Black History Month Maps Program in Muncie

Hidden Figures: Black History Month Maps Program in Muncie

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) will be presenting a program featuring maps celebrating Black History Month.  The program will be on Tuesday, February 28 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts in downtown Muncie.

The class, Hidden Figures: Celebrating the Untold Stories of Black History, will feature custom maps created by the GRMC.  The maps depict the lives of some of the lesser known figures and events in African American history, including maps about civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer (above, click to enlarge), fashion designer Ann Lowe, the civil rights movement in Indiana, the use of the popular “Green Books,” and the life of Muncie leader Hurley Goodall.

The class is free and open to the public.  The Cornerstone Center for the Arts is located at 520 East Main Street, and the program is in the Colonnade Room.  Free parking is available on the north side of the building.

For more information, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.

North Korea Maps Available from Ball State University Libraries

CNN map of North Korea missile launch

Maps in the News:  North Korea and the Sea of Japan, or Is It the East Sea?

North Korea tested a reported new ballistic missile on Sunday evening, a violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution banning missile launches by the nation.  News reports state that the missile traveled about 300 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan.

The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) includes a large collection maps of the Korean Peninsula, including North and South Korea separately and historically as one nation.  

A map of North Korea is available in the International Historic Maps Collection of the Digital Media Repository.  The map is published in the Russian language in 1912.

The Sea of Japan is also included in maps instructional sessions given by the GRMC as part of the study of place name disputes.  The “Sea of Japan” is the name of the body of water between the Korean Peninsula and the islands of Japan.  The Japanese government supports the use of the name “Sea of Japan.”  The governments of North Korea and South Korea support the use of the name “East Sea” for the same body of water. 

The international governing body for the naming of bodies of water rejected the Korean claim and officially use the name “Sea of Japan.”  However, most maps include both names—usually with “East Sea” listed in parenthesis.  Maps published by the Korean governments, though, list only “East Sea” for the name of the water (above).

The Atlas Collection on the second floor of Bracken Library also includes several resources about the Korean Peninsula.  East Sea in Old Western Maps is an atlas published by the Korean Overseas Information Service in Seoul in 2004 for “The Society for East Sea.”  The book includes historic maps that label the neighboring body of water as the “East Sea” and includes a chapter arguing the historical points for using the name:  “Six libraries’ map collections in this study…” confirm that “appellations like ‘East Sea,’ ‘Oriental Sea,’ ‘Sea of Korea’…had been in much wider use than ‘Sea of Japan’ from the 16^th century through the mid-19^th.”

Maps from the GRMC are available for circulation for two weeks or longer.  And atlases circulate for 28 days or longer.

Celebrating Black History Month with Maps

Black History Month:  Map of Moments that Changed the World

On this day in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13^th Amendment outlawing slavery in the United States.  The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) has created a new custom map in celebration of Black History Month to commemorate the 13^th Amendment and other important people and events.  Black History: Moments that Changed the World is a map based on the book 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World by Charles R. Smith, Jr. featuring illustrations by Shane W. Evans and The Atlas of African-American History by James Ciment.

The map (excerpt above, click to enlarge) features some of the watershed moments in African-American history.  The map identifies the location of the birthplace of Harriet Tubman, a conductor on the Underground Railroad and spy during the Civil War.  Chicago is featured on the map as the hometown of President Barack Obama and Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, who opened the first African American-owned hospital in the country.

The GRMC also has custom maps about the Negro League Baseball teams, the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., millionaire businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker, and a map about the life of Sojourner Truth.  The maps are available for circulation from the GRMC and may be used for classroom research and exhibits.

A subject guide identifying African-American cartographic resources is also available from the GRMC.  For more information about using cartographic resources in the study of Black History, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.