About
Institute for Civil Memory
Our Mission
The Institute for Civil Memory (ICM) is a research and advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that memory fuels justice. We exist at the intersection of lived experience, rigorous documentation, and systemic accountability—working to preserve testimony, protect rights, and advance meaningful reform.
Who We Are
Founded by Bailey Reid Gwyn, the Institute for Civil Memory bridges the gap between personal narrative and institutional change. We recognize that the stories of those who have been harmed, marginalized, or silenced are not merely anecdotes—they are evidence. They are the foundation upon which accountability must be built.
ICM operates as a hub for researchers, advocates, survivors, and reformers who understand that justice requires more than policy change. It requires a commitment to remembering, documenting, and protecting the testimonies of those who have lived through systemic failures.
Our Approach
We believe that civil memory—the deliberate, ethical preservation of lived experience—is a prerequisite for accountability. Without memory, there is no acknowledgment. Without acknowledgment, there is no reform. And without reform, harm continues.
Our work is grounded in three core principles:
Preservation
We document and archive testimony in ways that honor the dignity and agency of those who share their stories. We create systems that protect these narratives from erasure, distortion, or weaponization.
Protection
We advocate for the rights of individuals and communities who have been harmed by institutional failures. We work to ensure that their voices are heard, their experiences are validated, and their safety is prioritized.
Accountability
We build transparent systems that connect testimony to reform. We develop tools, frameworks, and resources that empower advocates to demand change and hold institutions responsible for their actions.
Our Founder
Bailey Reid Gwyn is a researcher, advocate, and survivor whose work centers on the power of testimony to drive systemic change. With lived experience navigating educational neglect, institutional harm, and disability rights advocacy, Bailey founded ICM to create the infrastructure that was missing when they needed it most.
Bailey’s work has been shaped by the understanding that memory is political. Who gets remembered, how they are remembered, and what is done with that memory are questions of power. ICM exists to redistribute that power—to ensure that those who have been harmed have agency over their own narratives and can use those narratives to demand justice.
Why We Exist
The systems that govern our lives—education, healthcare, criminal justice, child welfare—often fail those they are meant to serve. When harm occurs, it is frequently met with denial, deflection, or institutional amnesia. Records are lost. Testimony is dismissed. Accountability is deferred indefinitely.
ICM was created to counter this pattern. We provide the tools, training, and infrastructure necessary to preserve testimony, protect the vulnerable, and push for accountability in spaces where it has been systematically avoided.
Our Vision
We envision a world where:
Testimony is treated as evidence, not inconvenience
Survivors have agency over how their stories are told and used
Institutions are held accountable through transparent, trauma-informed processes
Memory serves as the foundation for meaningful, lasting reform
Join Us
Whether you are a survivor seeking to document your experience, an advocate working for systemic change, or a researcher committed to ethical practice, ICM offers resources, community, and a framework for action.
Civil memory is not passive. It is a deliberate act of resistance against erasure. It is the insistence that what happened matters, that those who were harmed matter, and that accountability is not optional.
We invite you to be part of this work.
Contact Us Learn About Our Founder