Please read through this FAQ before sending us e-mail. We will not respond to e-mail that indicates you have not read and followed up on what is written here.

Who originated Black History Month?

I'm working on a school project/essay/thesis. Can you send me information on [topic]?

I'm a teacher. Do you have any suggestions for course material?

Can you help me locate a particular book?

Can you help me get in touch with one of the people you write about?

If these questions don't help you, then by all means e-mail us.

Who originated Black History Month?
The very first page we created back in 1996 discusses Black History Month's origins and its creator, Carter G. Woodson.

I'm working on a school project/essay/thesis. Can you send me information on [topic]?
Before asking us, try doing some preliminary research online or offline. Even if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, this will usually enable you to ask more focused questions, which is more beneficial for us and for you. Here are our suggestions:

• Try searching on Google or Yahoo for your topic.
• You can find books, videos, and more on your topic by using the Amazon.com search box located on all of our pages. At the very least, this can provide titles for you to look up in your local library.

I'm a teacher. Do you have any suggestions for course material?
Certainly. Aside from the books and videos we list throughout the site, there are some excellent resources online.

• African Studies Center - University of Pennsylvania has excellent K-12 resources on Africa.
• Just for Kids: Books by and about African Americans is a catalog which gives titles with suggested grade levels.
• Social Studies School Service Black History Index has products categorized by grade level.
• Encarta Africana Black History Lesson Collection provides classroom ideas and lessons.
• Amazon's Children's Books has a History & Historical Fiction section.
• Cushcity.com specializes in African-American literature.

You can also look for black history books in your local library or a university library.

Black history should be approached the same as any other subject. Do your research and prepare a lesson plan. You can go the biography route (contributions individuals made to the larger society, their effect on present-day happenings, etc.), or take a look at specific events and their impact on society.

Can you help me locate a particular book?
Amazon.com and its Canadian equivalent, Amazon.ca, have access to just about every book that has an ISBN and is available in North America. You can use the search box in the sidebar to look for your book. You can also check Cushcity (which specializes in African and African-American literature), or Abebooks (a network of used, second-hand, rare, and out-of-print booksellers).

Can you help me get in touch with one of the people you write about?
We are not in contact with any of the subejects of our pages, and therefore do not have current e-mail addresses for them. Your best bet is to find the most recent organization or school they have been affiliated with and work from there.

Questions still unanswered? Drop us a line.