Diane Nash, Civil Rights Shero

Observing the MLK Observance

I was reading The Guardian’s coverage of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I am drawn to this because I believe in Dr. King’s work and his philosophies of freedom and equality for all human beings, and peaceful non-violent resistance. I visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis one year ago this week, and was struck by this poignant memorial to MLK and the civil rights movement. If you’ve never been, you must go. It is well-designed, thoughtful, and evocative.

Breaking the Rules, or Not?

The article provides a link to Diane Nash, a little-known civil rights icon. Ms. Nash is an unassuming and courageous civil rights activist. As the article states “And while her contributions are sometimes overlooked in the re-tellings of the movement in favor of some of the more ostentatious male participants, few leaders from the earliest days of the movement have been as driven, unflinching and courageous as Diane Nash.”

The 2017 article about Ms. Nash is long, nothing short about it. There is a lot of history to cover and while I know it is best practice to avoid long stories and content, a short article just won’t cut it. I admit to being a typical reader (I may spend more than 30 seconds scanning a web page, maybe) who doesn’t like to read long articles. But I’m passionate about the history of this story and the writing is compelling and keeps my attention. I’m OK with them breaking the rules and writing this long and interesting story.

It’s All About the Headings

I have learned about the use of white space and headers to grab readers interest and give them a little taste of the paragraphs to follow. Readers need a road map to get them where they need to go. Jamiles Lartey, the author of this piece, does an admirable job with the headers. They are compelling and keep me reading this long story.

I really try to create interesting and different headers. I want to convey information in creative, compelling ways, not some dry, boring headers that may do just the opposite and push people away.

I also have to give kudos to the callout quote boxes that do a fine job pulling my eye. A lot of pictures are used for historical reference, and a picture of Diane Nash from the 60s and today anchor the story.

But Wait, There’s More!

The bottom of the article states it is the third in a series of interviews with women who changed our world. What, what, WHAT? I need to see the other two articles and hope for more. There are several links to articles about women and a link to their Lifestyle section, specifically for women. I think The Guardian US just got a new subscriber.

Seeing with a New Eye

I appreciate my ENG 554 Digital Communications class. I freely admit that I am no web or graphic designer, but I’m learning the elements of good design. We all recognize and appreciate good design, and its opposite evil twin, bad web design. I know that from here on out, I will be looking at media with a whole, new eye. I am interpreting and judging content in new and different ways. I’m grateful for the knowledge and critical thinking provided in this very interesting class. I have a long way to go and I’m looking forward to the journey.