The founder of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (Tenement Museum) explains how her realization that history could be used as a tool for social change inspired the creation of a museum of immigrant life that would be transformative for visitors. She hoped that by placing them in the shoes of immigrants much like their own forebearers, visitors would realize how similar today's newcomers are to earlier immigrants. The concept came not from a familiarity with museum protocols but rather from a zeal for human rights and from the author's growing realization of the power of history to effect fundamental change.