Wikipedia:Meetup/DC Emancipation Day Edit-a-thon

The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act

On April 16, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. On April 17, 2016, we will create and edit Wikipedia pages about the people central to this important event in the history of the District of Columbia.

Details

• Date: Sunday, April 17, 2016
• Time: 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
• Location: Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Dream Lab, First floor Digital Commons
• Who should attend: Historians; native Washingtonians; non-native Washingtonians; supporters of Wikipedia, DCPL, and the DC Archives. Beginners and experts welcome!
• Coordinating organizations: District of Columbia Public Library, Office of Public Records (DC Archives)

Please bring your own laptop if you have one; a small number will be available to those who need.

Sign up

Please add your Wikipedia username to the appropriate section below (signatures are created by saving four tildes [~] in a row). If you haven't edited Wikipedia before, please create an account using the link in the upper right hand corner prior to the event date. We will provide some training at the event for first-time editors.

Likely attendees

(sign up by editing the page and entering four tildes ~. This will automatically put in your username.)

1. DCdotNerd (talk) 16:05, 6 March 2016 (UTC)
2. Candendc (talk) 01:22, 6 April 2016 (UTC)
3. Serioussort (talk) 21:33, 12 April 2016 (UTC)
4. Kirill Lokshin (talk) 13:34, 14 April 2016 (UTC)

1.  
2.  

1.  
2.  

Articles to work on

DC Emancipation

• District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act (check links and citations)
• Emancipation Commission (create) (being worked on DCdotNerd (talk) 17:59, 17 April 2016 (UTC))
  • Members of the Emancipation Commission:
    • Daniel R. Goodloe (create)
    • Horatio King (add citations)
    • Samuel F. Vinton (add citations)
    • John M. Broadhead (create)
• S. 226, 31st Congress (create)
• An Act Supplementary to the Compensated Emancipation Act (create)
• Daniel Gott (improve)
• Thomas Marshall Key (improve) - improved Aude (talk) 20:29, 17 April 2016 (UTC)
• Gamaliel Bailey (create)
• Emancipation parades (create)
• Frederick Dielman (improve, noting, for example, that he made a wood engraving of the first Emancipation Parade)
• Loretta Carter Hanes (create)
• James Madison Bell (improve) - expanded Aude (talk) 20:29, 17 April 2016 (UTC)
• Joshua Reed Giddings (add citations)
• Ann Sprigg, owner of the boarding house at which discussions of emancipation took place (create)
• Role of D.C. self-governance in emancipation (create)
• William Winston Seaton (improve/expand)

Emancipation more broadly

• Slavery Gag Rule (More information at http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/text/page10_text.html) (create)

Slavery in the District of Columbia

• Slavery in the District of Columbia (create)
• Black Codes in the District of Columbia (create)
  • William Costin (check links and citations)
  • Samuel Smallwood (improve/expand)

Possible resources

• DC Public Library databases
  • Accessible Archives (African American newspapers)
  • Washington Evening Star (coverage begins in 1852)
  • African American Experience
  • African American Studies Center
  • AP Images (photographs from the Associated Press, 1840 to present)
  • Black Studies Center
  • New York Times, Current and Historic (includes text and images from 1851 to present)
  • Baltimore Sun-Historical (coverage begins in 1837)
• Collections in the DCPL Black Studies Center
• Books in the collection at MLK
• Research guide on Slavery in DC
• DigDC
• For legislative history, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation

Outcomes/Progress made during the event

1. Created Emancipation Commission page.
2. Started work on page for Loretta Carter Hanes. Still in draft space. (DCdotNerd (talk) 20:23, 17 April 2016 (UTC))
3. Thomas Marshall Key - improved Aude (talk) 20:32, 17 April 2016 (UTC)
4. James Madison Bell - expanded Aude (talk) 20:32, 17 April 2016 (UTC)

More information/Questions

I've never edited Wikipedia before. Can I come? Yes! We will have an introduction to editing at 1:30, so try to come on time.

Do I need a Wikipedia account? Yes, you do. It's best to sign up in advance, but we can help you create an account when you get here.

Do I need a DC library card? No! All of the DC library resources are available at the library without a library card. However, why don't you have one? Here is how to sign up for one.