The editors of a planned Guide to Black Life at Harvard say they aren’t daunted by the recent proliferation of Harvard guides aimed at specific sectors of the student body.

At a widely-publicized meeting Monday, Kiratiana E. Freelon ’02, Marques J. Redd ’04 and Toussaint G. Losier ’04, the project’s leaders, said the project’s goal is to provide not only a guide to Harvard for black students but also a comprehensive history of black life in the Boston area.

And they vowed to publish the guide by Commencement.

“We are going to be finished this year,” said Freelon. “We won’t be working on this over the summer.”

By successfully publishing this year, the students would avoid the delays that plagued editors of the Women’s Guide to Harvard, door-dropped to students last month after delays of a year and a half and a production cost near $14,000.

The Guide to Black Life, whose cost is estimated around $5,000 or $6,000, will be funded by a mix of alumni donations, advertising sales, and grants from the Undergraduate Council and the Harvard Foundation, according to its organizers.

While work on the guide only kicked into high gear over intersession, the students said the idea is not a new one.

“The idea has been circulating in the black community for years,” Redd said. “It’s just been waiting for people to bring the necessary vision and dedication.”

The three editors, all of whom are on the board of the Black Students Association, have been recruiting writers since September. This semester, they began efforts in earnest and now have a detailed 30-page outline.

The students said they have spoken to editors of other guides, including the Harvard Asian American Association’s guide, HSA’s Unofficial Guide to Life at Harvard and the Women’s Guide, of which Freelon was also an editor.

“It’s foolish and backwards to assume that the Unofficial Guide will serve everyone’s needs,” Losier said. “You wouldn’t want it to. That’s assuming that students aren’t nuanced.”

“These guides tell the stories that don’t get told,” Redd said.

But he said that the Guide to Black Life will be unique.

“We’re imagining something with a different purpose,” he said.

Along with lists of resources, such as black faculty members, information on advising, local restaurants and beauty parlors, the guide will feature extensive historical research, its organizers say.