Black History Month Celebrations at Ball State University Libraries

Black History Month Presentation and Map:  Trials, Triumphs, and Trailblazers: Historic Women in African American History

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library is celebrating Black History Month with a special public presentation in Muncie.  Also a custom map about African American history is displayed in the GRMC windows as a commemorative exhibit.

The Geography of Black History is a special Black History Month program created by the GRMC.  The program will be held in the Auditorium of the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in downtown Muncie at 520 East Main Street on February 12 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.  Free parking is available, and the presentation is open to the public.  Registration is not required, but anyone interested in attending can call the Cornerstone Center at 281-9503. The program will present maps depicting major events and figures in Black history, including custom maps featuring great figures in Indiana history.

The GRMC is also presenting a map exhibit featuring a custom map of historic women in African American history (above, click to enlarge).  The map, Trials, Triumphs, and Trailblazers: Historic Women in African American History, shows well-known women from Harriet Tubman to Condoleezza Rice, but also some lesser known women from history.  Descriptions of the women’s accomplishments are listed on the map.  This map includes photographs from the University Libraries’ Digital Media Repository’s The Other Side of Middletown collection.  The map is available for use in research and education from the Cardinal Scholar institutional repository. 

Other custom maps from the GRMC celebrating great events and people in African American history can also be accessed from Cardinal Scholar.  Maps showing the Negro League Baseball teams, a map about the life of Madam C.J. Walker, a map of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and previous Black History Month exhibit posters with maps from atlases are all available from this online resource.  Users can search "Black History Month" in the search box of Cardinal Scholar to review all of the available maps and posters.

For more information about the Black History Month program or any of the maps in the GRMC, please call 765-285-1097.  For more information about the Digital Media Repository collections, please contact the Archives and Special Collections at 765-285-5078.