Black History Month Apps

February is Black History Month or National African American History Month! In celebration of this month, these three apps can be used to share the accomplishments and achievements of Americans of African descent anytime of the year.  Most of these apps can be used on an Android or iOS. One can be used on any smartphone with Internet access.  The best thing is that they all are free. Download and learn something new!

	The librarians at North Carolina State University (NCSU) have developed Red, White & Black, an app to share the accomplishments and achievements of African Americans at NCSU. This historical self-guided tour of the campus uses GPS to correspond audio and pictures where the events happened on campus. Even if you're not on campus, this app provides a wealth of information, such as the first African American graduate of the university or significant events that correlate to the Civil Rights movements of the 1960s. This app can be used on any smartphone or computer with Internet access.
This free mobile application by The Mobile Black History Project connects users to local sites that are significant to the African American experience through augmented reality (AR). Simply take a picture of a place, like the National Mall, through the phone's camera viewfinder and information, like Marion Anderson and her connection with the Lincoln Memorial, comes up. The app works in 12 cities, including Baltimore, Richmond, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. To access this app, download the Layar Browser for iOS or Android and search for Black History. The browser determines your location by GPS and displays local sites of interest, historical images, video and more.
	More Than A Mapp (MTAM) is another free app that allows users to locate, experience, and contribute to African American History through an interactive map. Designed to show that this aspect of American History exists all around us, even in months outside of February, the application highlights relevant locations in one’s immediate vicinity and gives users the ability to upload their own. This application is only for iOS and can be downloaded at the iTunes store.