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.