Uncovering the 1968 Riots in Washington, D.C.
The Humanities And Technology Summer 2015 Project
Use the slider below to uncover a child's artwork and a photo from 1968
Introduction:
For three weeks (60 hours total) in July 2015, five high school students in Washington, D.C. participated in a collaborative digital humanities project using unpublished archival materials related to the 1968 Riots in DC, which followed Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. Below is, to date, the largest digital collection of materials related to the riots. This is a work in progress.
Research:
The students' first task was to edit the Wikipedia page about the riots using secondary sources. At that time, the page was sparse. Here is an archived view of what the page looked like before they began. Here is what the page looks like today. The site went from using four references to twenty-seven.
After using secondary sources to contribute to the Wikipedia page, the group turned to primary sources at DC Public Library's Special Collections, the National Archives and Records Administration, DC's Fire/EMS Museum, and the Historical Society of Washington, among others.
After using secondary sources to contribute to the Wikipedia page, the group turned to primary sources at DC Public Library's Special Collections, the National Archives and Records Administration, DC's Fire/EMS Museum, and the Historical Society of Washington, among others.
Action:
The group's capstone experience was to use materials discovered and skills gained during the project to create a StoryMap, embedded below, which combined a narrative with maps and images using ESRI's Arc/GIS webware.
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Presenting:
MLK Library Digital Commons
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42nd Annual DC Historical Studies Conference November 14, 2015:
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Impact:
During the planning stages of this project, THATClass facilitators worked with the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's archives. They went on a scouting trip and looked at a file at MPD headquarters. During the first week of the project, however, the MPD's Public Information Officer cancelled the scheduled visit for students to digitally capture and curate the MPD documents. In response, students drafted and facilitators officially filed a Freedom of Information Act request to release formally those documents. The documents are now a part of a permanent digital collection at DC Public Library. Below are the released (and redacted) files, which were made available six weeks after the request:
Reflection:
Part 1: Participants responding to: "What impact did the program have on you?"
Part 2: Participants responding to: "What impact did specific experiences have on you?"
Part 3: Participants responding to: "What impact did you have on this particular history?"
Digitized Photographs:
Crain Photo Collection
DC Public Library Special Collections: Washingtoniana Division, MLK Library
Images from 100 Years of Glory 1871-1971 by C. O. Glory, Fire Fighters Association District of Columbia Local 36 International Association of Fire Fighters, Washington, D. C.
Images courtesy of the DC Fire/EMS museum
Elementary Student artwork (April, 1968) courtesy Dartmouth College's Rauner Special Collections MS-1335
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
DC Public Library's
Assistant Director of Public Services Kim Zablud, Archivist Mark Greek, Director of Special Collections Kerrie Williams, Lauren Algee, Lauren Martino, Jennifer Thompson
National Archives'
Bob Ellis
DC Fire/EMS Museum's
Walter Gold, Jim Embrey, Jim Lloyd, and Mark Tennyson
Historical Society of Washington's
Anne McDonough
Prologue DC's
Sarah Shoenfeld and Mara Cherkasky
JMT's
Brian Kraft
DC Public Library's
Assistant Director of Public Services Kim Zablud, Archivist Mark Greek, Director of Special Collections Kerrie Williams, Lauren Algee, Lauren Martino, Jennifer Thompson
National Archives'
Bob Ellis
DC Fire/EMS Museum's
Walter Gold, Jim Embrey, Jim Lloyd, and Mark Tennyson
Historical Society of Washington's
Anne McDonough
Prologue DC's
Sarah Shoenfeld and Mara Cherkasky
JMT's
Brian Kraft
