African American Registry
African American Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 that operates a multilingual digital archive of 7,000+ articles and 2,000+ videos on African American heritage, serving K-12 educators, students, and community members globally through donations and a Teacher's Forum subscription.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What African American Registry does
African American Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education organization founded in 1999 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It operates a digital archive called The Registry, containing over 7,000 articles, 2,000 video interviews, and 365+ poems and lyrics covering African American history and culture, with content translated into 113 languages. The platform is searchable by month, day, subject, and medium (video, article, podcast, blog), and serves K-12 educators, students, community members, and international participants.
The organization monetizes primarily through tax-deductible donations and a Teacher's Forum subscription service that provides educators with lesson plans, video tutorials, group coaching, and assessment tools. Its product ecosystem extends to the Voices That Guide Us video narrative series, The Lighthouse Podcasts, Town Square community platform, and Street Team Community Programs (including If Not Now When, Civics, HD Challenge, and Street Team International). It also administers the Frances McHie Nursing Scholarship. Distribution is digital-first via aaregistry.org, supported by a quarterly newsletter and limited social media presence on Instagram and LinkedIn.
The organization operates with a small team (1-10 employees) and is governed by a Board of Directors. No venture capital, private equity, or parent company ownership is indicated. Strategic positioning emphasizes cultural preservation, supplemental K-12 curriculum support, and intergenerational intercultural dialogue.
African American Registry firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- African American Registry
- Legal name
- African American Registry
- Website
- https://aaregistry.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- African American Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1999 that operates a multilingual digital archive of 7,000+ articles and 2,000+ videos on African American heritage, serving K-12 educators, students, and community members globally through donations and a Teacher's Forum subscription.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
African American Registry industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Heritage Education
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Libraries and Archives (51921), Human Rights Organizations (813311)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural Responsiveness & Inclusive Curriculum Materials (Anti-bias, Diverse Representation) (EDACAJAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services (EDAGAJAL), Equity, Inclusion & Civil Rights Reporting (Disparities, Access, Outcomes) (EDADAIAH)
Keywords
Where African American Registry is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
African American Registry business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
African American Registry product offering
Product offeringCore offering
African American Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education organization that operates a searchable digital archive called The Registry, containing over 7,000 articles (translated into 113 languages), 2,000+ video interviews, and 365+ poems and lyrics focused on African American history and culture. The platform supplements existing curriculum and offers a subscription-based Teacher's Forum service for educators with lesson plans, video tutorials, group coaching, and data assessment tools.
Product overview
African American Registry operates as a nonprofit educational platform offering a unified content ecosystem focused on African American history and culture. The core product is The Registry, a searchable digital archive containing over 7,000 articles and 2,000 video interviews. This core platform is complemented by specialized modules including the Teacher's Forum (classroom service with lesson plans and assessments), Voices That Guide Us (video narratives), The Lighthouse Podcasts, the Registry Archives, Town Square community platform, and a collection of 365+ poems and lyrics. Community engagement is facilitated through Street Team International programs. The platform also offers specialized content through the July 7th Calendar feature and supports education through the Frances McHie Nursing Scholarship.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Teacher's Forum: Provides educators with culturally relevant content and pedagogy, including lesson plans, video tutorials, group coaching, and data assessment.
- Voices That Guide Us
- The Lighthouse Podcasts
- Street Team International
- If Not Now When (INNW)
Products and services
- The Registry
- Teacher's Forum
- Voices That Guide Us (VTGU) Video narratives featuring interviews with African American heritage figures and representatives from Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, African, and European backgrounds discussing their impact across activism, business, music, literature, politics, medicine, and law.
- The Lighthouse Podcasts Audio podcast series providing educational and cultural programming related to African American history, heritage, and experiences.
- The Registry Archives Decades of archived media including journals, podcasts, and blogs documenting African American history and culture, available to community members.
- Town Square Online community platform allowing members to interact and engage in discussions around African American heritage and culture.
- Poems & Lyrics Collection Searchable collection of over 365 poems and lyrics celebrating African American literary and musical heritage, filterable by category and author.
- Street Team Community Programs Community engagement programs including If Not Now When (INNW), Civics, History Day (HD Challenge), and Street Team International, engaging elders, academics, business leaders, and youth to strengthen diversity through intercultural dialogue.
- The July 7th Calendar Daily almanac feature on the website highlighting historical events and figures in African American heritage, with intersections across African, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, European, and LGBTQ cultures.
- Frances McHie Nursing Scholarship Scholarship program supporting nursing education and honoring the legacy of Frances McHie.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 7,000 articles and 2,000 video interviews available for educational use
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use African American Registry
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
African American Registry technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
African American Registry partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
African American Registry competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- PBS LearningMedia: Major free multimedia educational platform with curated social studies and Black history content for K–12 classrooms. Overlaps with the Registry's video archive and Teacher's Forum as a competing free-or-subsidized teacher resource.
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: New York Public Library research center dedicated to preserving Black history through archives, exhibitions, and educational programs. Overlaps as a digital archive and educator-facing cultural institution, but operates within a much larger library system.
- National Archives — African American Heritage: U.S. federal repository of primary source documents on African American history, available free for educational use. Comparable as a free archival and educational resource, but as a government agency rather than a subscription product.
- Khan Academy — US History and Arts & Humanities: Large-scale free educational platform including Black history and civil rights content for K–12 and adult learners. Comparable in educator reach and free-archive positioning, though broader in subject scope.
- Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture: Federal museum producing authoritative African American history exhibitions, digital collections, and educational programming. Adjacent incumbent that competes for educator attention and content authority, but with vastly larger institutional backing.
Direct peers
- BlackPast.org: Online reference encyclopedia dedicated to African American and global Black history, with thousands of articles, speeches, and primary documents. Closest direct comparable because it operates as a searchable digital archive of Black heritage content accessible to educators and the public.
- Teaching for Change: Nonprofit providing equity-focused K–12 teaching resources, books, and parent engagement materials centered on underrepresented histories. Directly comparable niche mission and educator-distribution model.
- Facing History and Ourselves: Nonprofit that produces culturally responsive curricula, lesson plans, and educator professional development focused on racism, identity, and civic education. Directly overlaps with the Registry's Teacher's Forum offering and shared educator buyer.
- Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance): Southern Poverty Law Center–affiliated program offering free anti-bias, social justice, and culturally responsive K–12 classroom resources. Competes for the same teacher buyer and curriculum-integration use case served by the Teacher's Forum.
Emerging players
- Enslaved.org (Matrix of Betrayal / Slave Voyages successor): Research-focused digital humanities project building linked open data on the enslaved and slaveholders — connects historical Black heritage records globally. Comparable as a niche archival/discovery platform with similar academic and educator audiences.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
African American Registry social profiles
Digital presenceAfrican American Registry financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
African American Registry leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
African American Registry funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
African American Registry M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about African American Registry
What does African American Registry do?
African American Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education organization that operates a searchable digital archive called The Registry, containing over 7,000 articles (translated into 113 languages), 2,000+ video interviews, and 365+ poems and lyrics focused on African American history and culture. The platform supplements existing curriculum and offers a subscription-based Teacher's Forum service for educators with lesson plans, video tutorials, group coaching, and data assessment tools.
Is African American Registry a public or private company?
African American Registry is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was African American Registry founded?
African American Registry was founded in 1999. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is African American Registry based?
African American Registry is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
Who are African American Registry's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are PBS LearningMedia, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, National Archives — African American Heritage, Khan Academy — US History and Arts & Humanities and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Direct peers are BlackPast.org, Teaching for Change, Facing History and Ourselves and Learning for Justice (formerly Teaching Tolerance). Enslaved.org (Matrix of Betrayal / Slave Voyages successor) is listed as an emerging player.
Does African American Registry have an API?
No public API is recorded for African American Registry.
What industry is African American Registry in?
African American Registry's product category is Cultural Heritage Education. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDACAJAM, Cultural Responsiveness & Inclusive Curriculum Materials (Anti-bias, Diverse Representation), with a secondary code of EDAGAJAL, OER Repositories, Discovery & Metadata Services. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.