This project seeks to incite interest in the Western United States’ histories of violence by providing detailed visualizations. We believe that coming to terms with these histories allows us to understand the past and current resurgences of white supremacist movements, as well as their costs upon the lives of minorities. This project not only presents the victimization of minorities but seeks to reveal the ways they mobilized resistance against overwhelming violence. It is crucial that we also privilege how they forged meaningful lives and asserted their entitlement to justice.
Racial Violence and the West also endeavors to provide a resource for teaching. The site includes all of the primary and secondary sources used for the site to encourage further reading. Users are invited to contribute to the maps and data visualizations.
Creator Racial Violence and the West was initiated and created by Samantha Q. de Vera, a History PhD student at the University of California, San Diego. She started her college career at San Diego State University, majoring in Humanities with a minor in English. She received an MA in English from the University of Delaware. A former member of the Colored Conventions Project, Samantha is interested in Digital Humanities and has curated exhibits for the said project. At UCSD, she focuses on African American refugees’ experience during the Civil War.
Racial Violence and the West 