Archiving The Black Web

Our Freedom School 2026 Series: Digital Literacy & Cultural Stewardship is dedicated to strengthening digital literacy, advancing archival practices, and safeguarding the web as a vital site of cultural memory. Register for the spring sessions: www.archivingtheblackweb.org/events/

"Amid attempts to erase Black history and progress, Onyx Impact’s Invest in Black Media campaign will fund Black storytelling, journalism, and media preservation throughout 2026." www.theroot.com/nonprofit-co...

Fellowship opportunity from
@atbw.bsky.social. Applications due February 2nd. This fellowship is for students enrolled in journalism programs at HBCUs and people working in Black/African American media/newspapers. More info and application here: www.archivingtheblackweb.org/iiwa-fellows...

Thrilled to see @ktmac.bsky.social and my paper on robots.txt and infrastructural consent published here!!

A new fellowship opportunity from
@atbw.bsky.social
in partnership with Onyx Impact. This fellowship is for students enrolled in journalism programs at HBCUs and people working in Black/African American media/newspapers. More info and application here: www.archivingtheblackweb.org/iiwa-fellows...

Apply for @atbw.bsky.social's Web Archiving School www.archivingtheblackweb.org/apply/

We have a new fellowship opportunity in partnership with Onyx Impact. This fellowship is for students enrolled in journalism programs at HBCUs and people working in Black/African American media/newspapers. More info and application here: www.archivingtheblackweb.org/iiwa-fellows...

Hey #BlackSky, @atbw.bsky.social just opened applications for their 2026 Web Archiving School

Applications now open for Web Archiving School fellows, instructors, and teaching assistants. Apply here: www.archivingtheblackweb.org/apply/

The Nonprofit Feeding the Entire Internet to AI Companies Common Crawl claims to provide a public benefit, but it lies to publishers about its activities.

NEW: Common Crawl, the massive archiver of the web, has gotten cozy with AI companies and is providing paywalled articles for training data. They’re also lying to publishers who have asked for material to be removed. “The robots are people too,” CC’s exec director told us when we asked about this.

Archiving the Black Web @atbw.bsky.social has two learning opportunities coming up soon. Sign up to find out when applications are available.

Web Archiving School: bit.ly/warc-2026-si...

Information Integrity and Web Archiving Fellowship: tinyurl.com/atbw-iiwa

A digital poster with information about the Archiving the Black Web and Onyx Impact fellowship for journalists and media workers. There is also a like to this form to sign up for updates: tinyurl.com/atbw-iiwa

We are excited to announce the @atbw.bsky.social /
@theonyximpact.bsky.social
Information Integrity & Web Archiving Fellowship. An opportunity for journalists and other media workers to learn more about archiving digital content. Sign up here to know when the application opens: tinyurl.com/atbw-iiwa

A digital poster with information and a link about the Information Integrity and Web Archiving Fellowship, a 2026 collaborative fellowship offered by Archiving the Black Web and Onyx Impact for journalists and media professionals. tinyurl.com/ATBW-IIWA

Calling journalists and media professionals interested in digital preservation and information integrity! We are excited to announce the ATBW/Onyx Impact @theonyximpact.bsky.social
Information Integrity & Web Archiving Fellowship. Sign up to know when applications open. tinyurl.com/atbw-iiwa

A digital poster with information and a link (bit.ly/warc-2026-signup) about signing up to receive reminders and updates for release of the 2026 web archiving school application.

Applications open soon for the second Web Archiving School co-hort. Our fellowship aims to create a new generation of web archiving practitioners dedicated to documenting the Black experience. Sign up today to receive reminders and updates on the application: bit.ly/warc-2026-si...

YouTube video by John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke U. Left of Black | Black Twitter & the Future of Black Journalism with Dr. Meredith D. Clark

Left of Black | Black Twitter and the Future of Black Journalism with Dr. Meredith D. Clark youtu.be/GUvSEX1a_4Y?...

It's great that you are thinking about archiving that content. Please sign up for these free web archiving webinars we're offering this summer and fall. Reach out any time to see if there are other ways we can support. www.archivingtheblackweb.org/events/

It only took me 2.5 hours but I figured out how to give 50 free views with this link: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/PTY45...

I'm sorry I can't share the other essays in the forum which are probably less cynical than mine - but the paywall is paywalling. And yes, I know about the typo 🤪

Launching in Summer/Fall 2025, ATBW’s Freedom School for Web Archiving is a six-part introductory webinar series open to anyone interested in learning how to archive Black culture as it exists on the web today! RSVP: www.archivingtheblackweb.org/events/ #ATBW

Trump Wants to Erase Black History. These Digital Archivists Are Racing to Save It Donald Trump’s executive orders are attacking everything from the Smithsonian to Black sports history, but grassroots organizers are launching a resistance.

my latest for @wired.com takes a look at the rising movement among black “memory workers” who are fighting against trump’s war on history www.wired.com/story/trump-...

In spite of the administration's purge, Rudy Fraser, the creator of Blacksky, says he is "heartened by preservation efforts" he's seen so far, including from Harvard Law Library's Innovation Lab -which is rescuing federal datasets-and companies such as loy Media, which leverage Al and VR/AR to scan and annotate African artifacts, making them accessible to people on the continent who otherwise can't view them. In 2023, Fraser launched Blacksky, the custom feed and moderation service that quickly turned into the central meeting ground for many Black users on Bluesky. He tells me he also views Blacksky as a living archive. Currently its database holds 17 million posts from Black users over the last two years (excluding deletions and moderation removals). "Because the AT Protocol is public and Blacksky's implementation is open source, anyone with the technical chops could reconstruct the dataset-minus moderation actions-even if our primary databases disappeared," he says. "Open source, decentralized tooling ensures that, if any single company becomes a nation-state target, the communities that rely on its infrastructure can keep operating."

Huge shout out to @jasooooon.bsky.social for writing this very important story for @wired.com . Also love to see @atbw.bsky.social and @bergisjules.bsky.social get light for the very important work they are and have been doing for years. ✊🏾

Blacksky is memory work 🖤

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Towards Realizing Safety for Black People on the Web. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Towards Realizing Safety for Black People on the Web. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar.

Happening Now-@atbw.bsky.social event: Towards Realizing Safety for Black People on the Web with @docdre.distributedblackness.net, @rudyfraser.com, @meredithdclark.bsky.social. Join the conversation here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Sarah Jackson on screen during her talk in a panel “A Black History of the Web” alongside a few other speakers: Charlton McIlwain, NYU Catherine Knight Steele, University of Maryland Tonia Sutherland, UCLA Sinnamon Love, BIPOC Adult Collective

Let’s goooo @sjjphd.bsky.social
Archiving The Black Web’s panel discussion “A Black History of the Web” 🖤

A federal website watered down the Underground Railroad. Harriet Tubman's descendant wants to know why. Rita Daniels, the great-great-great-grandniece of Harriet Tubman, said she was “devastated” when she saw the National Park Service had softened language on its website.

I'm currently attending the opening of @atbw.bsky.social's Web Archiving School (giving keynote) so it's very timely to talk about internet archives!
Additionally we're currently living through a digital book burning!
The Trump admin is actively erasing both IRL and online artifacts of our history

Tomorrow I’m presenting at Archiving the Black Web on “Archiving the Erotic”—Black sex workers as digital pioneers, how respectability and policy threaten cultural memory, and why folks should be listening to us. #BlackWeb #EroticArchives #SexWorkIsWork

Me, a very light skinned Black woman in black wire glasses and big hair holding up a black poster that says "THERE IS NOTHING MORE EPHEMERAL THAN A WEBSITE" in gold ink

Now more than ever

A digital poster for an Archiving the Black Web keynote conversation: Towards Realizing Safety for Black People on the Web. Wednesday, April 30th, 6pm EST

Join us for this Archiving the Black Web keynote conversation (in-person + virtual): Towards Realizing Safety for Black People on the Web. Wednesday, April 30th, 6pm EST. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/archiving-...

A digital poster with information for an Archiving the Black Web event. A Black History of the Web and Archiving Our Existence. Wednesday, April 30th, 11am-12:30pm EST

Join us for this Archiving the Black Web virtual conversation: A Black History of the Web and Archiving Our Existence. Wednesday, April 30th, 11am-12:30pm EST. Register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/archiving-...

An internet of many autonomous communities Making communities a true part of the protocol will encourage others to build things for those communities, start new communities, and hopefully foster models for self-sustainability.

A good entry point for the curious blog.rudyfraser.com/an-internet-...

Will basically be saying similar things at a keynote panel for @atbw.bsky.social
www.eventbrite.com/e/archiving-...

And have an interview coming out with @flipboard.com's Dot Social podcast in a few weeks about the same.

Our team is very excited to have you join us Rudy. Thank you for being open to sharing your time and knowledge with us. #addtoblacksky

2025 ARCHIVING THE BLACK WEB PRESENTS... TOWARDS REALIZING SAFETY FOR BLACK PEOPLE ON THE WEB Rudy Fraser BlackSky Dr. Andre Brock Georgia Tech Dr. Meredith D. Clark UNC Chapel Hill WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025 6:00PM EDT AUBURN AVENUE RESEARCH LIBRARY 101 AUBURN AVE NE, ATLANTA, GA 30303 AT B W archiving the Black web Auburn Avenue Research Library HYBRID EVENT IN PERSON + VIRTUAL

very very excited to be in conversation with these legends and in community with folks at @atbw.bsky.social
(also looking forward to maybe finally seeing the Black side of Atlanta? -- only ever been in Buckhead)