“People who did not have obituaries in the New York Times…but who should have” is the premise of a feature that first appeared on International Women’s Day in 2018. To that time, the vast majority of NYT obits had been of dead white men; Overlooked No More is an attempt to restore balance in the choice of people to feature.

Among the 15 women whose overdue obituaries were published in 2018 were Ida B. Wells, Ada Lovelace, and Diane Arbus. For Black History Month in 2019, Overlooked’s scope was expanded to include minorities, who were also underrepresented. The initial group included Scott Joplin, Granville T. Woods, and Mary Ellen Pleasant. There have now been more than 260 Overlooked obituaries.

Format: Each class member will lead a discussion of one or more persons of their choice. Discussion leaders are encouraged to look at their subjects’ lives through the lens of the times in which they lived and the larger societal issues that are raised. The discussions of why these formerly unrecognized (by the NYT) individuals deserve to be celebrated will be lively.

Resources/Expenses: Overlooked No More is available online, although there may be a fee for online access to the NYT for those who are not subscribers.