Journalism students examine police race relations

Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy whose death at the hands of police sparked outrage across the nation last year, is one of several cases examined recently by the History of Alternative Press class in the Journalism Department.

Students in the History of Alternative Press course in the Journalism Department this spring completed a project titled “Recovering Lost Voices: Urban Policing and Minority Relations,” which examined the recent cultural tensions between minorities and police that have gained headlines across the United States in recent months.

The students produced video reports that are now available on victorystride.com, an Emerson-hosted website that examines the history of social justice in the United States.

Associate Professor Roger House taught the course, and said the goal of the project was to give voice to those who have been lost under questionable treatment by officers of the law.

“Their stories…document incidents known and unknown for the benefit of the Emerson community,” House said. “Too many innocent people have suffered as a result of these practices.”

The students in the class were: Meghan Allen ’15, Isaac Bryant ’15, Wendy Eaton ’15, Angela Ferraguto ’15, Christabel Frye ’15, Ava Gordley-Smith ’15, Cassidy Hopkins ’16, Shannon Horowitz ’16, Timothy Johnson ’15, Claire Kerr ’15, Zoe Mathews ’15, Tatiana Ochoa ’16, Frank Olito ’15, Tyler Salomon ’15, Jesse Sterge ’16, and Tashanea Whitlow ’16.