Thursday, December 13, 2018

Dr. Quintard Taylor of BlackPast.org: We Need Your Help

Dr. Quintard Taylor

Dr. Quintard Taylor writes:

BlackPast.org Newsletter

We need your help.  Since 2007 BlackPast.org (www.blackpast.org) has grown from a website of a few dozen pages to more than 15,000 pages, making it the world’s largest free website on the Internet dedicated to African American and global African history.  Our nearly 5,000 original entries span the globe from the Arctic to Antarctica and from the beginning of human history to the recent 2018 midterm elections. This was made possible by over 800 volunteer content contributors from six continents and a mostly volunteer staff of a dozen people who put in long hours to make sure the website’s information reaches our global audience of nearly five million people. Here is a short video that describes the website: National Education Association Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award to BlackPast.org.
We have achieved this as a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit which relies on donations from people like you to continue this vital work.
In January we will introduce BlackPast.org 2.0, a redesigned website that will simplify the user experience. We still need, however, funding to address other website challenges.   We hope you will support us in this effort.  Your gift at any level will make an immediate difference.  
When there are so many worthy and urgent requests for support, why should you give to BlackPast.org?  Here are a few reasons:
  • BlackPast.org is resource-efficient; the website operates on a modest budget, with 57% of our income as in-kind contributions.
  • BlackPast.org’s resources are regularly used by a variety of institutions ranging from the Library of Congress to small public and private school libraries across the nation and around the world.
  • BlackPast.org ranks in the top 1% of websites on the World Wide Web according to Alexa.  Google ranks our timelines as Number 1 in African American history on the Internet.
  • BlackPast.org’s resources are frequently used.  Our online entry on the Freedom Rides, https://blackpast.org/aah/freedom-rides-1961, for example, has been read by more than 305,000 people worldwide.  Also, according to Google, BlackPast.org in 2017 has registered at least one visitor from every nation in the world except the Central African Republic.
Finally, the words of a website visitor from Nairobi, Kenya, represent the sentiments of many thousands of people who have used the website since its inception in 2007:
I am a Kenyan young man of 23 years and just completed law school...I would like to congratulate you for the things you are doing…You give many people like me enormous hope… --Michael Sang, Nairobi, Kenya.
Your gift will ensure that the thousands of pages of history about people of African ancestry will continue to “give hope” and be available to you and your family and to anyone around the world who has access to a computer screen and the Internet.  
Please donate TODAY.  Consider making a gift of $10, $25, or $100 or any amount you can afford.  Also consider setting up a monthly donation plan as many of our supporters have done. You may donate here  https://blackpast.org/donate-blackpast-org or by mailing your gift to BlackPast.org, 4616 25th Avenue NE, PMB 222, Seattle, Washington 98105.
The world needs BlackPast.org and we need your help to make sure it continues to be available.  


Sincerely, 
Quintard

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