Educational Netcasting Foundation
Support for the Martin Luther King After School Program 2000 and 2001
Date Initiated: June 2000
Part of Markle's Domestic Digital Divide Initiative, Markle worked to support the Martin Luther King After School Program, a pilot program designed to introduce low-income youth to basic computer skills through high-quality educational content about black history and culture. Developed by the Educational Netcasting Foundation (ENF), this program was created on the premise that high-quality content can be used as a driver to pull users on to the Internet and teach important skills necessary for success in the new information society.
The pilot site for this program was the Azusa Christian Community, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The program installed 10 computers at the Azusa Christian Community, trained teachers, and introduced young people to Encarta Africana 2000. The program also trained young people to carry out routine hardware maintenance and assisted users with basic questions of computer literacy and navigation.
ENF is a not-for-profit organization founded by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Kwame Anthony Appiah, professors at Harvard University's W.E.B. DuBois Institute.
