A portal into placed-based racism and resistance in Rochester, NY and surrounding neighborhoods combining curriculum, maps and data.
Resistance Mapping is a local, collaborative (University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, Antiracist Curriculum Project) digital humanities project focused on how the places of Monroe County, NY have been shaped by histories of institutional racism and collective community resistance.
The core of the project is a series of interactive maps of the Rochester area that invites visitors to explore contemporary data on segregation and inequity alongside historical data on racist housing policies. These historical policies made it extremely difficult for people of color to buy or rent property, access job opportunities, and build generational wealth in the Rochester area.
The second main project component is an archive of antiracist instructional materials, the result of an ongoing curriculum project led by K-12 educators across Monroe County. Teachers are developing materials for different grade levels that enable students to gradually build knowledge about the complicated histories of racism and resistance in our community. On the Resistance Mapping platform, we host the full archive of teaching materials (lesson plans, slides, student handouts, and instructor guides) for teachers to access.
Our Role
Digital Scholarship has been involved with Resistance Mapping since the early stages. Some of the contributions to the project have been to:
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Create a project plan in conjunction with the project partners
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Define scope, workflows, and documentation practices for the project
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Determine the best software solutions
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Create workflows for map creation and data entry
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Guide students in software development and mapping
What's Next
While the initial grant period for Resistance Mapping has ended, and we have successfully achieved our original objectives, the project remains active and is now transitioning into its maintenance phase. We have ongoing plans to enhance the curriculum with new additions and research materials. Additionally, we are committed to making interface tweaks and fixes, as well as providing ongoing map updates to ensure an optimal user experience.
