UniteUS

UniteUS Logo w/o Slogan
UniteUS Logo w/ Slogan

Inspiration

This project was heavily inspired by the tragic and ongoing injustices faced by civilians across our nation, as well as the deep history of prejudice, racism, and inequality that some of us even experienced in our own lives. Watching the murders of innocent civilians such as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd go unresolved in the disarray of our police system spurred us to change the way we see minorities and how they are treated.

What it does

With the hope of creating a comprehensive, attractive hub to access information for our nation’s minority populations, our website functions as a much-needed resource for education in the United States. Split into pages like “Commemorative Statues,” “A Person a Day,” “Petitions,” “Donate,” and “Culturally-Linked Businesses,” our website gives every user a unique opportunity to connect with, support, and uplift the very communities that have been pushed under the carpet of systemic racism and profiling since the establishment of this country.

How I built it

The UniteUS web platform was built using both HTML and CSS. Through planning out our project in Google Docs, hosting group calls, and working collaboratively, we managed to successfully develop an effective strategy for the project’s construction. Some group members handled primarily research elements, others focused extensively on code, and others handled the presentation of our project; in this way, we efficiently divided our tasks to work quickly and diligently on our project.

Challenges I ran into

In creating a website, we faced many challenges concerning the execution of our HTML and CSS code. Since our group’s constituents are all first-time Hackathon participants with extremely little to no prior experience in coding, it was often difficult to recognize errors within the code, code in an orderly fashion, and achieve certain elements of design within our website. However, with time and plenty of tutorials, we managed to overcome such adversity and find great satisfaction in the outcome of our efforts.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Within the span of just 48 hours, we managed to develop a clear idea of our project, functioning website, PowerPoint pitch, and project master document with no previous experience with coding or Hackathons. Additionally, we were able to learn two computer programming languages and implement advanced features in a time crunch. We collaborated as a team with ease, despite not knowing each other well before this hackathon, developing team relationships and essential cooperative skills. As a team, we are incredibly proud and passionate about our cause in advancing cultural education and fortifying communal bonds in the backdrop of a society eager to embrace “equality and justice for all.”

What I learned

As a beginner group with little to no experience with coding or Hackathons, We learned the power of a time crunch in forcing us to develop skills we never expected we could learn in less than 48 hours, much less integrate into a website. We learned HTML and CSS, researched diverse historical figures that pushed equality forward for all, and the complexity and creativity involved in creating a user-friendly, coded website that advances social justice and cultural education and awareness. We each played to our strengths—coding, research, writing, design—and strengthened our ability to work as a team and rely on each other.

What's next for UniteUS

UniteUS will expand its network to ensure the installation of honorable commemorative statues, establishment of community support and unity, and facilitation of cultural education. Through social media, we can gain widespread traction through user donations and petitions. We plan to continue to educate others by continuing “A Person a Day,” which honors historical figures from a variety of cultural backgrounds, as well as roll out a variety of creative new features.