In 1866 the Irish population of Memphis numbered in the thousands. Many Irish immigrants had arrived in the U.S. in the 1840s and ‘50s, escaping famine in their native land. In the months before the massacre several violent clashes occurred between Black soldiers and the Memphis police. One such incident led to the rampage of the first three days of May.
Reconstruction 360 uses a 360 degree video platform as a storytelling device that lets the audience step inside pivotal Reconstruction events. By clicking on icons within the 360 video the user can access short documentaries that offer the perspectives of multiple characters, historians and descendants. Reconstruction 360 also includes lesson plans, curriculum standards and primary documents. This module, Violence and Hatred, is situated in Memphis, Tennessee in May, 1866, during a terrible event known as the Memphis Massacre, in which at least 46 Black Memphians were murdered by members of a White mob.
