The first of three media pieces for “Slavery in the Civil War,” this interactive allowed visitors to guest-edit Freedom’s Journal, the nation’s first African-American newspaper. Editors from the paper pitch ideas based on what the first free generation of African Americans are debating in the media. You get to print your front page to read on the subway home, including articles on the slave rebellions of Haiti, race riots in New York, and advertisements for the local black businesses of the 1820s. The design emphasizes the physicality of printing and features black hands using a period printing press.

“The creative process of selecting articles for your own newspaper is filled with unexpected elements. The human and mechanical parts of the process are revealed in entertaining interstitials. It is a fun treatment for a museum interactive.”
“Inventive and engaging—feels inviting and human rather than computer-driven.”