Black History Month Maps Exhibit at Ball State University Libraries

People and Places of the Past: GRMC Black History Month Exhibit

The Geospatial Resources & Map Collection is celebrating Black History Month with a special exhibit on the second floor of Bracken Library. The exhibit (shown above) features maps and images from atlases in the Atlas Collection. The “Map of the Month” for February—a map of the Harlem Renaissance—is also in celebration of Black History Month.

The special Black History exhibit displays images of prominent figures in African-American history but also includes some lesser known leaders, such as Esteban Dorantes, a Spanish-speaking African slave who led explorations of the Southwest, one in search of El Dorado, the legendary “seven cities of gold.” Maps included in the exhibit feature African-Americans in the American Revolution, Black explorers in the West, a map showing the locations of slave uprisings before the Civil War, Black spy activity during the Civil War, African-American participation in World War I, missions of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II, the location of Negro League baseball teams, and a map of the Selma to Montgomery civil rights march.

Students and faculty interested in learning more about African-American cartographic and other educational resources in Ball State University Libraries may wish to attend one of the upcoming informational sessions in the Archives and Special Collections of Bracken Library. The first session will be on Tuesday, February 10 from 12:30 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. The final session will be on Wednesday, February 18 from 4:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. Also, researchers can access the GRMC study guide for African-American resources on the GRMC Web page located at http://www.bsu.edu/library/article/0,,59405--,00.html.

For more information about these resources, please contact the staff of the GRMC at 765/285-1097.