(THE) VICTORS WRITE THE ALGORITHM
Exhibition • Birmingham Civil Rights Institute • Feb.6-Mar.20
POWER, PROPAGANDA, AND THE
MAKING OF AMERICAN MEMORY
Featured Black History Month Events at the BCRI
The Exhibit
(The) Victors Write the Algorithm explores how power shapes the stories a nation tells about itself—and the truths it omits from those stories.
As the United States marks its 250th year and we cross 100 years of celebrating Black History Month, this exhibit traces how Black people have been portrayed, distorted, and erased from mainstream media narratives.
From propaganda and biased news coverage, to the digital platforms and algorithms that determine what we see and share, we should examine how narratives are constructed and disseminated as “truth”.
Exhibit addition
Miss Representation
March 2 – March 28 | Woolfolk Gallery
An extension of The Victors Write the Algorithm, Miss Representation examines how women—especially Black women—have been distorted, flattened, or erased across media, culture, and public memory. From early newspapers to Hollywood, advertising, and today’s digital feeds, women have often been confined to narrow roles and stereotypes that shape how they are seen, treated, and valued.
This installation explores how these narratives influence power, policy, and everyday life—and challenges us to reconsider who gets to be fully human in the stories we tell.
From propaganda and biased news coverage, to the digital platforms and algorithms that determine what we see and share, we should examine how narratives are constructed and disseminated as “truth”.
The State Of
The Algorithm
Exhibit Opening Reception + Roundtable Discussion about Propaganda, Media, and Technology Today
After viewing (The) Victors Write the Algorithm exhibit, join us for a discussion about today’s media landscape and how it compares to earlier moments in American history. Local media professionals, journalists, historians, and cultural voices will explore how technology and social media shape the media we consume, and how power, bias, and propaganda continue to influence the stories we believe and how communities are represented.
Deborah V. Bowie
President & CEO
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Edward Bowser
Deputy Director of Communications
City of Birmingham
Mayor’s Office
Nicole S. Daniel
Founder & Executive Editor
The Modern Standard
Phillip Howard
Civil Rights People and Places Program Manager
The Conservation Fund
Cody Short-Johnson
Content Creator & Journalist
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Jordan Kiper
Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Shauna Stuart
News and Culture Writer
Freelance Journalist
Cellphone Time Capsule
Add your old phone to a collective archive of American memory!
When we think of time capsules, we think of physical objects buried and rediscovered years later. But as more of our lives move into digital space, fewer artifacts are preserved in physical form.
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Photos are rarely printed. Messages, news, and memories live on devices that are constantly upgraded and discarded.
Often, the devices themselves are the only things that remain.
As part of this activation, we’re inviting visitors to part with their old cellphones and allow them to become part of a collective archive of American memory. The donated phones will serve as artifacts of everyday life, marking how technology shaped experience and storytelling across generations.
(And yes—there may be a small prize for the oldest phone donated.)
Celebrate the Centennial celebration of Black History Month and the United States’ 250th year with us at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.