Augmented Reality Enhances Civil Rights Book

The author of a book on notable U.S. civil rights locations was in Greensboro this week unveiling what's called an "augmented reality component."

The technology allows pictures, news clippings, and videos to come to life on your phone. This AR demonstration was held at the International Civil Rights Center & Museum in downtown Greensboro, the site of one of the first sit-ins of the era. 

Author Lee Sentell says he hopes the multimedia augmented reality will appeal to young people as they learn about trailblazers like the four men who made national news when they sat down at a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro in 1960.

“I mean they're 18 years old,” Sentell says. “They're freshman, had been in college a few months. But they took it upon themselves to make a change.”

Sentell's work, titled The Official U.S. Civil Rights Trail: What Happened Here Changed the World, chronicles the history of the places — primarily in the South — where major events occurred that sparked the movement for social justice for Black people in the mid-20th century. 

After the unveiling of the technology, organizers held a roundtable discussion with Greensboro-area college and high school students on the history and impact of the local civil rights movement.