BASKING RIDGE, N.J.— The NACCP has launched the NAACP Interactive Historical Timeline, a multimedia website that tells the story of the 101-year-old civil rights organization through words, pictures and video and narrated by actor Laurence Fishburne and other celebrities.
The Web site, www.naacphistory.org, was funded through a $500,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon. Resources from the NAACP timeline will also be made available to teachers, students and parents through Verizon Thinkfinity (www.thinkfinity.org), a free educational Web site.
“A look back at the first 100 years of the NAACP’s history shows tremendous progress that has taken place since W.E.B. Du Bois and his co-founders first formed the organization in February 1909,” said Benjamin Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP. “It also shows there is still more work to be done. I encourage everyone to spend a few moments on the NAACP interactive timeline, to look around, explore, discover and learn.”
The timeline provides an easy-to-follow chronological listing of the NAACP’s role in key events in the civil rights movement, education and an array of other topics. Each point on the timeline includes a written narrative, historic video and photos as well as an audio narrative read by a celebrity such as actor, director and producer Laurence Fishburne; actress and singer Tatyana Ali; actress Tichina Arnold; actor Dennis Haysbert; actress and director Nia Long; actress Tracee Ellis Ross; actor Nate Parker; and actress and director Chandra Wilson.
“Using technology to expand educational opportunity for all is a key mission of the Verizon Foundation,” said Verizon Foundation President Patrick Gaston. “We are proud to partner with the NAACP to help bring its important lessons of the past to the students of today in a dynamic, engaging format. And we are happy to add information from the NAACP Timeline to the robust pool of teaching resources available through Verizon Thinkfinity.”
Verizon Thinkfinity is a free educational Web site that contains thousands of engaging resources that make learning fun. Lesson plans, in-class activities and homework help can be found quickly and searched by grade level, keyword or subject.