In summer 2014, I led a group of Medill graduate students in tracing the steps of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to uncover what is unfinished, what worked and what new problems our nation must confront. I directed the summer capstone and developed a curriculum with a team of veteran Northwestern University professors/journalists.
The students, now successfully working in journalism and communications, uncovered some fascinating details, including a decree to desegregate a Tennessee school district in fall 2014, human trafficking, banking and foreclosure issues, mass incarceration and net neutrality and all that means for access for marginalized communities. Students traveled throughout the country and dug deep to uncover sources and confront power in some cases to get the story straight.
These students were amazing then. They are amazing professionals today.
View their work at The1964project.