For more than eight decades, African Americans have recognized Black History annually. This celebration of a rich heritage originated in 1926 as Carter G. Woodson's Negro History Week and later developed into Black History Month. Documenting black history as it is created daily, African American historians publish numerous volumes pertaining to the significant leaders from Civil Rights Movement and their contributions to African American society. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Huey P. Newton, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and Malcolm X are among the many leaders that are recognized by historians for their lasting contributions to the African American community. The past leaders are significant because their civil rights involvement set the precedent for modern egalitarian initiatives. As modern day black history rapidly expands-the election of President Barack Obama a case in point-historians will have to include courageous black bloggers among the future African American Civil Rights Leaders.
Classic civil rights activists used to think that citizens should be out in streets to advocate for justice. But recently, (or within the past few years) black bloggers suggest that civil rights activists can accomplish their goals via online communities.
On August 2nd, 2007, the Afrosphere Bloggers Association was launched as an organization to help the black community grow and prosper. Today, there are over 1500 black bloggers in the Afrosphere. The concept of the Afrosphere started when members of the African Diaspora emphasized a need for an online community for bloggers of African descent to further discuss issues of importance to the African Diaspora in a collective manner. Concerned bloggers, including AfroNetizen, African American Political Pundit, Jack and Jill Politics, Black Commentator, Booker Rising, Prometheus 6, Mirror on America and Francis Holland, were on the forefront of the initiative to include black bloggers into the majority of blogosphere discussions on all issues impacting Americans.
Along the same lines as these candid bloggers, three women and three men created a diasporic-wide think tank type blog dedicated to discussing issues, exchanging ideas, and creating strategies with the objective of developing concrete and viable solutions to tackle the worldwide concerns relating to those of African descent.
At this point in time, Afrosphere bloggers are actively engaged in the work of their initial vision to discuss all issues impacting those of African descent. In 2007, Afrosphere bloggers played a significant role in publicizing and organizing activism in response to the 2006 Jena Six case. The issue was whether a group of six black teenagers charged with the beating of Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School in Jena, Louisiana, should be tried as adults and charged with attempted second degree murder. Barker was injured, but was released from the emergency room the same day. A number of events took place in and around Jena in the months preceding the Barker assault, which have been linked to an alleged escalation of racial tensions. These events included the hanging of nooses from a tree in the high school courtyard, two violent confrontations between white and black students, and the destruction by fire of the main building of Jena High School. The event led to numerous rallies and protest in response to the excessive charges. Protesters argued that the charges were racially discriminatory since the white Jena students involved were treated leniently. Not surprising to some, the case did not receive mainstream media coverage when the incident first occurred. However, through the organized efforts of modern civil rights activists-black bloggers-cries for justice compelled an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 citizens to march on Jena in protest. This is pivotal for Black History because the new methods of online podcasting and social networking allow black bloggers to relay the civil rights issue to a larger mass of Americans.
The Afrosphere blogging community continues to expand its online influence as additional African Americans gain access to computers and join the information revolution. In 2008, black bloggers Att. Francis L. Holland and Yobachi Boswell broke the story of the Democratic National Convention's limited inclusion of Black and Latino bloggers; only two blacks and two Latinos were given media credentials to cover the convention. This discovery had signifigant consequences because the democratic party is 30 percent black but the convention blog roll had less than 10 percent listed as black bloggers .The story first reached the Dallas Morning News, and then the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The Washington Post, USA Today, The Chicago Tribune, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Politico joined the story as news progressed overnight. As a result of the pressure from black bloggers and pernicious publicity from the National Media, the DNC extended credentials to ten black bloggers.
These findings have important implications for the broader field of Black History. What once started in 1926 as Negro History week has become a daily impetus that continues to impact African Americans beyond the month of February. The civil rights leaders of the past laid a sturdy foundation for African Americans to build upon. For instance, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lead the march on Washington; the NAACP organized the Montgomery Bus Boycott; the Black Panther Party spearheaded the free lunch program in schools and were the first to test blacks for sickle cell; and the Nation of Islam created an uplifiting message that appealed to blacks and extended to others around the world. Ultimately, 21st Century Americans are witnessing similar events whereas the civil rights leaders have evolved from organized picket lines into unified blogging coalitions.
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