US Black Heritage Project Notable Profile Standards

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: [unknown]
Surname/tag: black_heritage

US Black Heritage Project

This page is for US Black Heritage Project members who work on notable profiles.

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Because we recognize no two WikiTree members use the same style for creating profiles and biographies, it is helpful to have basic standards and guidelines to be used on our notable profiles to keep them uniform, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to maintain. We want to honor our notables and provide well-rounded information both for the public and relatives.

The following items are what we expect to see on finished USBH notable profiles. However, do not feel like you have to check every one of these items off a list yourself. Do as much as you feel you have the knowledge to complete and the Notables Team will take care of the rest.

Contents 1 Locations 2 Dates 3 Radio Buttons 4 Categories 5 Stickers and Project Box 6 Notability Blurb 7 Formatting and Style 8 Background Images/Photo Mats 9 Images 10 Sourcing 11 Genealogically Defined 12 Platinum Profiles 13 Difficult Information 14 Editing Disputes

Locations

• Although the automatic location picker (borrowed from Family Search) uses United States for locations, this is not necessarily the preferred standard for WikiTree. USA, United States, and United States of America are all correct versions of our country's name on WikiTree.
  • Use your preference and keep it consistent in all three location fields.
  • Do not change the existing version on a profile you did not create.
• Always use the full word "County" in locations when you know the county of the event, but do not know the city or town.
• It is not preferred to use the word county when you know the town. Example: "Houston, Harris, Texas" is correct. "Houston, Harris County, Texas" is not.
• Do not abbreviate state names or the word county.

Dates

Although all dates in date fields will default to the DD MM YYYY format (12 Dec 2022), please use the traditional MM DD, YYYY format fully spelled out (December 12, 2022) in biographies. This will be easier for the general public to read.

Radio Buttons

As you add sources to a profile, please click the certain or uncertain radio buttons that apply for names, dates, locations, and parent relationships. If you are not certain about a fact, the default is always to choose "uncertain."

When you see a suggestion on a profile because a radio button was not clicked, please do not choose either certain nor uncertain without first checking the sources. Do not assume because a fact is on a profile that it is accurate.

Categories

All categories should be placed above the Biography heading. Please choose categories that apply for that person such as:

• Reason they are notable (ex: "civil rights activists")
• University they attended
• Organizations they belonged to
• Towns where they were born, died, or lived most of their lives in
• Cemetery
• Military
• Medals, awards, and honors
• Occupations
• US Black Heritage Project maintenance categories and USBH Notable specific maintenance categories. Please use as many as apply to the profile to help other project members complete needed items. Please use the Notable version of the category for notable profiles.
  • To find maintenance categories while working, begin typing in "US Black Heritage Project" in the category picker for post-Civil War profiles, "USBH Heritage Exchange" for pre-Civil War profiles of slaves, or "USBH Notables" for notable profiles to see what is available.

Stickers and Project Box

• The profile should have the project box and notable sticker, in this order:

{{US Black Heritage}}

== Biography ==

{{Notables Sticker|African-American Notables}}

• Please keep the notable sticker in this location so it will be immediately seen by anyone visiting the profile.

• We do not add the {{African-American Sticker}} to notable profiles with the project box because it is redundant.

• It can be aesthetically pleasing and interesting to use stickers throughout a profile, placing them in the section to which they apply. For instance, a military sticker might go with a paragraph about the person's military career or an occupation sticker can be placed with the paragraph about their work. Please see: Stickers for a list of available stickers. Also see: Occupation Images for existing images that can be used on Occupation Stickers.

Notability Blurb

Please write one or two sentences about why the person is notable directly below the notable sticker. Place this in bold text and use an inline citation to either their WikiPedia page or an acceptable alternate source that shows their notability.

Formatting and Style

Dos

• Please write biographies in chronological order as much as possible, beginning with the beginning of their life until their death. Work to achieve a ratio of about 50% family information and 50% notability information. If a reader wants to know more about the person's notability, they can look at other sources. Our goal at WikiTree is to feature the person's entire life and highlight their family.
• Please always capitalize the word Black when referring to race. This is now a recognized standard in the USA.
• It is okay to use various headings to break up longer profiles, but please don't overuse them.
• Please use American spelling.
• When a profile becomes longer than 3-4 scrolls in laptop view, please move some of the less vital information to a space page (or pages) and link it on the profile.

Don'ts

• Never copy/paste more than a short paragraph of information from a source. When you do copy/paste, always put it in quotes and reference the source with an inline citation.
• Don't use census tables. This takes up too much room on a profile. You can place who was living with them that census year within the census citation.
• The use of any tables is generally discouraged unless it is vital to the profile. Tables take up a great deal of room and can make editing profiles very difficult.
• Don't use subjective language or give your personal opinions about the person. Instead, state facts as they are written on documents.
• Don't use colored text. This can cause problems for people who are color blind or have vision difficulties.

Background Images/Photo Mats

Although we prefer not to have background images and photo mats on profiles, they can enhance the aesthetics of a profile or highlight something special when used sparingly. However, some background images and photo mats can cause viewing problems, especially for those with vision difficulties.

• Please use backgrounds and photo mats with muted rather than bright colors.
• Please use backgrounds and photo mats with simple images rather than complex ones or repeating patterns.
• Please use a single image background rather than repeated blocks. Some repeated blocks work fine, but please check with the Notables Team before adding one.
  • Example of an acceptable repeating block background: Leroy Homer
  • Some basic background images are available at Background Images Category and Joelle's Background (please be careful to choose ones that fit the above criteria)

Images

• All images added to a profile must be copyright free or you must have received permission from the copyright holder to post it. Any copyrighted photos without permission for use found on WikiTree profiles will be removed.

• When uploading a new image, state in the comments where you acquired the image from (including a link if available) and state the known copyright information. If you do not know the copyright information, do not upload the image. If you would like an opinion about the copyright, please post in the USBH Google group or in Discord.

• It can be aesthetically pleasing and add interest value when images are added within the biography to sections where they apply. Please make sure the images have not been uploaded to private locked space pages or they will not be viewable on the profile.
  • To be helpful to visually impaired members, please add the |label= parameter to the image template and add a short description of the photo. This will not show on the profile, but will be used by text readers.

Image Template Example with Label Parameter:

{{Image|file=US_Black_Heritage_Project_Images.png

|caption=US Black Heritage Project Sticker Image

|label=Image of an African-American man and woman

|align=c

|size=s

}}

Sourcing

• Please use inline citations for facts placed in the biography.
• When you need to cite the same source multiple times, you must use advanced inline citations as follows or it will generate a suggestion error.

The first time you use the source, include a "name" inside the ref tag, like this:

<ref name="birth certificate">Birth Certificate of George Russell Beebe, Registration 398-5554-428 (1920), Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services - Bureau of Vital Records, Personal copy in the files of Barbara Beebe</ref>

All the following times you use the source, you use this:

<ref name="birth certificate" />

• Primary sources go below the Sources heading. A "See also" section below the sources heading can be used for secondary sources or links and information that might be of interest.
• Always use the link that goes directly to the entry for the person in the profile. For instance, at Ancestry, links when using the Sourcer App and all Family Search citations links are specific to each person. Change the record view to the person's name before copying the citation rather than using the same link for every family member.
• Give the most complete source citation possible and add a link to the source if available. This is made easy at several websites with the Sourcer App.
• Preference is given to placing the heading of each primary source in bold (as the Sourcer App does).
• Please do not remove links to websites behind paywalls. You never know who might have a subscription to that website and find it more convenient. You also never know when one of the links might become dead. For example, do not remove Ancestry citations and replace them with Family Search. Instead, combine the citations so both links are available.

Genealogically Defined

Please link to the Genealogically Defined space page on a profile when it has a source for each attached relationship.

To declare that a profile is Genealogically Defined, place this centered link at the very top of the profile's biography (above the categories) <center>[[Space:US_Black_Heritage_Project_Genealogically_Defined|US Black Heritage Project Genealogically Defined]]</center>

Platinum Profiles

Platinum Profiles are those that are considered complete and have all the following criteria:

• Notable
• Connected to the Global Tree (and the connection has been proven valid)
• Main ancestors and family member profiles have been checked for the African-American sticker (if applicable) and basic formatting.
• Genealogically Defined
• Good biography (must include a balance of genealogical/family information and life achievements)
• Good sources (primary sources when possible)
• Adequate categories
• At least one photo
• Link to WikiPedia page
• Wiki-ID linked on WikiPedia WikiData page. See the Notables Project page for information on how to do this.

Although we call these Platinum Profiles complete, we recognize that no profile is ever truly complete and that additional information may be added, especially as new sources become available.

See the Platinum Profile page for more information.

Difficult Information

The US Black Heritage Project doesn't shy away from difficult information when a story needs to be told about a person's life. However, it is important to decide if that information is vital to the story or if it is just sensationalism. It is also important to remember these profiles are created not just for the public's education, but for family members. You must weigh how much information is enough and how much is too much.

Example of difficult information that is vital:

Emmitt Till was brutalized, mutilated, and murdered. His mother had an open-coffin funeral to show what had been done. The information is vital, to tell the story of what happened to young Black people during this time period and why change was needed. The image of the open coffin, however, would be too much and a link to it at WikiPedia would be more appropriate.

We rarely use warning labels on profiles before posting difficult information, but there are some occasions where they are warranted. One example is the extreme brutalization and lynching of a pregnant woman.

Editing Disputes

• The style used on profiles will defer to the style preferred by the person who created the profile as long as they meet the above standards.
• Wishes of the descendants of the notable will take preference over profile managers whenever possible.
• If an editing dispute arises that can't be solved between members, the Notables Team, or if needed, a US Black Heritage Project Leader will mediate. Because the US Black Heritage Project oversees the care of Black notables on WikiTree, the project's standards will receive preference.