FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 1, 2005 Press Contacts 202/606-8339 Eileen Maxwell [log in to unmask] Institute of Museum and Library Services 212-491-2259 Laini Madhubuti [log in to unmask] Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Ground Breaking New Web Site on African American Migration Experience Ushers in Black History Month WASHINGTON, DC -The Institute of Museum and Library Services is proud to announce its support of In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience launched today in honor of African American History Month. Created by New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the groundbreaking new Web site makes accessible to the general public more than 16,500 pages of essays, books, articles, and manuscripts, 8,300 illustrations, 100 lesson plans, and 60 maps that will help users understand the peoples, places, and the events that have shaped African America's migration traditions of the past four hundred years. The project is made possible in part by a $2.4 million dollar grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services with the support of the Congressional Black Caucus. Other project components include the book, In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience, released by National Geographic in January 2005; a Black History Month education kit comprised of illustrations and photographs, maps, lesson plans and a bibliography; and an exhibition in the Schomburg Center Exhibition Hall. Through images, maps, narratives and music, the exhibition presents, chronicles, and interprets the migratory movements that have formed and transformed the African-American community and the nation in the last century. Visit the Web site at www.inmotionaame.org . Harry Belafonte world-renowned actor, singer, producer, human rights activist, and son of Jamaican immigrants who spent his childhood years in Jamaica joined Paul LeClerc, President of the New York Public library, Howard Dodson, Director of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and Mamie Bittner, Director of Public and Legislative Affairs of the Institute of Museum and Library Services at a press conference to mark the public launch of The Schomburg Center's In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience project at The New York Public Library today. The gathering ushered in Black History Month by celebrating the 35 million African-Americans who have been participants in or are heirs to the migrations that have shaped this country and the African Diaspora. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent Federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities. The Institute fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's 15,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. The Institute also encourages partnerships to expand the educational benefit of libraries and museums. To learn more about the Institute, please log onto: http://www.imls.gov. Eileen Maxwell Public Affairs Specialist Institute of Museum and Library Services 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Suite 510 Washington, DC 20506 202-606-8339 202-606-8591 (fax) [log in to unmask] Subscribe to Primary Source, the IMLS monthly e-mail newsletter, for important museum and library news: http://www.imls.gov/utility/subscribe.htm. ### ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).