In 2012, as part of our 30th anniversary planning, the History of Black Writing established its GEMS intiative to promote rigorous scholarship and to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of “forgotten” or “less-than-well-known” writers and artists to African American writing and culture. Our GEMS presentations brought their lives and works to the foreground of discussion. They remind us that recovery efforts are always ongoing. The presentations may include interviews, video materials, biographical summaries, critical assessments and bibliographic information on a particular writer. Each GEMS project had a lead researcher who is worked collaboratively with an HBW support team. Members of the team often engaged in new projects based on their GEMS work. With permission from the authors or their families, the video material produced for these projects were made available on YouTube and are intended for research purposes only.
The GEMS initiative showcases the best of HBW: research driven, it uses technology to create new knowledge for the humanities that can be shared with multiple publics. Most importantly, it fosters a collaborative working environment that builds on the expertise of many.
