Britannica Launches Expanded Web Site for Black History Month.CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 1998-- Free Multimedia Exhibit Now Includes Study Guide Encyclopaedia Britannica has introduced a new and expanded edition of the company's highly acclaimed Web site "The Encyclopaedia Britannica Guide to Black History." The site is available free of charge at http://blackhistory.eb.com. Created for the February observance of Black History Month, the site examines nearly 500 years of African-American history through five distinct time periods, from the struggles of slavery through the Civil Rights Movement. It includes nearly 600 articles, 300 photographs, and is illustrated with historical film clips and audio recordings. The site contains articles from Britannica Online(R), the company's full-service Internet encyclopedia, as well as material developed specially for the site. The guide is especially rich in biographical information on prominent African-Americans from many fields of endeavor, including literature, the performing arts, sports, and politics. It features action photographs of sports legends, such as Roy Campanella Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. , and sound clips of historical significance, such as a reading by the poet Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an African American poet. Biography Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas to Keziah Wims Brooks and David Anderson Brooks. , a speech by the Rev. Jesse Jackson Noun 1. Jesse Jackson - United States civil rights leader who led a national campaign against racial discrimination and ran for presidential nomination (born in 1941) Jesse Louis Jackson, Jackson , and an interview with Malcolm X Malcolm X, 1925–65, militant black leader in the United States, also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, b. Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. He was introduced to the Black Muslims while serving a prison term and became a Muslim minister upon his release in 1952. . A host of new material has just been added to the site, which was first introduced a year ago. Among the new features is a study guide with exercises for teachers and students that can be used in the classroom or at home. The study guide is designed around six activities, each focusing on a period or episode of African-American history, such as slavery, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, or affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. . "The Encyclopaedia Britannica Guide to Black History has been one of the most popular exhibits we have ever produced on the Web," said Paul Hoffman, publisher of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Last year, when we introduced it for the first time, we were swamped with letters and E-mail from people saying how much they appreciated the site. We decided, therefore, to update and expand the site this year and again make it available free of charge during Black History Month. We also decided to add the study guide, a feature you'll be seeing more and more from Encyclopaedia Britannica." Other new features in the site include: -- a new design for better navigation; -- more than 25 new articles, including one on the Amistad mutiny Amistad mutiny (July 2, 1839) Slave rebellion aboard the schooner Amistad. The revolt took place off the coast of Cuba when 53 Africans who had been abducted from Sierra Leone for the slave trade, seized control of the ship, killed the captain and cook, and ordered the , biographies of Tiger Woods and Marian Wright Edelman Marian Wright Edelman (born June 6, 1939, in Bennettsville, South Carolina) is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund. , and historical documents such as the Emancipation Proclamation Emancipation Proclamation, in U.S. history, the executive order abolishing slavery in the Confederate States of America. Desire for Such a Proclamation , the Atlanta Compromise, and the Dred Scott decision Dred Scott decision formally Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857 ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States that made slavery legal in all U.S. territories. ; -- a year-by-year timeline of major events in black history from 1517 to the present; an annotated list of links to other Web sites with useful information on black history; an alphabetical listing of every article in the site. The Encyclopaedia Britannica Guide to Black History will be available free of charge to Internet users through February. After that it will be available only to subscribers of Britannica Online. "Encyclopaedia Britannica Profiles Black History," a CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). based on the Web site, is also available for $29.95. Britannica, Inc. publishes the most authoritative and comprehensive encyclopedia products in the English language. They include Britannica CD(TM), on CD-ROM; Britannica Online(R), on the Internet; and the famous 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica(R). The Britannica Internet Guide -- a navigation service offering more than 65,000 high-quality Web sites chosen by Britannica editors -- is available free of charge at http://www.ebig.com. The company, headquartered in Chicago, is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.eb.com. To purchase or get information about Britannica products, customers may call 1-800-747-8503 or visit the Britannica Bookstore at http://www.eb.com/bookstore/index.htm. CONTACT: Encyclopaedia Britannica Nick Farina, 312/347-7102 E-mail: nfarina@eb.com or Hill and Knowlton Maurissa Frost, 312/255-3095 E-mail: mfrost@hillandknowlton.com |
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