General Navigation

Searching

All searches are conducted on the Dashboard Page. Each time you add a filter to the search the number of results on the page declines. You may filter search results by using six different facets. Each time you click on a facet a black box pops up, containing possible choices in that facet category, along with a list of previously selected facets.

Browsing

Browse by name - Use the search box or A-Z Name list to locate individuals by name. Many of the names in the A-Z listing have alternate names. These alternate names appear when you click or hover the “i” next to the name.

Filtered Searching

Portal to the Black Experience allows you to retrieve several levels of information through filtered searches of six combinable attributes: date, place, occupation, affiliation, gender, and race. Filtered searches produce a list of names of those persons who share the common attributes selected.

Occupations – An Occupation of a person can be professional, occupational, unpaid or recreational: “abolitionists”, “Lawyers”, and “Civil rights activists”. Terms are applied to describe the person's profession or occupation, not their activity or discipline: “musicians”, not “music”. Many of the persons in this portal had multiple occupations, which appear on the landing page for the person. Places – Places belong to a person’s place of birth, death, or long-term residency. Many of the persons in this portal had multiple places associated with them, which appear on the landing page for the person.

Affiliations – Records the names of groups with which the person is affiliated or has been affiliated through employment, membership, cultural identity, etc. These affiliations are typically comprised of institutions of higher learning and professional associations, but also include advocacy groups, fraternities and sororities. Many of the persons in this portal had multiple affiliations, which appear on the landing page for the person.

Gender – The portal is limited to two genders, male and female. The challenges of describing and gathering authoritative information concerning other gender categories were an insurmountable barrier to overcome for this prototype.

Date Range – The range of dates, if known, span from birth to death. When searching dates in the BC era, use a minus sign before the date (e.g., -0069 = 69BC)

Race - The term “Black” has been used to describe people native to sub-Saharan Africa, and of the African diaspora including African-Americans, Afro-Brazilians and other peoples formerly of sub-Saharan Africa. Those that are not a part of the two aforementioned groups are categorized under the term “Other.”

Search Tip – Portal to the Black Experience allows you to retrieve several levels of information through filtered searches of six combinable fields: date, place, occupation, affiliation, gender, and race By conducting a filtered search using one or more of these attributes, a list of names is created of those people who share the selected attributes.

Search Results

Items on your results list match your search criteria. Each name, when selected displays a specific landing page that includes abridged biographical information about that person, and links to additional biographical information located on Wikipedia, Library Resources and Archival Resources.

The Landing Page

On the landing page you will find a biographical profile, essentially an abbreviated listing of the factual information about the subject of the biography: name, alternative names of the subject, date of birth and death, places associated with the subject, affiliations, occupations, race, gender, and possibly a public domain image from Wikipedia if one is available.

Viewing and Retrieving Resources

Additional Biographical Information

To access a full biographical narrative of the person, there may be a link to a Wikipedia article. The presence of a Wikipedia icon

indicates that a Wikipedia article exists on the subject. You can press this icon, or alternatively, the Wikipedia tab to access the article.

Library Resources Tab

If you wish to know what library materials (books, articles, music, movies etc.) exist either by or about this person in the library nearest to you, click on the WorldCat Identities page Wikipedia . Titles listed are linked to WorldCat.org, For more information about WorldCat Identities page, click here.

Archival Resources Tab

If archival materials exist for the person, there will be either one or two dropdown menu items that direct you to resources on or about the person. One menu item (SNAC Link) provides links to archival resources contained in Social Networks and Archival Context; the other menu item (GRID Link) provides links to archival resources contained in OCLC’s Archivegrid.

ArchiveGrid

For additional information about Archive Grid, click here. ArchiveGrid includes over three million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies.

Social Networks and Archival Context

The [SNAC] Prototype History Research Tool is an aggregate of biographical information about people, both individuals and groups, who created or are documented in historical resources. Users can search for names of individual people, organizations, and families; browse featured descriptions; and discover and locate connected historical resources. Search results can be filtered by occupation and subject. For additional information about SNAC, click here.