Description from website:
BlackPast is dedicated to providing reliable information on the history of Black people across the globe, and especially in North America. Our goal is to promote greater understanding of our common human experience through knowledge of the diversity of the Black experience and the ubiquity of the global Black presence. Welcome to the largest online encyclopedia on African American and Global African history on the Internet.
More description from an online review:
Blackpast is a free website with thousands of encyclopedia articles on African American and Global African history spanning 1526 to the present, as well as transcripts of speeches and primary documents, articles, bibliographies, and guides. Topics are chosen for their “clearly evident impact on African America, the United States, or the world.”
Blackpast started as an online reference center by University of Washington (UW) faculty in 2004. The project expanded beyond UW, and the Blackpast.org website went live on February 1, 2007. Their Academic Advisory Board is made up of fifteen noted scholars in US, African, and African American history from around the US and Canada. Contributors are unpaid independent and academic historian volunteers from around the world; each has a profile so users can see their background and relationship to the topic.
The online encyclopedia’s entries average around 500 words and provide introductions to individuals and events with significant impact on Black history. Every entry also lists its sources. There are transcripts of more than 300 speeches, 63 from global figures and events, and 243 from African American history. The “Perspectives Articles” by academic historians describe lesser-known yet important events or offer viewpoints about historical developments shaping the contemporary Black world.
The content can be navigated to by using the basic search bar located at the top of every webpage, or one could browse topics under African American history, Global African history, or by the main and special features. At the bottom of the page, users can browse African American and Global African history by categories: “People,” “Places,” “Groups & Organizations,” “Events,” “Primary Documents,” “Institutions,” “Speeches,” and “Perspectives.”
The transcripts of American and international primary documents and the fun, visual timeline potentially could be of particular use for research and classrooms.