engagement, storytelling, and participation related to the Clotilda Memorial project and associated interpretive initiatives. By using this website, users acknowledge and agree to the following terms.

1.1 Public Participation + Submissions

Story Portal V1 may include opportunities for visitors to submit stories, photographs, media, comments, survey responses, or other materials for potential editorial, educational, memorial, or interpretive use.

All submissions are moderated prior to publication or public display. Submission of materials does not guarantee publication, archival inclusion, or permanent display on the platform.

The Alabama Historical Commission (“AHC”) and authorized project partners reserve the right to review, edit, summarize, withhold, remove, redact, or decline submissions for accessibility, clarity, privacy, cultural sensitivity, historical context, duplication, or moderation purposes.

Users should only submit materials they have the legal right or permission to share.

1.2 External Links

This website may contain links to external websites maintained by organizations or individuals outside of AHC control. These links are provided for informational and educational purposes only.

The inclusion of external links does not constitute endorsement by AHC of any organization, service, viewpoint, or product referenced on linked websites.

AHC is not responsible for the content, availability, accuracy, or privacy practices of external websites.

1.3 Intellectual Property + Copyright

Users retain ownership of original materials submitted through Story Portal V1 unless otherwise stated.

By submitting materials to Story Portal V1, participants grant AHC a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to review, reproduce, display, archive, summarize, edit, and utilize submitted content for educational, editorial, memorial, research, interpretive, and public engagement purposes associated with the Clotilda Memorial project.

Users should not upload materials that infringe upon the intellectual property, privacy, or legal rights of others.

1.4 Disclaimer

Information presented through Story Portal V1 is provided for educational and public engagement purposes.

While reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate and current information, AHC cannot guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or authenticity of all materials, particularly community-submitted content, oral histories, or externally sourced materials.

Community stories, recollections, and public submissions may reflect personal memories, interpretations, perspectives, or opinions that do not necessarily represent official positions of AHC or project partners.

Under no circumstances shall AHC be liable for damages or losses arising from reliance upon information contained within Story Portal V1 or linked external resources.

Story Portal V1 is an evolving public engagement platform and certain features, content, workflows, or services may change over time without notice.

1.5 Children’s Privacy

Children under the age of 13 should not submit personal information through Story Portal V1 without the involvement or consent of a parent or legal guardian.

If AHC becomes aware that personal information from a child under 13 has been submitted without appropriate consent, reasonable efforts may be made to remove such information.

2. Privacy + Participation Policy

The Alabama Historical Commission (“AHC”) is committed to responsible stewardship of information collected through Story Portal V1 and associated public engagement activities. This policy outlines how information submitted through Story Portal V1 may be reviewed, used, stored, moderated, archived, or protected.

2.1 Public Participation + Moderation

Story Portal V1 is intended to support moderated public engagement, storytelling, educational access, memorialization, and interpretive initiatives associated with the Clotilda Memorial project.

All submissions are subject to moderation review prior to public display, publication, or editorial use.

Submitted materials may be reviewed for accessibility, clarity, appropriateness, privacy concerns, duplication, restricted cultural resource concerns, historical sensitivity, or other operational considerations prior to publication or archival processing.

AHC and authorized project partners reserve the right to withhold, redact, summarize, edit, remove, or decline submissions from public-facing systems.

2.2 Information Collection

Story Portal V1 may collect information voluntarily submitted by participants, including:

• names
• email addresses
• stories or written responses
• uploaded photographs or media
• survey responses
• event participation information
• other materials voluntarily submitted through forms or engagement workflows

Information may also be collected through standard website operations, analytics tools, accessibility tools, hosting systems, or security monitoring processes.

2.3 Restricted Cultural Resource Information

The AHC protects sensitive cultural resource information in accordance with applicable state and federal preservation laws, including NHPA Section 304.

Story Portal V1 submission systems and editorial workflows are not intended to collect precise archaeological coordinates, burial locations, protected site information, or other restricted cultural resource data.

If restricted cultural resource information is submitted unintentionally, AHC reserves the right to remove, redact, restrict, or withhold such information from public-facing systems.

2.4 Data Storage + Infrastructure

AHC maintains oversight of records, archival stewardship, and governance associated with Story Portal V1 materials.

During Story Portal V1 development and active engagement phases, certain website operations, moderation workflows, submissions, cloud-based systems, or temporary storage environments may be managed by approved project partners or third-party service providers prior to long-term archival transfer into AHC-managed systems.

Story Portal V1 is intended as a lightweight, moderated public engagement platform rather than enterprise archival infrastructure.

2.5 Security + Incident Response

AHC and its project partners take reasonable measures to support secure handling of website systems and submitted information.

Reasonable incident response coordination may include review of systems involved in Story Portal V1 workflows, including website hosting, forms, media uploads, cloud storage environments, and notification systems.

Any review obligations are limited to systems and workflows directly administered or controlled by the applicable partner as part of its authorized scope of services.

No partner shall be responsible for failures arising from third-party platforms, external systems, force majeure events, or modifications outside of the partner’s authorized scope of work.

2.6 Removal Requests

Requests to remove stories, photographs, or submitted materials from public-facing systems may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Requests for removal should be submitted to theclotildamemorial@gmail.com.

Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate requests for removal or correction, as subject to applicable records retention requirements, preservation standards, or public records obligations. Materials integrated into permanent public installations cannot be removed.

2.7 Records Retention

AHC is the state agency responsible for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of Alabama’s historic and archeological resources. AHC serves as a permanent repository of Alabama history. 

Historical narratives, submissions, engagement summaries, reports, and associated interpretive materials are designated permanent records and will be maintained and disposed of in accordance with applicable records retention authorities and institutional stewardship practices. Requests for removal will be considered per the terms outlined in Section 2.6.

AHC reserves the right to determine which materials are published or summarized based on historical relevance, legal obligations, cultural sensitivity, moderation review, and institutional stewardship considerations.

3. Accessibility Statement

The Alabama Historical Commission and its project partners are committed to supporting accessible access to public information, educational resources, and community participation opportunities provided through Story Portal V1.

Reasonable efforts will be made to support accessibility considerations throughout the design, content, and implementation of the platform, including support for assistive technologies and accessible browsing practices where feasible within the scope of Version 1.

Alt text and image captions serve different purposes within the platform. Alt text is intended to support assistive technologies and screen readers through concise image descriptions, while captions may provide additional contextual, historical, editorial, or attribution information visible to all users.

Story Portal V1 is an evolving public engagement platform and accessibility improvements may continue iteratively over time as content, technologies, platform capabilities, and community needs evolve.

If you experience accessibility barriers while using Story Portal V1, you may contact the Alabama Historical Commission for assistance or to report accessibility concerns.