Note from the Editors

Empowering the Erased is the product of a collaboration among three professors, one in journalism, one in the library and the other in history, and their students at Washington and Lee University during the winter term of 2023.

Late last year, we approached Professor Romina Green Rioja, who teaches Historical Memory in Latin America. She agreed to our proposal: Our Multimedia Storytelling Design class would use her students’ essays as the basis for designing and creating a website that explored the topic of historical memory.

The study of historical memory emerged in the 20th century as a method for scholars to understand collective identities and experiences. Later, it became a way to explain collective and historical trauma. At the start of the term, our Multimedia Storytelling Design students began reading the essays that Professor Green’s students wrote that chronicled their paths over the next 12 weeks to the realization that there is often more to history than what’s in history books.

Our nine students learned along with the history class about indigenous people whose stories were erased and voices were silenced by conquerors who told only one side of the story of the development of several nations.

The website our students created illustrates the magic that occurs when students immerse themselves in compelling content that ignites creativity. Our students envisioned and executed the website. As a group, they made decisions that determined its look and feel, from its fonts and color schemes to its use of audio and video.

We hope you, the reader, are as proud as we are of all the students involved in this project for their commitment to tackling such an important subject that affects people around the world.

Professor Toni Locy, Department of Journalism and Mass Communications
Associate Professor Jeff Barry, University Library