From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Initiative that seeks to improve Wikipedia's coverage of black history and culture
AfroCrowd
Logo
Formation 2015; 9 years ago (2015 ) Founder Alice Backer Website
afrocrowd .org
AfroCrowd (stylized as AfroCROWD ) is an initiative to create and improve information about
Black culture and
history on
Wikipedia . The New York City-based project was founded by Alice Backer in 2015.
[1]
[2]
Background and description
AfroCROWD Manager Sherry Antoine talked with German Wikipedia editor Sebastian Wallroth at WikiConference North America 2018 in Columbus, Ohio for
podcast WikiJabber
Some observers have noted a dearth in content pertaining to sub-Saharan African history on
Wikipedia .
[3]
In 2015, Daniella Bien-Aime of
The Haitian Times called AfroCrowd "a multilingual initiative to increase Afrodescendant participation in crowdsourcing initiatives such as Wikipedia".
[4] Described as a "do-it-yourself initiative",
[5] AfroCROWD hosts
edit-a-thons and talks across the
New York metropolitan area .
[1] The group has partnered with the
Brooklyn Public Library
[6] and other organizations such as the
Haiti Cultural Exchange and
Haitian Creole Language Institute to host these events.
[7] AfroCROWD also seeks to increase the number of
people of African descent who actively take part in the
Wikimedia and
open knowledge movements.
[8]
History
Alice Backer in 2015
In 2015, lawyer Alice Backer launched AfroCROWD to "rectify Wikipedia's lack of articles about black history and black culture".
[1]
[2] According to Backer, the aim of the project is to "give
people of color opportunities to do more than participate in and consume social media".
[9] Daniella Bien-Aime included Backer in
The Haitian Times ' 2015 list of 10 "Haitian social media influencers you should follow".
[4]
In 2020, leading up to
Juneteenth , AfroCrowd hosted efforts to improve Wikipedia articles related to
civil rights .
[10] The group has received funding from the
Wikimedia Foundation .
[11]
See also
References
^
a
b
c Allum, Cynthia (February 29, 2016).
"Women leading movements to champion equality on Wikipedia" .
The New York Times .
Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017 .
^
a
b Delices, Patrick.
"Black Digital Empowerment Through AfroCROWD workshops" . Black Star News .
Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017 .
^ Matsuuchi, Ann (2017).
"Connecting Wikipedia and the Archive: Building a Public History of HIV/AIDS in New York City" . WikiStudies . 1 (1).
Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2019 .
^
a
b
"10 Haitian Social Media Influencers You Should Follow" . The Haitian Times . June 15, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Harrison, Stephen (January 14, 2019).
"Happy 18th birthday, Wikipedia. Let's celebrate the Internet's good grown-up" .
^ Proffitt, Merrilee (April 2, 2018).
Leveraging Wikipedia: Connecting Communities of Knowledge . American Library Association.
ISBN
978-0-8389-1732-9 .
^ Jean, Fabiola (February 19, 2015).
"AfroCrowd: Owning Haitian History Through Digital Empowerment" .
Haitian Times .
Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017 .
^
"AfroCROWD, ALP & CCCADI present AfroLatinoCROWD!" . AfrobeatRadio .
Archived from the original on October 7, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022 .
^ Murphy, Carla (February 4, 2015).
"Can 'Black Wikipedia' Take Off Like 'Black Twitter'?" .
ColorLines .
Archived from the original on October 21, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2017 .
^ Harrison, Stephen (June 9, 2020).
"How Wikipedia Became a Battleground for Racial Justice" . Slate .
ISSN
1091-2339 . Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
^ Harrison, Stephen (December 2, 2022).
"The Huge Fight Behind Those Pop-Up Fundraising Banners on Wikipedia" . Slate .
ISSN
1091-2339 . Retrieved February 15, 2023 .
Further reading
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
AfroCROWD .