Africana.com Web site announces its closure

Black Issues in Higher Education, Feb 10, 2005 by Ronald Roach

STERLING, VA.

Founded by Harvard professor Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Princeton University professor Dr. Anthony Appiah, the Africana.com news and feature Web site on African-American life and culture was to formally close at the end of January, according to the Web site.

"After 6 years, Africana.com is shutting its doors on Jan. 31, 2005. It's been an exciting and interesting fide, and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have ... While Africana.com will be no more, many of the features that comprised Africana.com will be given a new home at AOL BlackVoices," according to the Africana.com Web site prior to the announced closure date.

In addition to the continued features, a few Africana.com columnists from the Web site will continue to have their articles published at the African American content Web site, AOL BlackVoices. In 2000, the Time Warner company, owner of AOL, acquired Africana.com from Gates, Appiah and other investors for a sum believed to be at least $10 million. Time Warner acquired the BlackVoices Web site from the Tribune company in February 2004, according to news reports.

Mark Anthony Neal, a former Africana.com columnist who joined AOL BlackVoices last September, says other former Africana.com writers Armond White and Bomani Jones have also been writing for AOL BlackVoices since the fall. The plan is for the remaining commentators, such as Spelman College history professor Dr. William Jelani Cobb, to debut at AOL BlackVoices this Black History Month as the site undergoes a high-profile launch, Neal says.