FAQ & User’s Guide to BP

Frequently Asked Questions About BlackPast.org

What is BlackPast.org? BlackPast.org (www.blackpast.org) is the largest free and unrestricted website on African American history and Global African history currently on the Internet. Founded on February 1, 2007 in Seattle, Washington, the site now has the equivalent of over 10,000 pages of information. Click here to see the BlackPast.org Mission Statement.

What are the major features of BlackPast.org? The website is the largest online encyclopedia on African American and Global African history on the Internet. African American history featured on this site concentrates on the history of people of African Ancestry in the United States.  Global African history focuses on people of African ancestry outside the United States. Currently there are 7,200 entries on BlackPast.org with an average length of 550 words.  These entries, written by volunteer content contributors, introduce the individuals, events, places, and episodes that describe African American and Global African history. The sources at the end of each entry list other works that should be consulted for more detailed information. The website also has a series of Perspectives articles that explore various aspects of African American history or Global African history. These articles are written by content contributors with expertise in the subject of their entries or by content contributors who personally witnessed significant events or who knew individuals associated with a significant event. The other major features of the website are outlined here.

How is the data on BlackPast.org organized and presented? The website is divided into two major sections: African American History (AAH) and Global African History (GAH). Click here for an organizational guide to the website.

The online encyclopedia is the heart of the website. How are encyclopedia entry subjects determined? The website director in consultation with the BlackPast.org Advisory Board, a group of fifteen noted scholars in U.S., African, and African American history, determine whether the proposed entry meets the BlackPast.org standard for historical significance.

How does a potential contributor know if a possible entry is historically significant?  Each subject profiled must have a demonstrated historical influence. The person, event, place, or episode must have had a clearly evident impact on African America, the United States, or the world.

Who can write for BlackPast.org? Anyone who is at least 18 years of age, is enrolled in or has graduated from an institution of higher education, and who has a demonstrated expertise surrounding his or her proposed entry, is eligible to contribute entries to BlackPast.org. The criteria for submitting Perspective articles is more restricted. The contributor must possess a specialized academic knowledge or an extensive personal familiarity with the subject of the article.

May one volunteer to write for BlackPast.org?  Yes. We encourage individuals to write entries for BlackPast.org provided they have expertise on the subject of their entries.  We ask, however, that they be willing to write on other potential entries related to that subject.  You should possess strong research and writing skills that make you eligible to present your subject in a balanced and engaging manner to a worldwide audience. Click here if you feel you fit the criteria to write for BlackPast.org.

How many people have volunteered to write for BlackPast.org?  As of June 1, 2024, nearly 1,000 people have contributed entries or Perspectives articles to BlackPast.org. These volunteers are from six continents. Please click here for a list of the volunteers.

Is there any financial compensation for writing for BlackPast.org?  No. All content contributors are volunteers.

How are BlackPast.org entries and articles evaluated? All submissions by content contributors are reviewed by the website director and selectively by members of the BlackPast.org Academic Advisory Board. Each entry or article is also reviewed by copy editors to ensure they are grammatically and stylistically acceptable.

What are the guidelines for writing an entry for BlackPast.org?  Please click on this link.

What are the guidelines for writing a Perspectives article for BlackPast.org?  Please click on this link

Is it possible for individual contributors or other users to edit or modify entries or articles that are already posted? No. Posted entries or articles can only be modified by the BlackPast.org staff.

Where can I find a list of all the Features of BlackPast.org?  Please click on this link.

What is the easiest way to find specific information included on the website?  Type a name or word in the Search Bar located on each page of the website.

Is BlackPast.org a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation?
Yes. BlackPast.org was recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit corporation on March 28, 2008. The EIN is 26-1625373. Please contact the website director if you wish to see the IRS letter. BlackPast.org is also profiled on GuideStar, a major non-profit screening house.  All donations to BlackPast.org are tax deductible. Please click here if you wish to make a donation.

Who are the members of the Board of Directors of BlackPast.org?  Click here for a list of board members.

Who administers BlackPast.org? BlackPast.org is managed by the Executive Director and the BlackPast.org Support Team. Please click here to see the members of the Support Team.

What is the size of the BlackPast.org audience? The total number of visits to BlackPast.org in 2023 was 6,517,722. Since its official founding on February 1, 2007, nearly 60 million people have accessed the pages of BlackPast.org.

What is the history of the website? Please click here for the BlackPast.org story.

Revised June 1, 2024

A User’s Guide to BlackPast.org

Welcome to BlackPast.org, the largest free and unrestricted reference center on African American and Global African History currently on the Internet.  This website has nearly 8,000 pages reflecting the vast array of information on the history of people of African ancestry.  The User’s Guide is designed to help you access this information as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The fastest way to find specific information on BlackPast.org is to type in a name in the Search Bar which appears at the top of every page on the website. Type in “Fannie Lou Hamer,” for example.  The website search engine will then list every entry on the site related to Hamer. While you can type Fannie Lou Hamer, typing “Fannie Lou Hamer” using quotation marks, narrows your search. The search results page appears after a search is performed.

BlackPast.org has two major divisions:

African American History (AAH)

All sections in this division focus on the historical experiences of African Americans, that is, persons of African ancestry who have or are now living in the United States.

Global African History (GAH)

All sections in this division address the history of people of African ancestry who live or have lived outside the United States and its territories.

Each division is listed on the navigation bar at the top of the page as African American History or Global African history. Click on the name and a pull-down menu will appear with a list of sections or features under that heading. For example, “People” on this menu will include all entries of individual African Americans. Under “Perspectives” you will see all articles related to African American History. The same features related to Global African History appear under that pull down menu.

We want to call your attention to the Map links under AAH and GAH. Each is the first feature on the pull-down entry. When you click on the link for AAH, you will be taken to an outline map of the U.S. Hover your cursor over any state and all entries related to that state will appear. The same is true for the world map. Hover your cursor over any country and all the entries related to that country will appear.

Other pull-down menus on the navigation bar include Main Features, Special Features, and About Us. Pull down the Main and Special Features menus and you will find a wealth of historical information on various subjects. Pull down the About Us link and you will see a short video on BP as well as information related to the history, content contributors, Board of Directors, and Support team (staff) of BlackPast.org.

BlackPast.org includes:

1. An online encyclopedia featuring nearly 8,000 entries which describe people, places and events in global African history written by nearly 1,000 academic, independent and student historians. Their contributions make BlackPast.org one of the largest online encyclopedias devoted exclusively to the history of people of African ancestry wherever they are found.
2. The complete text of more than 320 major speeches by African Americans from 1789 to today.
3. More than 150 full text primary documents—court decisions, laws, organizational statements, treaties, government reports and executive orders which help describe the African American past.
4. Four major timelines that show the history of people of African ancestry from 5,000 B.C.E. to today.
5. Eight bibliographies listing the more than 5,000 major books on African American history categorized by author, title, subject, and date of publication.
6. Both AAH and GAH Perspectives which features descriptions of important but little known events in black history often written by the individuals who participated in or witnessed them, or commentary on the important events of that day that will become history in the future. Many of these accounts are instant primary sources.

BlackPast.org is constantly adding new information so please return often.  We welcome your suggestions for improvement. If you have suggestions, please contact us at [email protected].

Welcome to BlackPast.org