Newswise — Everyone wants to make their mark on history, and the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia Project will make that possible for student researchers, scholars and the public. The project is reaching out to individuals interested in contributing to the creation of this one-of-a-kind encyclopedia, thought to be the first state encyclopedia of its kind in the nation.

"The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia will capture rare and significant aspects of Kentucky history," said Gerald L. Smith, one of the publication's three scholarly editors representing Kentucky's universities. "It will serve as an academic springboard for scholars interested in studying Kentucky and the South."

Editors have begun compiling the volume at their offices on the University of Kentucky campus. The publication, which is scheduled to be published in 2011, will include information on individuals, events, institutions and movements that shaped the Commonwealth. Another unique element of the project is the editors' invitation to the public to participate in the creation of history by submitting entries interactively to the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia.

Through the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia Web site individuals can submit ideas for entries to the publication and even craft the submissions by contracting with the project. People can select entries from the current subject list or even recommend a subject for inclusion in the volume, which will be comprised of more than 1,000 entries. Criteria for selections are online at www.uky.edu/kaae/selection.html. Final selection of entries will be made upon recommendations of the book's 14 topical editors to the encyclopedia's general editors and the University Press of Kentucky, the publishing press. Those individuals wishing to submit an entry should contact the project via e-mail at [email protected].

The editors believe this public invitation to participate is highly important to the compilation process, as they have uncovered a wealth of information talking to the public while visiting a number of the state's communities. In turn, they hope to pay back community participation and collaboration by not only chronicling the items in the encyclopedia, but by making this information more widely available to the communities, the state and world through offering UK Libraries' expertise in preservation and digitization of historical documents.

The Kentucky African American Encyclopedia Project is already affording college students at the state's universities a unique opportunity to research history and be part of history in the making. To date six undergraduate and graduate students from a variety of fields of study at UK, the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University (WKU) have enjoyed the privilege of serving as research assistants on the groundbreaking publication under the direction of the project's three editors, John A. Hardin, associate professor of history at WKU; Karen McDaniel, visiting scholar of African/African American studies and women's studies at Eastern Kentucky University and professor emeritus at Kentucky State University; and Smith, associate professor of history and African American studies at UK.

The experience for students is hard to match. "As a graduate student working on my doctorate in history, I find working on the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia Project extremely beneficial to my graduate studies," said Shannon T. Guerrant, one of the research assistants from UK. "I am gaining knowledge not only about Kentucky African Americans, but a general history of the state as well. I count myself fortunate to be a part of this magnificent project; it is the stories of the individuals, towns, and countries that have captured my heart."

The project is also taking tax deductible donations to make the publication deadline a reality. Donations to the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia Project can be made through the Thomas D. Clark Foundation by contacting the project via e-mail at [email protected].

"For too long the history of African Americans in Kentucky has been hidden away, in second-class status. Only recently has that begun to change," notes James C. Klotter, Kentucky's state historian and history professor at Georgetown College. "This project will shine needed light on the rich history of blacks in the Commonwealth. It has the right people involved, the right publisher and the right idea. Now it simply needs the support necessary to make an excellent concept reality."

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