They say the third time’s the charm, and that applies to the third collaboration between The Crimson White and Nineteen Fifty-Six Magazine. 

The mission of the Unseen Edition is simple: to showcase the unseen side of the Black student experience at The University of Alabama. As a student newspaper, we strive to seek out stories from all corners of campus and reflect the diversity of our university in our coverage year-round, and this edition is the product of years of commitment to that mission. 

In June 2020, The Crimson White committed to change from within in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the country. Since then, and since the establishment of Nineteen Fifty-Six Magazine that same year, the collaboration between our publications has served as a crucial opportunity for The CW to live up to that commitment.

Every year, I enjoy reading the stories our two teams create when we put our heads together. Every year, I take pride in seeing the stories we’ve created shared online and in print. Every year, I remind myself that these stories are not to be limited to one special edition, but that they need to be sought out year round. 

It’s easy to recall the highly visible stories. The names of racists on our campus buildings were swapped out in 2020 for generic placeholders that are still there two years later. The board of trustees this past spring decided to rename one of those buildings by putting Autherine Lucy Foster’s name next to a Klansman’s and only changed its mind after the highly predictable and justified backlash. Foster herself spoke to a UA audience when the building was finally, rightfully, dedicated in her name, and she passed away not even a week later.

Foster had perhaps the most seen experience of any Black student at the University, a legacy that lives on in the name of Nineteen Fifty-Six Magazine. Highlighting her story is not the challenge anymore. Now, the task at hand is to highlight the students who have followed in her footsteps. 

To us, uncovering the unseen stories on campus means chasing the stories that don’t necessarily feel as inspirational as Autherine Lucy Foster right now. The fact that inequality still exists on campus is not an easy one to accept, but ignoring it will not bring bless. Sharing unseen stories means asking hard questions, having tough conversations, and yes, occasionally making people uncomfortable to shed light on the truth. The University has come a long way since 1956, but it is not perfect, and neither are we.

In our pursuit of truth, The Crimson White is fortunate to have a sister publication like Nineteen Fifty-Six Magazine, and an audience of readers who holds us accountable. Each year, the team behind the paper shifts, and a new leader speaks for the paper. So while I have this platform, I can safely say: we still have work to do, but the commitment we made stands.