Community-Driven Linked Data Approaches in Builders and Defenders: Nashville's Historical Black Civil War Database

The Builders and Defenders database (www.buildersanddefenders.org) is a collaborative project which collects the biographical information of Nashville's Black population during the Civil War era. With over 18,500 entries, it offers fresh insights into the far-reaching viewpoints, experiences, interpretations, and meanings surrounding the history of the free and enslaved Black builders of Nashville's wartime defenses and the defenders of the city and a nation free from chattel slavery. It is grounded in work with this population's descendants and others working in local Black history and is, therefore, shaped by many different perspectives. This article embodies the team's reflections on the collective decisions and conversations between descendants, public and academic historians, computer scientists, and software developers working together to provide open-access historical information that was locked away behind paywalls or difficult to access on microfilm. These collaborations allow for an efficient, flexible exploration of the history that continues to impact the lives of Black Nashville and the nation. These continuing conversations with local groups highlight how the team's intentions and methodologies are shaped by and continue to shape the community-driven approach to linked data.