NAACP launches Web site devoted to black history

The NAACP launched a new Web site Tuesday devoted to black history in honor of Black History Month.

The interactive site, www.naacphistory.org, chronicles the civil rights movement and the history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The interactive timeline starts with the founding of the organization in 1909.

The only Oklahoman featured on the site is Frank Guinn, an elected official from Kingfisher County. Guinn is known for excluding blacks from voting in a county election in 1910 by requiring all voters to pass a literacy test. A legal battle ensued, and the Supreme Court ultimately decided that the Oklahoma rule Guinn cited violated the 15th Amendment and illegally denied blacks the right to vote.

Additional important civil rights figures will be added to the Web site, said Leila McDowell, vice president of communications for the NAACP.

"It is an ongoing process constantly being enriched, updated and added to,” she said.

Readers can send suggestions for site additions to history@naacpnet.org.

The site is funded by a $500,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation. Resources from the site are available for free through Verizon Thinkfinity at www.thinkfinity.org.