Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries
Wikipedia is in the top ten of the most visited websites in most places in the world and makes up the backbone of the Internet’s information ecosystem. Despite the global presence of the website and its sister projects, the knowledges of the African diaspora, in particular the Caribbean, are poorly...
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| Format: | Book chapter |
| Language: | en_US |
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Maize Books
2021
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11778416.ch6.en https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131253 |
| _version_ | 1826205540100866048 |
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| author | Smith, Kai |
| author_facet | Smith, Kai |
| author_sort | Smith, Kai |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Wikipedia is in the top ten of the most visited websites in most places in the world and makes up the backbone of the Internet’s information ecosystem. Despite the global presence of the website and its sister projects, the knowledges of the African diaspora, in particular the Caribbean, are poorly represented. This chapter introduces and outlines Black-led projects, campaigns, and initiatives both within and outside of the formal networks of the Wikipedia communities and the Wikimedia Foundation. The history and value of Black encyclopedic sources are explored and frame the important work by projects like Black Lunch Table, WikiNdaba, Ennegreciendo Wikipedia, and AfroCROWD, which were started to help these editors and bridge content gaps.
In June 2020, the Wikimedia Foundation released a statement in support of Black Lives highlighting the support they provide to U.S.-based projects. This was followed with criticism from the community on missed opportunities to acknowledge the work and networks outside the United States of on-wiki communities, information activists, academics, independent scholars, and communities who often go unrecognized. This chapter explores how the system of white supremacy is a part of libraries and archives and Wikipedia; how Black-led shared knowledge information activists are circumventing the system; and suggestions for a more inclusive path forward. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:15:03Z |
| format | Book chapter |
| id | mit-1721.1/131253 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T13:15:03Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Maize Books |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/1312532024-02-29T16:56:57Z Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries Smith, Kai Wikipedia White supremacy Black Wikipedians Libraries Archives black-led BIPOC Wikipedia is in the top ten of the most visited websites in most places in the world and makes up the backbone of the Internet’s information ecosystem. Despite the global presence of the website and its sister projects, the knowledges of the African diaspora, in particular the Caribbean, are poorly represented. This chapter introduces and outlines Black-led projects, campaigns, and initiatives both within and outside of the formal networks of the Wikipedia communities and the Wikimedia Foundation. The history and value of Black encyclopedic sources are explored and frame the important work by projects like Black Lunch Table, WikiNdaba, Ennegreciendo Wikipedia, and AfroCROWD, which were started to help these editors and bridge content gaps. In June 2020, the Wikimedia Foundation released a statement in support of Black Lives highlighting the support they provide to U.S.-based projects. This was followed with criticism from the community on missed opportunities to acknowledge the work and networks outside the United States of on-wiki communities, information activists, academics, independent scholars, and communities who often go unrecognized. This chapter explores how the system of white supremacy is a part of libraries and archives and Wikipedia; how Black-led shared knowledge information activists are circumventing the system; and suggestions for a more inclusive path forward. 2021-09-15T14:48:05Z 2021-09-15T14:48:05Z 2021-09 Book chapter https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11778416.ch6.en https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131253 Smith, K.A. (2021). Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries. In Bridges, L., Pun, R., & Arteaga, R. (Eds.), Wikipedia and Academic Libraries: A Global Project (pp. 92-106). Maize Books. https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11778416. en_US Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ application/pdf Maize Books |
| spellingShingle | Wikipedia White supremacy Black Wikipedians Libraries Archives black-led BIPOC Smith, Kai Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries |
| title | Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries |
| title_full | Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries |
| title_fullStr | Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries |
| title_short | Do Black Wikipedians Matter? Confronting the Whiteness in Wikipedia with Archives and Libraries |
| title_sort | do black wikipedians matter confronting the whiteness in wikipedia with archives and libraries |
| topic | Wikipedia White supremacy Black Wikipedians Libraries Archives black-led BIPOC |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3998/mpub.11778416.ch6.en https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131253 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT smithkai doblackwikipediansmatterconfrontingthewhitenessinwikipediawitharchivesandlibraries |