NOMMO Volume 1, Number 2, February 1996 Published by Peoples Publishing Group Inc.

  MATH IS A BLACK THING, SO IS SCIENCE, HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

Toronto-born Warren Salmon is a black man who believes that everyone, regardless of race, should have an appreciation for African history and culture. Remembering his days as a student in Canada, Salmon recalls, “...not feeling included in the material that was provided in the school system and the negative portrayals in the media of people of African descent.”

On Board

So, once armed with a degree in computer science, Salmon founded Black Board International and set out to develop Afrocentric educational software. The result is ten titles which range from an examination of African history and geography to the contributions of science, mathematics, music and social studies that come from Africa. The various programs are designed to educate ages 3 through adult. All titles are available for both the Macintosh and Windows platforms on CD-ROM.

Global Reach

Similar software programs have been developed in the U.S., but Salmon says his are much more comprehensive. For one thing, they offer a more global view, incorporating the experience of African people around the world. Salmon’s software programs are now being used by schools is such cities as Detroit, New Orleans, Toronto, New York and Chicago. They are also being tailored for use in Britain.

But for al of Salmon’s successes, he says that, “My biggest battle has been convincing teachers in schools where there are no Blacks, that the software will do a good job for them too. After all, we all have to understand each other, don’t we?”