Web Site: Overlooked

About this site / Ideas for this site

For years, the obituaries in The New York Times were dominated by white men. Now the paper is trying to make amends. They’ve begun to publish the obituaries of the ‘overlooked’ which include the stories of amazing people.

• What is an obituary? Do you think it’s important for a paper to have obituaries?
• Why did the paper’s obituaries concentrate on white men?
• Pupils read a selection and decide on a favourite and why.
• What do the people who were left out have in common?
• Why is the paper publishing these obituaries now? Is it a good idea?
• Does it achieve anything?