October 1, 2007. CCNMTL has received a $200,000 grant from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to develop Mapping the African American Past (MAAP), a web-based learning environment with supplementary print materials designed to enhance the appreciation and study of significant sites and moments in the history of African Americans in New York from the early 17th century through the recent past. The full spectrum of MAAP's resources will be openly available to the general public. In addition, 1,000 elementary and middle schools across New York State will receive free supplementary printed materials.

"The struggle for social justice for African American people begins with the reconstruction of our collective memory," said CCNMTL Executive Director Frank Moretti. "The MAAP project will raise into the light for study and investigation the often submerged past of the African American people. It will give students of all ages access to a trove of resources accessible from any computer with an Internet connection."

The MAAP website will launch in time for Black History Month in February 2008. Visitors to the site will explore an interactive map of New York pinpointing locations related to people and events of significance for African American history. The environment will include an extensive collection of resources, including profiles of people and events, commentary by Columbia faculty, film and music clips, and digitized documents from Columbia University's libraries.

CCNMTL will develop MAAP in partnership with Columbia University's Teacher's College and Creative Curriculum Initiatives (CCI), a producer of educational products for the K-12 market. Project partners at Teachers College will devise model lessons and publish these lessons in an instructors' resource section of the MAAP website, offering educators across New York State purposive strategies for incorporating the project's multimedia material into various curricula. In addition, Teacher's College students will use a web-based lesson builder tool to construct curriculum using MAAP resources. Standout lessons will be made available to the general public. CCI will provide elementary and middle school instructors with paper-based alternatives and supplements to content developed for the MAAP website.