What are the Two Sides to Every Story?

This post serve as a deeper explanation for the introduction post.

Who are we?

We are three passionate college students from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire. The three of us have all gone on to the Civil Right Pilgrimage organized by our school. In our journey down into the deep south, our goal was trying to learn about the Civil Right Struggle of African Americans with our own eyes and ears. On this trip, we've learn so much, along with the guiding of our instructor, we came up with the idea of wanting to make a change of our society.

What are the Two Sides to Every Story?

The two sides of every story include the side that the general population knows, a.k.a the story that has been reported by the media, or told by the government; and also the side of the hidden truth.
From the experiences we had on the trip, we've learned and seen so many things that shocked our minds about what has happened in the past, and yet we are all college students who supposedly should have learned this aspect of American History.

Why is it important to know both side of the story?

With today's media, internet, and all kinds of tools to get information, thousands and thousands of stories are exposing to us constantly. Most of these stories are only a fraction of what had happened, and yet based on the little we know, we judge and share opinion with others.

"There is no racism left in America." How many people could say that this is true?

"I am not racist, I have so many friends that are not white." How many minority individuals feel uncomfortable hearing this micro-aggression?

I am not blaming people who said these sentences, we wish one day we could say there is no racism left in our country. I wish that one day when I have kids, they will watch a documentary of the past and ask me "What is race, daddy? Isn't we all just the human race?"
So why is it important to know that there is still racism, there is still hate groups exist? Why can't we just pretend this is a "nicer" world we live in? It's because we need to know the mistakes of the past or in the present, so that we can make a change, so that we can make a better future, so that we can make this world a better place. Not just each individual of the country, but also the government who run the country.

Would you rather hide the mistakes and pretend they had never happened, or admit the mistakes, and use your action to prove you are trying to correcting them, showing that you are making progress to be better, so that the citizens could trust you as a honest and caring government that they chose you to serve and run their country?

What do we wish from YOU?

We wish every visitor of our blog would come in, read our post; comment on what you learned from the stories we researched on; share your opinion or advise that you have for us; and most importantly, tell us what story you want to hear, and possibly what hidden event you wish us to do research on? We wish this post could be a place where we start the conversation and you carry it on and make changes. Share what you have learned from us with others and also teach us what we could learn from you. Remember that change can be made by every individual and together we can make this place a better world for everyone.

Media Making a Change

TIME Magazine has just published a really powerful front cover . Sometimes media sources present more in depth coverage and provoke their audience to delve deeper into history and current events. Many times the media focuses on guiding the audience to focus on a certain emotion or thought, distracting them from more un-biased fact. At the end of March TIME Magazine published a startling cover asking their audience to consider the series of events that led up to the 2015 Baltimore Riots. While TIME Magazine does convey the news, it also acts an editorial that questions the commonly accepted norm. The article gives information about what happened in 1968, and ask how things have and haven't changed in 2015. We challenge you to read this article and dig deeper into the underlying issues about these events.

What do you think has changed since 1968?

What more is missing from the story?

What can be done to prevent things like this from happening again?

What have you heard about these riots?

Baltimore Riots

The Baltimore Riots this past month are an example of how social media can skew your interpretation of current events. The media chooses to present stories on different topics. News  agencies are controlled by different authorities and therefore have agendas behind each news article. The first image is a screenshot of what happens when you search "baltimore riots" on cnn.com. You see stories focused on the destruction of parts of the city. What sort of image does this portray of the events that took place?

cnn.com search result of "baltimore riots"

In comparison take a look at the search results on nytimes.com for "baltimore riots." Yes, you do get some of the same coverage of the destruction that occurred, but you also begin to see the basis of a different story, one not mentioned in the results on cnn.com. Here we see mention of the peaceful activities and movement of the people of Baltimore. Which news source would you be more likely to believe? Which news source is portraying a more accurate representation of the events occuring right now in Baltimore?

nytimes.com search result of "baltimore riots"

Introduction

It is often said the victors write history. Our group for a women's class here at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire has set out to bring more awareness to how history and current events can be viewed from different lenses. We hope to demonstrate that what is presented in the media is not always the truth. Depending on the source, the information or perceived facts can very, sometimes information is even hidden from the public. Through this blog, it is our hope that our readers will begin the discussion on events and search for the truth themselves.