When most people think of Washington, DC in 1968 they think of "the riots" which occurred after the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on 4 April. The popular conception is that "the riots" destroyed the city and that it wasn't until the expansion of Metro and the infusion of new development in the 1980s that the city flourished. This popular conception is historically inaccurate and does a grave disservice to all Washingtonians because it ignores the city's rich history of art and activism that was created and nourished in 1968.

dc1968, a curated and crowdsourced digital project commemorating the upcoming 50th anniversary of 1968, will transform the public's perception of that extraordinary year by creating a digital 365 Days of History calendar for 2018. dc1968 will have rich daily content covering art, activism, architecture and more across race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, ability and ward.

Each daily story will include a photograph, 200-word descriptive text, audio and video clips, and a geolocation. For example, on 21 October 2018, the public will learn about Roberta Flack's concert fundraiser, held on 21 October 1968, for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (which organized the Poor People's Campaign and Resurrection City) at Arena Stage. They will see a photograph of Flack; read an immersive description of the concert, the theater and the weather; watch a YouTube clip of her singing one of the concert songs; and listen to a clip of an audience member sharing memories of the concert.

These daily stories will be featured on the dc1968 project website and will be shared via Twitter, FB, Instagram and Medium.

Wouldn't it be awesome for Washingtonians to start each day in 2018 learning something new and informative about their city? Wouldn't it be awesome to have daily opportunities for meaningful and impactful conversations? That's what the dc1968 project will do!