A group of editors are banding together to bring some lesser-known Black history figures to the forefront of our favorite online encyclopedia: Wikipedia.
Throughout the month of February, the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is sponsoring a Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon, which will train a group of volunteers to edit existing Black history entries on the site as well as add info on other prominent figures who might have been overlooked.
“If [millennials] are looking up Ida B. Wells, and Ida B. Wells isn’t there, then Ida B. Wells doesn’t count,” said Schomburg Center Director Khalil Muhammad to HuffPost Live.
Hoodfeminism.com editor Mikki Kendall pointed out that since most young people turn to the Internet for their information rather than books or libraries, it’s crucial that the information available is accurate and inclusive. She said that the site must meet people “where they are.”
“If you know that high school kids are more likely to look at Wikipedia than they are to necessarily go to the library, you need to make sure that Wiki article is actually on point,” Kendall said. “We have to make sure that the imagery that they see is something that they see as concrete and realistic and believable.”