Rhana Wheeler

“Community Cartographies: Mapping Memory and Heritage in Lynwood Park” is a participatory digital humanities pilot that co-creates a community-governed spatial archive of one of Dekalb County’s gentrified historically Black neighborhoods. Using ArcGIS narrative mapping, CONTENTdm, and spatially anchored oral histories, the project documents the lived experiences of school integration, displacement, and cultural change while returning narrative authority to former Lynwood Park residents. It develops a model of spatial, community-led archival practice that integrates place-based storytelling and digital justice practices. It uses a replicable framework other displaced or historically marginalized communities can adopt to visualize change, preserve memory, and advocate for policy reform.