Visualize
Although a large part of this project is focused on the experiences of former students, an important aspect of public history is being able to better access all kinds of information. This section is dedicated to the latter. See is intended to help people better visualize the events of the boycott in both a spatial and temporal fashion.
The interactive map uses Google Maps. This enables visitors to relate significant locations of events that took place during the boycott to one another and understand the close proximity between places such as Gregory Congregational Church and Mike's Grocery. This is important because it connects visitors to the events, even if they have never heard of them before visiting this site. By seeing a location that they might live near, for example, they will be able to create a relationship that would not have occurred by only reading the text of the address.
The timeline is also a product from Knight Labs and helps visitors understand events in a temporal fashion. Visitors can first see where the events took place, but because so much happened in a relatively short period of time, it can be confusing to understand which events took place first, and what happened next. The timeline is a perfect solution to help people see what events happened when. The linear function of the timeline makes it clear what happened when and makes it easier to follow the events.
After going through the map and timeline, visitors will hopefully have a better understanding of what took place when, and where. This information is important to understand before hearing the testimonies from former students about their experiences. Without having the proper background knowledge of the events of the boycott, the stories would have less of an impact as visitors would not be able to relate to the events described in the experiences of students.