Museum for Black Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Museum for Black Innovation and Entrepreneurship, MBIE, is a source of inspiration for creativity. Instead of having a single location, MBIE is a virtual program that provides free guidance and materials for displaying materials to exemplify and inspire Black innovation and entrepreneurship in many other locations throughout the country. Our mission is to educate youth and other community members about Black innovation and entrepreneurship and to provide opportunities, where possible, to engage in innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship. We envision a nationwide network of MBIE museum displays that highlight inspiring examples of Black innovators and entrepreneurs, located in public libraries and other community centers. MBIE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, is based in Washington, DC and Birmingham, Alabama. With consultation from the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (www.iipsj.org), we are undertaking IP For Innovation. IP For Innovation is a nationwide effort to raise public awareness of intellectual property, how to create it, protect it, commercialize it, and share it. One example of IP For Innovation is the free IPFI Librarian's Handbook, which describes how librarians can assist patrons register copyrights for their works and then share them through electronic publishing. We are promoting use of this Handbook by prison librarians to empower those in detention to create, protect, and publish their works. With consultation from the Birmingham Public Library, we are undertaking MBIE for Librarians, a free handbook that describes how a library can set up an MBIE exhibit highlighting Black innovation and entrepreneurship. The Museum is also hosting the new Cooperative Curriculum website, a resource of materials for those interested in teaching about cooperatives, including papers on the special role cooperatives have played in Black history in the United States. All of our work is completely voluntary, but we do have operating expenses, including domain name fees, web hosting fees, and fees associated with our business filings. Please show your support by joining us and making a contribution on our Membership page. Take control of your intellectual property (IP): If you are creative and want to learn more about how to protect your work, the free Creative Control workshop is just for you. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is offering workshops around the country to mix creative people with intellectual property lawyers who provide free assistance. The workshop link is: Creative Control.