FRONTLINE Art Installation Humanizes Those Lost in Racial Violence Cold Cases
There’s no doubt that art can be visceral — shocking and moving, emotional and inspiring. These feelings and more were summoned this fall when a partnership between PBS’ FRONTLINE, produced by GBH in Boston, and the law school’s Civil Rights and Restor- ative Justice Project (CRRJ), took their previous collaboration on the multimedia investigation “Un(re)solved” to the next level through an art installation on campus. The installation, which is touring nationally, is an immersive, augmented reality project that brings together investigative reporting, fine art, technology and a civil rights mission to bring racist murders out of the past. Through rows of engraved trees with roots stretching out below, hundreds of names framed on quilted panes jump out at the viewer. Each name belongs to someone who was killed in a racial violence cold case that was reopened due to the 2008 Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.
The art installation is just one piece of an Emmy-winning multimedia investigation from FRONTLINE. “Un(re)solved” also spans a documentary, podcast, interactive web component and even a high school curriculum. Professor Margaret Burnham, director of CRRJ, served on the FRONTLINE project’s advisory council. Of the more than 150 cases included in the project, CRRJ provided infor- mation on 50.
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