Wikipedia edit-a-thon: Filling in the holes

NC Mutual Life Insurance Company
Employees of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company

One hundred fourteen years ago, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company opened for business in Durham. As this article by Harry McKown explains, North Carolina Mutual grew to become the largest African American managed financial institution in the United States — no small feat for a company whose founders included a man born into slavery.

And yet, Wikipedia, one of the web’s largest reference sites, contains no entry for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.

An event in Wilson Library on Sunday, April 14, will seek to remedy this and other Wikipedia oversights related to African American history in North Carolina. The event, UNC’s first Wikipedia edit-a-thon, will be hosted by the North Carolina Collection and sponsored by student groups at UNC’s School of Information and Library Science.

Participants will create, expand, and improve Wikipedia articles about African American history, culture, people, events, and institutions in North Carolina. No special topical knowledge or Wikipedia experience is needed. Bring a laptop and we’ll help you do the rest!

For more details and to RSVP, see the event page or email edit.a.thon@unc.edu.