On February 10th, 2015 the violent murders of three Muslim students in the small university town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina caught the world’s attention. Within a day global discourse reached a fever pitch – news crews arrived, vigils were planned across the world and hashtags such as #muslimlivesmatter and #ourthreewinners were trending on social media. How and why could a seemly liberal town be the backdrop for an anti-Muslim hate crime?

After the Shooting is UNC-Chapel Hill School of Journalism and Mass Communication students’ attempt to understand the complicated issues surrounding the tragedy that occurred in their backyard. In their words, “As students, journalists and members of this community, we felt a responsibility to respond to this event. We created this project as a tool for communication, connection and understanding. We analyzed mainstream coverage and worked to provide an alternative narrative by curating conversations between members of our own community.”