Wikipedia:Architects Build Wiki

Join the BIPOC in the Built Virtual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon

Join our inaugural Architects BUILD Wiki virtual edit-a-thon on Wednesday October 20, 2021. Help us improve coverage of Black architects! Architects, historians, enthusiasts, Wikipedia editors, and anyone interested in editing collaboratively are encouraged to attend. No experience editing Wikipedia? That’s okay; friendly, experienced editors will be online to help!

About

Architecture and design are means of expression that broadly influence our society. Black architects of Detroit, or of any city, have played a crucial role in guiding that city's future. If we are to honor their legacy or continue to build on their vision, we must first know their stories. Wikipedia, one of the most widely visited websites in the world, reaches far beyond its own pages: search engines and social media sites including Google, Facebook, Bing, and YouTube republish information from Wikipedia at scale. Many Black architects, though respected in their field and honored in their communities, lack a Wikipedia biography. Perhaps more importantly, articles connecting to their work, such as those about their cities, about the history of design and architecture, etc., often fail to incorporate their stories. Wikipedia, like architecture, thrives on collaboration. In 2021 we will launch a pilot campaign to work together in documenting the stories of Black architects and their work in the pages of Wikipedia. We seek to engage professional societies, museums, libraries, universities, and individual enthusiasts as we research and retell the stories of Black architects and their work.

Pilot Wikipedia Campaign

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History will sponsor a pilot project in 2021, inviting experts in Detroit's Black architecture and in Wikipedia editing to explore and document ways to improve information about the field on the public Internet. We will share the results, and our recommendations how local chapters and other organizations may join us in this work, at the National Organization of Minority Architects' 50th Detroit Homecoming Conference in October 2021. https://www.noma.net/legacy-project-architects-build-wiki/

A 1-minute Video: https://vimeo.com/595205095 on Architects BUILD Wiki!
A webinar with Q&A featuring experts on Black architecture of Detroit and on Wikipedia, articulating this vision and extending a broad invitation for collaboration.
A Wikidojo featuring pre-selected architecture and wiki experts, captured on video, to be edited into a short video modeling the possibilities. See: meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikidojo
A virtual edit-a-thon event, open to all, on the NOMA conference service day (Oct. 20, 2021). Talk focuses on why Wikipedia is important to this work, and basic instruction to Wikipedia editing. Followed by time for editing and collaboration.
A panel discussion at WikiConference North America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbJ7IO9cJYg at Submissions:2021/Architects Build Wiki: A Pilot Campaign Featuring Black Architects of Detroit (conference in early October 2021)
A panel discussion at the NOMA conference (2:45pm Eastern time, Oct. 22, 2021), presenting work to date, and outlining the outcomes possible if there is further buy-in. Wikipedia content generated will be presented as well as the social connections and work practices being formed among experts.

What to expect - October 20, 2021 - Our 1st ABW Editathon

Expect a day of exploring, discussing, researching, writing, and working together to help improve Wikipedia articles. Attendees are welcomed to work on three different types of information we have gathered. Track 1 is for research; Track 2 is editing pages of black architects with easily accessible information on the internet; and Track 3 are those that require more extensive research and documentation.

Little to no Wikipedia today: Research or Reading - Help us find what information is missing.
Articles of Black Detroit Articles we can improve -- categories, infoboxes, images, biographies
Draft Black Detroit Wikipedia Articles we can improve -- biographies, infoboxes
Experienced Wikipedia Editors: New Articles -- Help us create new articles.

There will be experienced Wikipedians present to help Wiki newcomers to get started and answer questions. We will also have links to resources.

Our Agenda, Pilot October 20, 2021 - Edit-a-thon

11:00 ET // Wikipedia Training Session // (optional)

11:30 ET // Welcome and Overview //

11:30 ET // Morning Working Session // (small groups)

1:00 ET // Tables Report Out // (all)

1:30 ET // Mini Training Session // (all)

2:00 ET // Afternoon Working Session // (small groups)

3:45 ET // Final Wrap Up + Post Draft Pages to Wikipedia // (all)

4:00 ET // Done //

Track your participation

We will be using a Wikipedia Dashboard to easily track the edits made during our Edit-a-thons. By logging into the dashboard before you start editing, your edits will be automatically tracked, and we'll be able to collect statistics on the work we've done during this editing event.

Go to Architects BUILD Wiki Dashboard.
Under Actions, click Join Program.
Enter the passcode we will provide you with your registration.

Architects BUILD Wiki People & Groups

The Wright Museum has committed seed funding to launch this initiative, and has brought several organizations into early collaboration: The National Organization of Minority Architects, Noir Design Parti, and Wiki Strategies. Leading up to, and at, the NOMA conference, we will seek to recruit like-minded organizations to join us by committing staff time and/or financial resources to the campaign.

 ///Add your Name to the lists below ////

Pilot Team

Les733 (talk), Detroit, Michigan.
Saundra Little (talk), Detroit, Michigan.
Pete Forsyth (talk), Portland, Oregon.
MargolikesMuseums (talk), Detroit, Michigan
Karen Burton (talk) Detroit, Michigan
Angela King (talk), Cincinnati, Ohio

Pilot Edit-a-thon Facilitators

Venesa Alicea-Chuqui (talk) Wood-Ridge, NJ
Esop McNair (talk) Indianapolis, IN
Telicious Robinson (talk) Washington, DC
Sara Timberlake (talk) Detroit, MI
Katherine Williams (talk) Northern VA/Washington, DC