COMM 200: Critical Thinking and Speaking

Photo from the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom, August 28, 1963. Copyright Robert Adelman Estate. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

Most people immediately recognize Martin Luther King, Jr. -- in this photo, he delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Fewer of us are taught about the man standing behind him (in glasses): Bayard Rustin. Rustin's story has gradually been brought more into public consciousness over the past few decades.

This research guide uses examples of narratives by and about Rustin to show the process of finding sources for your projects.

Narratives might become hidden if they're...

• Not recorded or passed down, lost to time.
• Recorded and preserved, but not published or publicly shared.
• Misinterpreted or deliberately reframed, perhaps to conform to a more dominant narrative.
  • Example: The "and they were roommates" meme
• Erased, made private, or removed from public access.
  • Example: U.S. government websites
• Purposefully hidden or not widely circulated, sometimes because of shame and stigma, sometimes to avoid surveillance and targeting, and sometimes because privacy is important, too!
  • Example: Zines, not hashtags: Gen Z's new protest playbook (CNN video)

Additionally, people who become "hidden figures" might be...

• Not permitted to share their experience in their own words.
• Misunderstood, ignored, disregarded, or ostracized.
• Literally hidden away, as with people who are institutionalized.
  • Example: Rosemary Kennedy

Hidden figures and narratives can be uncovered, discovered, made public, or represented more accurately.

Human beings tell stories (or narratives) to share information and make sense of our lives. We often preserve and convey stories through media and other forms of communication, like books, journals, films, news, speeches, social media content, art, and written documents. Every source is shaped by its subject, its creators, and the broader contexts in which it's created and interpreted. Every source and story carries different values, perspectives, and goals.