Cannabis Ruderalis

Behold: our temple of learning

This event has already taken place. Check out the "Event Outcomes" section to see what we accomplished. Also see the Meetup/UNC page for other past events.

The North Carolina Collection of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hosting the African Americans in North Carolina Edit-a-thon at UNC, sponsored by the Art & Museum Library and Information Student Society, the Student Chapter of the Society of American Archivists, and the Information and Library Science Student Association at UNC's School of Information and Library Science.

This is our first-ever Wikipedia edit-a-thon, and our goal is to create and improve Wikipedia articles about African Americans and African American history in North Carolina. No specialized knowledge of the subject is needed; we'll have library resources on hand and a list of suggested topics.

In addition to editing, we'll be giving tours of our host location, UNC's Wilson Library, one of the University's most picturesque buildings. There will be refreshments available, to give you the energy you need for all your research breakthroughs.

We hope you’ll join us!

Details[edit]

This is a reasonable approximation of the level of fun we will be having.
A photograph taken at the event; other photos are also available, or upload your own!

WHEN: Sunday, April 14, from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Come when you can, stay as long as you would like.

WHERE: Wilson Library, room 504, on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

WHO: Anyone!

  • Experienced or new Wikipedians (We will provide assistance with Wikipedia formatting and syntax.).
  • Amateur historians or research pros (We will have a selection of NCC resources and a mini reference desk available for your use. We can also pull additional materials from the Collection as needed.).
  • UNC faculty, staff, and students.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU ARRIVE:

  • Enter Wilson Library through the main front entrance. Volunteers will be there to greet you.
  • Please bring your own laptop. We will help you access the University's wireless network.
  • Parking should be available and free in most University parking lots near the library, unless marked as reserved for a special event.
  • The Wilson Library website should have directions and more detailed parking information: http://www.lib.unc.edu/wilson/visit/hours.html

WILL THERE BE FOOD? The most important question! Yes, we will provide food and drink.

WILL I HAVE A SOUVENIR OF MY EXPERIENCE? Sure. We've got some free posters for you to take home with historic NC images on them. They will look spiffy on your wall.

Participating Remotely[edit]

We've received a few requests to livestream the edit-a-thon - while we would love to do that, we don't have the staffing and resources available on Sunday afternoon. However, there are ways to participate remotely. We'll be updating the Topic page in real time, with editors signing next to articles they're working on, so anyone with a Wikipedia account can log on and do the same. We'll be available during the event for comments and questions on Twitter @NCCollection. You also can direct message us on Twitter to get the name of the Google chat account we'll be running during the edit-a-thon for reference help. We welcome remote participants, and hope these options will allow you to participate!

Suggested Topics[edit]

The following are topics that North Carolina Collection staff have identified as needing attention, but participants are encouraged to pursue their own interests as well. Hyperlinked topics already have Wikipedia articles, but may need citations, or more information.

Some of these topics are mentioned briefly in other articles, so if you create a new article, try to search for that topic in Wikipedia so that you can create links back to your work.

Sign up for the article you'd like to work on here: Topic page

People

  • The "5" Royales (rhythm & blues band from Winston-Salem, 1950s)
  • Charles Henry Alston (artist, 1907-1977) (could add information about his papers in the Southern Historical Collection)
  • Louis E. Austin (editor and publisher of The Carolina Times from 1927 to 1971)
  • Romare Bearden (artist and writer, 1911-1988) (lead section is sparse)
  • Charlotte Hawkins Brown (educator and academic, 1883-1961) -- working on this one Nmg27510 (talk) 17:18, 14 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Dorothy Brown Dorothy Lavinia Brown
  • Eva Clayton (U.S. Representative, b. 1934)
  • Elizabeth Cotten (blues and folk musician and songwriter, 1893-1987)
  • Chuck Davis (dancer)
  • Helen Edmonds (first African American woman to become dean of a graduate school, at NC Central)
  • Henry Frye (first African American justice of NC Supreme Court, b. 1932)
  • Clarence Gaines (college men's basketball coach, 1923-2005)
  • Abraham Galloway (abolitionist born into slavery, 1837-1870)
  • Moses Grandy (author of Life of a Slave, 1786-?) working on this one (Mike Millner)
  • J. Eugene Grigsby (artist, 1918- ) (There is currently no wikipedia entry.)
  • Rencher Harris (first African American member of Durham City Board of Education and first African American city councilman in Durham)
  • George Moses Horton (poet born into slavery, 1797-1884)
  • Harriet Jacobs (writer and abolitionist born into slavery, 1813-1897) S. N.
  • Thomas H. Jones (writer and abolitionist born into slavery, 1806-?)
  • Howard Nathaniel Lee (politician, first African American mayor of Chapel Hill, b. 1934)(Paco2 is working on)
  • Bishop Dready Manning (blues and gospel musician, b. 1934)Gbledsoe (talk) 18:38, 14 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  • Millie and Christine McCoy (conjoined twins, stage performers, 1851-1912) -- fios10
  • John Merrick (founder of NC Mutual Life Insurance Company, born into slavery, 1859-1919)
  • Aaron Moore (first black physician in Durham, founder of NC Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1863-1923)
  • Wyatt Outlaw (deputy member of Grand State Council of the Union League of America, hanged by KKK in 1870) (Working on this MHC)
  • Charlie Scott (professional basketball player, b. 1948)
  • Wendell Scott (first black NASCAR driver, 1921-1990)
  • James E. Shepard (founder of NC Central University, 1875-1947)
  • Charles Clinton Spaulding (founder of NC Mutual Life Insurance Company, 1874-1952)
  • John W. Stephens (state senator, assassinated by KKK in 1870)
  • LeRoy T. Walker (first black president of U.S. Olympic Committee, 1918-2012)
  • George Henry White (U.S. Congressman, 1852-1915)

Places

  • Princeville, NC (town established by freed slaves after the Civil War) (needs a history section)
  • Soul City (planned community in Warren County, NC, founded early 1970s)
  • St. Philip's Moravian Church, Winston-Salem (oldest standing African American church in NC)

Events

Businesses/Organizations

  • 3rd North Carolina regiment (all-African American regiment during the Spanish-American war)
  • The Carolina Times (African-American newspaper founded in the 1920s)
  • North Carolina Fund (Community anti-poverty initiative from the 1960s)
  • North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company (oldest and largest African American-lead financial company in the U.S.)
  • North Carolina State Equal Rights League (founded in 1865 to advocate politically for African Americans)
  • WAFR (later WVSP) (first African American public radio station in the U.S.)

Colleges, Universities & Schools

Online Research Sources[edit]

Wikipedia Help[edit]

RSVP[edit]

Please add your name below if you are planning to attend.

  1. Gaurav (talk) 03:45, 8 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
    • I'll probably be on the 11:30am or 12:30pm Robertson Express from the Duke Chapel in Durham. E-mail me if you want to meet up in Durham and head over to Chapel Hill together! -- Gaurav (talk) 05:26, 12 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Will try to show. I also know the Southern Historical Collection has some archived newspaper clippings on RTI International I've been meaning to look into. CorporateM (Talk) 01:05, 20 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  3. Jessica
  4. I still would want to participate, should I be unable to attend. It would be awesome if the event could be live-streamed! - Lenwood (Talk) 23:55, 24 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
  5. Touger - I am MLIS student and would like to participate.
  6. Mike Millner
  7. M. Clark Ph.D. student in Mass Communication. Research interests in race and communication and digital media. Right up my alley.
  8. A. Franklin: This is a wonderful idea! For some of the listed suggested topics, I either own or have access to primary source material. Since I may be unable to attend the Wiki Meetup, I will contact the UNC-CH staff directly for further information.
  9. Jahan Salehi, Agence Global. I second the request for live-streaming, as I'm in another city. I'd like to attend and contribute virtually. 03:12, 8 April 2013 (UTC).
  10. Frank Jones
  11. Barbara
  12. (Possible Attendee)  Educatedblkman  1914 (user)(talk) 21:23, 8 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Event Outcomes[edit]

Articles improved:

Articles created:

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