02/13/98

Black History Month

In 1915, historian Carter G. Woodson proposed a "Negro History Week" to honor the history and contributions of African-Americans. Nine years later, his dream became reality. Woodson chose the second week of February to pay tribute to the birthdays of two Americans that dramatically affected the lives of Blacks: Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and Frederick Douglass (February 14). The week-long observance officially became Black History Month in 1976.

African-American Mosaic

Covering nearly 500 years of black history, African-American Mosaic draws from the Library of Congress' extensive collection of books, magazines, prints, photographs, music, film and sound. The online exhibit covers Colonization, Abolition, Migrations and the WPA. Starting at Colonization, you'll learn of nineteenth-century efforts to send free African-Americans to Africa as an alternative to emancipation in the United States. In 1822, the American Colonization Society established an African colony that, in 1847, became the independent nation of Liberia. By 1867, the society had sent more than 13,000 emigrants.

Black History: African-American Journey

This comprehensive history of African-Americans and their struggle for freedom is excerpted from the World Book CD-ROM encyclopedia. Unlike many African-American sites which start their history in the New World, World Book begins with the African empires of the A.D. 300's to the late 1500's. These wealthy countries of the Western Sudan — Ghana, Mali, and Songhai — had economies based on farming, mining gold, and trading with the Arabs of northern Africa. Most African-Americans can trace their roots to these large empires.

Black History: Exploring African-American Issues

This collection of educational Web activities showcases five different ways the World Wide Web can be integrated into classroom learning. From a simple hot list of Black History links, to an educational videoconference, these activities are of varying complexity. My favorites are the Subject Sampler (find a topic that touches you emotionally), Interactive Treasure Hunt (What was it that made Nat Turner lead his famous revolt?) and Tuskegee Tragedy WebQuest (How does this tragedy compare to other historic tragedies?)

Encyclopedia Britannica Guide to Black History

With over 600 articles, hundreds of photographs and a dozen film and sound clips, this online guide (also available as a CD-ROM) is extensive. Eras in Black History examines five centuries of black heritage through five distinct time periods. Timeline of Achievements traces the yearly contributions of African-Americans in politics, industry, arts, religion, sports and education. The site can alternatively be browsed alphabetically through the Articles A to Z index, with links to biographies and institutions.

Kids Zone: Discover Africa

"Africa is so large that a full population census has never been made. Estimates say that the continent and its nearby islands may be home to as many as 748 million people." This introductory African geography site is part of Zids Zone site from AFRO-Americ@. You'll find a page of info on a dozen African countries. When you're done, hop over to Brain Teasers for the Black History Quiz, African Animals Test or the Countries of Africa Game.

The following links are either new discoveries or sites that didn't make it into my newspaper column because of space constraints. Enjoy!

Deeper Shade of History

Detroit News Q&A

Faces of Science: African Americans in the Sciences

Museum of African Slavery

Please send questions or comments to feldman@surfnetkids.com.