How the Story Gets Told

About the Series

How the Story Gets Told is an episodic documentary series exploring how race, power, memory, and public policy shape the way American history is remembered — and forgotten.

Filmed during the Journey to Justice civil rights immersion program, the series follows students, educators, and community members as they travel to historic sites across the American South — including Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, Jackson, and Memphis — confronting the ongoing legacy of slavery, racial terror, segregation, resistance, and the struggle for civil rights.

The series critically examines:

• Which histories receive public recognition and institutional support — and which do not
• How monuments, museums, memorials, and educational systems shape collective memory
• Who gets to tell the story of America’s racial past, and why that continues to matter today

Through personal testimony, historical analysis, archival material, and observational documentary storytelling, How the Story Gets Told documents not only the facts of history, but the ongoing fight over how history itself is preserved, interpreted, and understood.

Directed and Produced by Tommy J Housman

Co-Produced by Alijah Roberson and Dr. Valerie A. Stein

Produced with support from the University of Evansville Student Media program.

Reflect on the photography by Tommy J Housman below from the trip, capturing the history and students engaging with the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.