On Dec. 2, the Newseum announced it will update its Bloomberg Internet, TV and Radio Gallery with more than a dozen items collected from Ferguson protesters and journalists following the aftermath of unarmed black teen Michael Brown’s death.
The items that will go on display include a press pass and two rubber pellet balls donated by newscast producer for St. Louis Public Radio Stephanie Lecci, and a notebook donated by her colleague, Nancy Fowler, that contains rushed reporter notes such as “31 arrests” and “reports of gunfire” from when the two were on the ground in Ferguson. The display will also include items that Newseum’s managing editor and St. Louis native Sharon Shahid collected when she traveled to Ferguson. While in Ferguson, Shahid was given items by St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer David Carson that included the notebook he used during his interviews with protesters and the clothing he wore during one of his nights in Ferguson where demonstrators shoved him to the ground. Additional items that Shahid collected include a homemade “Police the Police” poster, a T-shirt that reads “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and three African American weekly newspapers that show front page coverage of the events in Ferguson.
“One of our roles at the Newseum is to help people understand and appreciate First Amendment freedoms,” Peter Prichard, chairman and CEO of the Newseum said in a news release. “The continuing debate about Ferguson gives us an opportunity to show why two of those freedoms — the rights to assemble peaceably and to petition the government for a redress of grievances — are so important, even though we often take them for granted.”
After the grand jury announced it’s decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson for killing Brown, the Newseum created a feedback wall asking visitors to vote “Yes” or “No” in regards to whether they think the media is providing fair and accurate coverage of Ferguson. In the first week, the majority of visitors replied “No,” and left their comments about the events unfolding in Ferguson.
The Newseum’s Ferguson collection is expected to go on display later this month.