By Makula Dunbar
Every February communities around the country — and some parts of the world — take time out to celebrate Black History Month. For some, the month is of great importance and instead of a recognition period, Black History Month is the moment when everyone else shows their appreciation. For Jacqueline Galloway-Blake, Founder of Brown Sugar & Spice Books; Leon Morton, creator of Black History Arcade and Khalid El-Hakim, Founder of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum — Black History is something they’re about all year-round.
For more than 20 years, the Black History 101 Mobile Museum and education consulting retail company Brown Sugar & Spice Books have been incorporating Black History into their day-to-day businesses. However, it was just over a year ago that programmer Leon Morton launched his Black History themed app.
Black History Arcade
“Black History Arcade was made to promote Black history and culture through games, trivia and entertainment applications,” said Morton. “I released it on Facebook in September of 2010. The App itself consists of eight applications.”
As a college student who attended school with his mother, Morton’s interest in Black history grew as his mom shared information from the several Black history courses she was enrolled in.
“She took a lot of Black History courses and we attended a lot of Black history events and seminars together,” Morton said. In 2004, he put his computer engineering degree to use designing puzzles that showcased African art.
“I’ve been developing games and websites for years. I kind of look at it like an artist who paints Black history or a rapper who makes music about Black history,” Morton added. “My thing is on the programming side. This is my medium. This is my way of showing Black history.”
Through Black History Arcade, players can take quizzes and participate in brick breaker, puzzle, matching and memory games that highlight Black history figures, events, African symbols, countries and flags.
