Descendant of playing cards, baseball cards or even Beatle cards, a new series called "Knowledge Cards" celebrates eminent thinkers and doers.
The Library of Congress and Pomegranate Publications are introducing Knowledge Cards as part of a cooperative agreement to make the Library's collections more widely available in a variety of educational formats. Four subject categories are available: Great African Americans, Women Who Dare, American Writers and Women Writers.
Each deck of 48 cards features photographs or illustrations on one side and a brief biography highlighting the subject's achievements on the other. The historical photos, illustrations and biographical information are from the Library's collections.
Great African Americans: These 48 African Americans showed courage, determination and indomitable spirit in the face of difficult obstacles to achieve their goals. Their accomplishments cover a wide range of areas, from literature, education, civil rights, abolition, science and aviation to art and the law. Some are famous, such as Bill Cosby, Martin Luther King Jr. and Duke Ellington. Less familiar are the first African American aviator, Bessie Coleman (1892-1926), or civil rights activist and journalist Daisy Bates.
Women Who Dare: These 48 women helped to change the course of history in medicine, science, human rights, sports and other areas of human endeavor. Among them are Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994), who overcame polio to become the first female triple Olympic gold medalist in track and field, and Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919), who became a medical doctor when few women held professions. These women include abolitionists and suffragists who paved the way for later Women Who Dare, such as Frances Perkins, the first female to become a U.S. Cabinet member, and Edith Spurlock Sampson, the first black female judge.
American Authors: These 32 men and 16 women penned American classics from Mark Twain's Huck Finn to Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Their literature interpreted American culture and, in some cases, sparked social change. The works of Harriett Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) helped catalyze abolitionism, while the novels of Sinclair Lewis (1885-1951) exposed and attacked bigotry, racism and fascism.
Women Writers: Forty-eight of the world's most influential authors, from the 18th century to contemporary times, are profiled. They worked in all literary forms - poetry, drama, novels, journalism and autobiography, among others. Their writings often told personal stories to illuminate a broader sociocultural condition: Lorraine Hansberry's plays describe ghetto life, while Edith Wharton's novels exposed 19th century America's stultifying mores.
Knowledge Cards are an educational tool whose colorful introductions to authors and their works are likely to inspire followup reading. They can be purchased for $9.95 per deck from the Library's Sales Shop or by calling (202) 707-0204.
