Back To The Future: An Unforgetable Digital Experience.

One of the best museum experiences that I've had recently, was at the National Museum of African American History & Culture, viewing the Greensboro Woolworth's Lunch Counter Exhibit. This lunch counter was the sit of many sit in's lead by college students, during the 1960's civil rights movement era. Most famously seen in photographs with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Woolworth stores had a segregation policy of not serving blacks. All across the deep south, Woolworth counters (just like the Mongomery buses) became the target of mass resistance. African Americans would come in to Woolworth store and occupy the lunch counters, refusing to leave until the were served.

Growing up in Atlanta in the 70's, Woolworth's store were integrated and served everyone. My sister and I often would by ice cream from the in-store cafe at the neighborhood Woolwoth's store. However, when I looked at the images from the civil rights days and watched the video of police dragging students out of there seats, beating and arresting them for trying to be served at the same counter where whites were eating, it's horrifying and I certainly believe it, but I grew up benefiting from the change of that struggle.
 
So naturally I was over the moon, when I visited the Greensboro Woolworth's Lunch Counter Exhibit at the National Museum of African American History & Culture. Not only did NMAAHC have a piece of the original counter and sit in stools, they played actual live footage at the time, from the encounters with students and police during the sit-ins. I was overcome with emotions being that close to history. I never expected to experience a sit-in in my lifetime, but digital experience, paired with the material culture gave me and my kids an unforgettable experience that I would recommend to the world.

Learn more about the National Museum of African American History & Culture  Greensboro Woolworth's Lunch Counter Exhibit http://americanhistory.si.edu/exhibitions/greensboro-lunch-counter.

Forgotten No More: Digitizing America's Undocumented Heroes!

The Enslaved at Belmont: Primary Source Collections Online

Purpose: The purpose of my project is to digitize and make available to the public, the primary

source documents used to account for the “little known” enslaved community of the former

Belmont Plantation, owned by Ludwell Lee of in Loudoun County, Virginia.

Focus: The focus is on primary source documents located at Loudoun County Court House

Records & Deeds Collection.

·             Wills – Located

·             Deeds – Located

·             Judgments – Located

·             Tax Records – TBL

·             Census Records – Located

·             Bill of Sale (Slaves) – Located

·             Inventory List – Located

Materials & Resources Used: Scanner, Tablet, Smartphone, Exel Spreadsheet, iMac desktop

Online Databases: Census records at local library

Implications: This is the first time the Loudoun Freedom Center have published research

data for public viewing. The database will provide research examples for future historians,

genealogist and educators to come.  

 

The World At My Finger Tips: Digital Material

Digital Material is a 21st century researcher or historian best friend. But having digital material readily available at your finger tip isn't magic, it requires work. Some digitization projects are more difficult than others but its all manual up loading. Is digitization necessary? Yes for several reasons:
1.  Preservation - you can preserve your material in any format longer when digitized.
2. Accessibility - Sharing and duplication of the material is made easier.

Want to get started saving your important history today, here are a simple list of the 5 hardware tools you'll need to start digitizing your material.

• PC (mac or windows)
• Tablet
• Smartphone
• Digital Camera
• Scanner

All of the hardware tools come fully equipped with imaging software or an app, depending on the device you choose. Here are a few suggestions of popular editing software that you can use to enhance your newly digitized materials.

• Image Editor - Adobe Photoshop
• Audio and Video Editor - imovie

Reference Material - Need a boost to help you get going? Here's a great website that will help you create and produce digital content across multiple platforms. Click here and start your digitization journey now. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1386/jmpr.3.3.155?journalCode=rjmp20#preview

My Project: is to digitize and make available the primary source document from the former Belmont Plantation. Here are some example of primary source documents that I have digitized from the Belmont Plantation.

Belmont Slave Cemetery Field Markers

Ludwell Lee Slave List

Copyright or Copywrong

Last Saturday one of the parents from our church shared a video of her daughter's dance recital on facebook.  It was great to see this shy kid explode on stage, so I was glued to the screen, but for some strange reason, despite all of my desperate efforts, tips and tricks to get the sound to work, all we could do is watch her dance her heart out, but there was no sound. After contacting her mom, what we later found out was that facebook had removed the sound do to copyright infringement issues. What, they have gone too far now! Not only does copyright infringement issues seem to be impeded on the sharing of history digitally, it is now an every increasing menace on social media platforms, with copyright police trolling through our babies recitals! Give me a break, here's what you need to know about copyright and fair use works.

5 Things You Need To Know About Copyright and Fair Use

• How to copyright your own work
• What can you publish
• What you can use
• How you can use and item
• Who own's the copyright to a particular item.

 Depending on the focus of the organization, some sites may have copyright statement.
Loudoun Museum states images are available for purchase for private and personal use.

Hello Online World

So you started your new business or non profit organization specializing in historic preservation, you have fabulous program offerings, but no one knows you're out there. What do you do next? Building your online presence can be time consuming and, at times, frustrating, but it’s also very important and could make or break your new venture.

Your online presence can determine if consumers will take your business seriously. With a few click consumers determine if a visit to your location, museum, tour, camp, or any program is a viable investment of their time and money. Your online presence is the beautifully decorated buffet or menu that compells consumers to come inside, grab a seat and enjoy a good meal that is guaranteed to fill them up.

But I'm not a programmer and I'm on a shoe string budget, what do I do? There’s a lot that goes into building your online presence, from establishing your goals, to actually creating your different profiles and accounts, to building a website, to figuring out the best ways to engage and interact across different mediums and social media platforms. Are you overwhelmed yet? Let’s break it down so you can get started right now.  

3 Ways That You Can Start Building Your Online Pressence Today

1. Provide Valuable Easy To Read Content - Whether it’s via your website, an online community, or through your social media channels, you should always be looking to provide excellent content value first and foremost. The number one question you must ask yourself is, what content are you providing your audience and what message are you trying to convey? It might be a blog, website, a podcast, video or social media post; whatever form that content takes, make sure it’s consistent and valuable. Creating consistent and valuable content will help you gain credibility and authority in your industry or niche, which is important for your online growth and visibility. Providing consistent high value content through the online communities you manage and on all of your social media channels is important for your online growth as well at you increased foot traffic in brick and mortar locations.

2. Go Social - One of the greatest things about the Internet is that it allows you to be everywhere. Being social doesn’t mean you HAVE to have a Facebook page, Twitter profile, Google+ profile, Pinterest board, YouTube channel, LinkedIn profile and so on. But being social DOES mean you should have at least two or three of these profiles set up that you regularly post and engage on. Consistency here is key. If you’re not able to manage your social media channels by posting regularly and being a part of the conversation, then it’s going to be hard to increase your following. Social media can be a GREAT marketing tool to help you gain those initial fans and followers, and once you have those followers, it’s also a great tool to reach those who know, like and trust you.

3. Build A Solid Platform - Don’t just build an online presence because you’re “supposed to”, build a solid platform strategically, so that it can help you achieve your overall business goals. For most small businesses and entrepreneurs, building a solid platform starts with building your website. Your website is your hub: a centralized place where people can go to learn more about what you have to offer, contact you, and interact and engage with your content. Things like a clear message (what your business is all about), easy-to-use navigation, an opt in giveaway (so you can start building your email list), a contact page, an about page, and some type of valuable content are required.

Don't forgert to ask for help from those around you, who have enough knowledge to help you get started. The Google Keyword tool is a great resource if you want to start with at least finding out the ranking of the keywords of your website. For more information and tips on developing a great online presence, check out bitcacha's beginners guide to an online presence at https://www.bitcatcha.com/beginners-guide-to-online-presence. Click here to see an example of the first website that I built using the online website builder tool https://wix.com. Wix is fast, affordable and easy way to get a web presence. You can do it yourself without learning code or spending hours on the phone with tech support. If you're like me and you like to KISS your projects (keep It Simple Stupid), all you need is time and patients to create a beautiful, user-friendly website with Wix. Been waiting for your chance to join the online world? Give https://wix.com a try today. Happy Website Building.

Black History Blogs

Blogs aren't just rants of passion that stir a writer's fan base. Blogs are used in different ways to connect readers to important information, this includes the study of African American history & culture.  One example of an informative blog used to study black history, is the blog of the Black History Guide to the African American experience at the National Archives. Updated monthly, readers are challenged with little known history that creates an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about African American history. Visit https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov to start your journey of discovery.

We recommend the following blogs for your education and enjoyment:

About.com: African American History This blog sponsored by the New York Times, profiles African American history and has links to other interesting sites.

African American Environmental Association The leading African American blog on environmental issues.

AfriClassical This blog by William J. Zick focuses on the history of persons of African ancestry in Classical music. 

Afro Netizen Social commentary by founder Christopher Rabb (and others) on contemporary issues affecting African Americans.

Afroculinaria This blog by Michael W. Twitty explores the cooking and food traditions of the African American South.

Blackademics This blog advertises itself as the online roundtable for young black thinkers.

Blogging While Brown  This is a clearing house of dozens of black-oriented blogs.

Clarence's Hollywood University of Washington Professor Clarence Spigner described the intersection of race and culture in Hollywood movies.

Discover Black Heritage Blog on travel and culture in African America, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Field Negro Commentary on contemporary politics and African American life.

RaceInquiry.com A discussion of the historical roots of contemporary race issues moderated by Ronald Sheehy.

Soul Food Scholar: Dropping Knowledge Like Hot Biscuits As the name suggests, this is a blog on Soul Food.

The Grio: Black History MSNBC.COM-sponsored website on black history and popular culture.

The Root.com Henry Louis Gates-founded blog on black popular culture.

We Are Respectable Negroes Commentary on race issues by Chauncey de Vega.

What About Our Daughters  Unapologetic Defense of Black Women and Girls.

Social media is also a great place to exchange information and study history. Check out the following historical organizations' facebook page: the Edwin Washington Project on at https://www.facebook.com/edwinwashingtonproject/organiztions and learn about Loudoun's African American history in public education and the BHC & Friends facebook page, designed to engage people interested in African American history. Created by the Black History Committee Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, the BHC & Friends facebook page shares articles and other information on black history, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1385386171675630

The Best Of Black History Now, No Lines, No Waiting

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture has become the crowned jewel of African American traditional and digital museums, with a few simple clicks around the interactive website, you'll know exactly why. Can't get tickets to the museum, no problem. Visit the latest riveting exhibits and experience the best of African American history and heritage online.

https://nmaahc.si.edu/

For the best of Loudoun's history & culture visit the following sites:

www.Loudoun Freedom Foundation.com

www.Oatlands.org

www.WaterfordFoundation.org

Digital History Guide For Dummies

From the onset of the introduction of the Roy Rosenzweig's weekly reading: Digital History: A guide to gathering, preserving and presenting the past on the web by Daniel J. Cohen and Roy Rosenzweig, I could tell that I needed to keep the highlighter handy because this digital preservation guide would be the "how to" manual for the Loudoun Freedom Center's efforts to digitize our groundbreaking research of Loudoun's enslaved communities at Belmont and Coton plantations. According to Rosenzweig, there are three main advantages of gathering, preserving and presenting the past on the web that every museum must capitalize on:

3 Advantages of Gathering, Preserving and Presenting the Past on the Web

1.    The first advantage of digital media for historians is storage capacity - digital media can condense unparalleled amounts of data into infinite small spaces, providing limitless storage ability.

2.    The second and even more important advantage advantage of digital media is accessibility - online accessibility means, that the documentary record of the past is open to people who rarely had access or interest before.

3.    The third characteristic of digital media is flexibility - online digital archives can contain images, sounds, and moving pictures as well as text, allowing the past to be presented in multiple media formats that combine sounds, images, and moving pictures with words.

For my final class project I'm going to digitize some of the primary source documents from the Belmont Plantation and previous owners and start the Loudoun Freedom Center Museum Online.

The most interesting concepts noted in the introduction of Rosenzweig's guide, was the convincing arguments of why the Loudoun Freedom Center shouldn't waste another second waiting on a brick and mortar building to share our primary source documents and archaeological evidence collection of Loudoun’s enslaved communities with the world. Check out Rosenzweig's guide online http://chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/introduction.