An Africanapedia Project: The Blackafication of Wikipedia

• In Event: Black Digital Humanities: Technology and the Information Age along the Color Line

Abstract

In this paper I analyze and reflect upon an Africanapedia project I conducted involving students in four different media classes at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The project was launched in response to a digital initiative of the NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR BLACK STUDIES (NCBS) that Amilcar Shabazz started in 2012. My findings on student challenges and observations about their work creating new entries on black media topics or revising existing entries is offered as 2.0 guidance for Africana Studies teachers who may wish to start such projects in their own classes.

Author

• Demetria Rougeaux Shabazz, University of Massachusetts