Race, Housing and Displacement in Miami- Using Digital Technologies to Make History Accessible to the Public (2020 Faculty Showcase)
From Gemma Henderson
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From Gemma Henderson
The Race, Housing, and Displacement in Miami student project, funded by a Mellon CREATE Grant, examines the complicated and significant interconnections among race, housing, and displacement in Miami during the twentieth century. This project provides an in-depth and engaging approach to urban history by connecting students and community groups to visually chronicle the impact of racialized planning practices on people and neighborhoods. During the Spring 2020 semester, undergraduate students enrolled in my HIS 561/662 Cities in American History course engaged in research in Richter Library’s Special Collections, focusing on archival materials from grass-roots activist organizations. They also conducted oral history interviews with grass-roots activists to address the impact of planning, zoning, urban renewal, and gentrification on families and communities in Miami. The class (and project) moved fully virtual as a result of COVID-19, so students only had access to archival materials that had been digitized and had to conduct the oral histories via Zoom while still establishing rapport and trust with the community partners. The resulting digital project, an ArcGIS StoryMap, brings together historical narrative, archival documents, and oral histories in a way that engages a wide audience and demonstrates the power of digital platforms to tell complicated stories.
StoryMaps Link