Inside PBS Blog

The election of President Barack Obama has sparked new discussions about what it means to be black in America today. Some have gone so far as to question the need for Black History Month, now that a black man is President.

Not so fast, others have cautioned. PBS show host Tavis Smiley, for one, is quick to point out, "There is a 400 year backstory to Barack Obama. There is no Barack Obama if there isn't a 400 year back story of African American struggle."

This is just one example of how discussions of the African American experience are playing out in media outlets across the nation. Help us highlight other perspectives by finding and scoring the best coverage of this topic online. It's all part of this month's NewsHunt, which we're offering in partnership with NewsTrust and the Tavis Smiley Show.

If this is your first NewsHunt, here's how it works: First, read this guide to critically analyzing a news story, taking into account factors such as trustworthiness, accuracy and breadth of sources. Second, surf the web for stories about the topic at hand using NewsTrust's sources page, which invites you to submit a link to each URL you visit.  For a better sense of how NewsHunts have worked in the past, check out the results of the NewsHour NewsHunt on the economy back in October.
For more about the current NewsHunt, watch this video introduction from Tavis himself,  who will be hosting the State of the Black Union conference later this week:

So far, participants in the NewsHunt have surfaced stories such as this examination of new Attorney General Eric Holder and how his office will focus on race and race relations and this opinion piece from The Root exploring the black community's vitriolic response to right-wing pundit Sean Hannity.

See all stories readers have submitted, and add your own, at NewsTrust.net.