DC1968 aims to tell the story of the city Washington DC in 1968.
On the “about” page, McQuirter states,
“Ambitious in scope, the project moves beyond the hyper focus on the uprising after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and amplifies the art, activism, architecture & every day life that made 1968 such an extraordinary year in DC.”
As we can see, McQuirter’s aim is not just to tell the story of 1968, but to amplify its significance beyond public perception. Most people would associate DC 1968 with the civil rights movement and the aftermath of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and although McQuiter does focus on the significance of these events, she also highlights the more mundane. She includes photos from people’s everyday lives, photos of arts and architecture. Her audience, though not clearly stated, is likely people who were alive in DC in 1968 or have family members who were and want to learn about their history. As the “about” page goes on to say, the goal is to “immerse you in 1968.”
To further achieve this goal, the project is completely open, so that anyone visiting the page can submit their own photo or memory from 1968. In McQuirter’s words, it “combines digital storytelling, public memory, material culture and archives.” All of these elements come together to create a fleshed-out depiction of DC in 1968 that focuses on everyday life and culture rather than simply historical events.
One of the goals of digital humanities is to publish, share, and provide access to cultural data, and that is the a clear achievement of this project. Every photo and story shared by either McQuirter or a website visitor is a piece of cultural data that is shared with the world through this project.