South Bend's Own Words

In the small, midwestern city of South Bend, Indiana, for members of the LGBTQ+ community, having a space for themselves is life changing. And for twenty years, people here have had that space.  Today, it's called the LGBTQ Center. As the Center approached its twentieth anniversary, Dr. Jamie Wagman and students from Saint Mary's College students preserved the history of the Center by conducting oral histories of fourteen people who were foundational to the Center's evolution.  For the Center's anniversary gala in 2025, Dr. Wagman and student Phoenix McClellan pulled clips and organized them into this presentation.  Featuring the voices of some of the many people whose time and dedication have shaped the LGBTQ Center throughout its two decades, including Rhonda Redman, Hank Mascotte, Phillip Schatz, Meghan Buell, Eli Williams, Drew Gardner, Nancy Mascotte, H.R. Jung, Michael McMillion, Krista Cox, Angela Hankins, Kathryn Kirk, J.D. Schock, Jamie Morgan, Derek McDowell, and Rhiannon Carlson. This episode was produced by Dr. Jamie Wagman and Phoenix McClellan from Saint Mary's College, by Jon Watson and Caleb Matz from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Repeats,” from Josh Woodward, used via CC-BY-4.0-DEED. Visit his website at https://www.joshwoodward.com.

Ms. Adeline Wigfall-Jones' west side barber shop has brought safety and built community for generations. Now in her 90s, Ms. Adeline shares her life's journey from a small farm in rural Georgia, to the rigorous studies she undertook to get her barber's license, to opening her famous shop in South Bend, Indiana.    This episode was produced by Jon Watson from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Repeats,” from Josh Woodward, used via CC-BY-4.0-DEED. Visit his website at https://www.joshwoodward.com.

John Charles Bryant was a lifelong historian of South Bend's African American community.    In 2021, after a colorful life of nearly 84 years, he reached out to us to record a series of four oral history interviews. Each would cover 20-year chunks, talking about the people who inspired him, and some of the many figures in local African American history that he spent so much of his life learning about and sharing.    In this episode of "South Bend's Own Words," we feature parts of that heartfelt conversation. With stories from over a century and a half, John Charles shares his rich family history and personal experiences. He takes us back to the 1850s, recounting his family's journey from North Carolina to South Bend and the legacy of his ancestors, Rebecca and Farrow Powell, who were pivotal in establishing the first African American church.    Topics include:    Childhood Memories: John Charles reminisces about growing up on Main Street, attending Olivet A.M.E. Church where his mother was an organist, and his cherished relationship with his parents.   Cultural Identity: He shares personal experiences of racial identity, discussing his light skin tone and the societal dynamics he navigated in both majority Black and white communities.   Career and Challenges: He shares candid stories about his professional life, including facing discrimination at the University of Notre Dame, as well as the life lessons he learned from family and friends.   Multigenerational Impact: Reflecting on the changing landscape of South Bend, John Charles speaks on the cultural shifts and the loss of Black businesses post-desegregation, while highlighting his efforts to give back through scholarships.     This episode was produced by Jon Watson from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Repeats,” from Josh Woodward, used via CC-BY-4.0-DEED. Visit his website at https://www.joshwoodward.com.

With makeshift decor and a boom box for music, the original Seahorse was totally undistinguished, but it became a sanctuary for South Bend's LGBTQ+ community seeking a place where they could be their whole selves. Tom Beatty was a frequent patron, and he shares his personal experiences of coming out, his family's reactions, the challenges he lived through, and some of the other LGBTQ+ spaces that the community in the 1990s and beyond called their second home.    This episode was produced by Jon Watson from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Repeats,” from Josh Woodward, used via CC-BY-4.0-DEED. Visit his website at https://www.joshwoodward.com.

After growing up in Puerto Rico, Joaquin Robles moved to South Bend, Indiana, and lived forty-plus years here. Joaquin talks about his experiences in this city, and his perspectives on multi-generational discrimination and evolution of the Latines community here.   This episode was produced by Jon Watson from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.   Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.   Title music, “History Repeats,” from Josh Woodward, used via CC-BY-4.0-DEED. Visit his website at https://www.joshwoodward.com.  

As the only African American Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) at South Bend, Indiana's Memorial Hospital in the late 1960s, Charlotte Huddleston shares her perspective on racism in healthcare, housing, and in education.    This episode is the first of a new format for “South Bend's Own Words,” featuring more of the back story behind the history. We hope you enjoy the switch.    This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and by George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Repeats,” from Josh Woodward, used via CC-BY-4.0-DEED. Visit his website at https://www.joshwoodward.com. 

Since 2017, for 54 episodes, you've been with us as we've gone back into South Bend's history. And next week, we're presenting a new format for “South Bend's Own Words.” It still shares stories of people who worked to make this city change—real stories told by them, in their own voices. Look for the first of the new episodes to arrive in this same podcast feed on June 12, 2024. And please, tell a friend to subscribe. We'd love more people to hear our city's history told in “South Bend's Own Words.”  

A Mississippi native who moved to South Bend in 1944 speaks about Black businesses on the west side.    Elmer Joseph came to South Bend from a resort community in Mississippi. His family was financially well off, yet still deeply impacted by Jim Crow segregation. He attended an all-Black school—and experienced a huge culture shock when he moved to South Bend to attend Central High.    Elmer remembers some of the many west side Black businesses around Linden Avenue.* He even opened up a business of his own, running a tavern on Chapin and Western.    In 2003, Civil Rights Heritage Center historian David Healey sat down with Mr. Joseph. They talked about his experiences growing up on the west side, and what life was like for a Black business owner here in the mid-twentieth century.    * Quick note: During the recording, the host says Linden Street instead of Avenue. He must have had the last episode with Odie Mae Streets on the brain and got his wires crossed. This episode was produced by Jon Watson from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.   Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

A 1931 graduate of South Bend's Central High School talks about her experiences growing up in a resort town of Kentucky, and the discrimination she experienced as a white-passing African American woman both in the south and in South Bend.    Odie Mae Johnson Streets was born in Chicago before moving with her family to Dawson Springs, Kentucky. In the 1920s, she moved to South Bend both so her father could find work at Studebaker and so she could go to school beyond the sixth grade—a common end point in formal education provided to most Black students in Dawson Springs.    In 1996, Odie Mae sat down with her niece to record her life's story. She spoke about growing up in Kentucky and Indiana, challenging racial discrimination at Central High School by joining the swim team, seeing South Bend's Birdsell Street evolve into a multi-racial neighborhood, and how her four children lived their own lives in South Bend and beyond.    This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and by George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Gail Brodie lived her entire life in her beloved west side community. She even has an honorary street named after her.    Her mother, Annette Brodie, was a long-time community activist during the late 1960s. Annette pushed city leaders to provide basic services, like paving their dusty, dirt streets. Gail took on her mother's community work and became as trusted, and as vital a resource.    As a generational homeowner, Gail had a privilege and a perspective of the west side of South Bend, Indiana different than some of her neighbors.    In 2007, Doctors Les Lamon and Monica Tetzlaff, along with student Derek Webb, sat down with Gail. They talked about her upbringing in the shadows of her mother's community leadership, her unique perspectives on the community's evolution, and how she answered her own call to community service.      This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos by George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Andre Buchanan grew up in South Bend's east side African American community in a house that, today, is threatened by the rampant construction of the Eddy Street shopping areas right by the Trader Joe's. During the mid-1940s, when he was in the fourth grade, Andre was one of the first students of color to attend Saint Joseph Catholic grade school. Despite living and going to school on the east side of town, his family worshipped on the west side at the multi-racial Saint Augustine's Church. Andre's father even helped build Saint Augustine's.  In 2007, Indiana University South Bend student Imani Ingram and professor Les Lamon sat down with Andre. They talked about his different treatments between predominately white and Black South Bend schools, his experiences with discrimination at the Natatorium, and his perspective as part of the east side African American community.    This episode was produced by Jon Watson from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Over the past two years, doctors Jamie Wagman and Julia Dauer from Saint Mary's College collected local stories of those impacted by the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.    Last year, they gave a public presentation with clips from some of the narrators who graciously shared their stories. They did it again this past September at the Saint Joseph County Public Library with new narrators sharing a different set of stories.  We shared the first presentation as a special on this feed last year, and we're doing so again now.  The full versions of these oral histories are preserved and accessible through the Civil Rights Heritage Center's archives, and today we share the most recent public presentation.    This episode was produced by Jamie Wagman and Julia Dauer from Saint Mary's College, and Nathalie Villalobos and George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.   Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Ruperto Guedea lived the majority of his life in the United States straddling multiple cultures. Born into a small mining community in northern Mexico during the late 1930s, his mother and father brought their family across the border just after World War II. His first school was openly hostile towards Spanish speakers yet did not teach him English. After moving to Chicago, he fit right in with the Polish and other European immigrant families who also knew no English. He met and married a woman whose Mennonite faith traditions were significantly different than his. Together, they got involved with the new influx of Mexican and Central American immigrants that transformed the Elkhart and Goshen area into a multi-lingual and multi-cultural community. For Ruperto, it meant reflecting on his personal transformation between his Mexican, American, and Mennonite cultural identities.    In 2007, Indiana University South Bend's Cynthia Murphy sat down with Ruperto. They talked about his parents, his youth in Mexico, and his incredible journey over six decades in the United States.   This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Alma Powell left her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee, when she was two years old. Her father worked for Studebaker by day, and with his family, ran Nesbitt's Club and Casino by night. Despite the name, it was a music and a social hall, holding local political rallies and community conversations as well as nationally known musicians.  There were, as Alma said, few career paths for an educated young Black woman. Teaching was one of them, and Alma's career as an educator and administrator is distinguished. She is the first African American woman to serve as principal of a South Bend school, and in 1980, she was chosen to lead the South Bend School Corporation's desegregation efforts. Additionally, she served in leadership roles in her beloved Olivet A.M.E. church, in the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and during the formative years of the transformation of the Engman Natatorium into the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    In 2012, Dr. Monica Tetzlaff sat down with Alma Powell. They talked about her growing up, her family's business on the west side—specifically, the Lake—as well as her years of leadership, especially as an education administrator.   This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.   Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

We're releasing a new book. Placing History: An African American Landmark Tour of South Bend, Indiana, features South Bend's African American history as told through some of the many landmarks where that history was made. The book is available for free in print while supplies last, and always available as an e-book by visiting http://aalt.iusb.edu/.   The oral histories we've archived deeply informed the writing. Today, we hear longer versions of the oral histories quoted in Placing History—just some of the many people who lived, worked, or organized for change within some of these landmarks.   This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.     Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.    Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

The daughter of migrant farmworkers, Rebecca Ruvalcaba witnessed the growth of the Latines community from a few originators, like her father, Benito Salizar. Rebecca's parents instilled in her a desire to learn, and to serve. She adapted to a late-in-life diagnosis of dyslexia to earn degrees from Indiana University South Bend and the University of Notre Dame. She became a social worker, a director of La Casa de Amistad, and served in various leadership roles at the University of Notre Dame.  In 2018, Rebecca sat down to talk about her roots in South Bend's migrant farm community, her growth as a learner and a leader, and her continued passion for serving her community.  This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.    Full transcript of this episode available here.    Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

In the 1940s, professional baseball segregated players both by race and by gender. The All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League, and our home team, the South Bend Blue Sox, famously upset rigid gender discrimination and opened pro-ball to white women. But only white women. For a talented young athlete like Renelda Robinson, the opportunity to play ball came from a café owner on Birdsell Street in South Bend's west side. Uncle Bill's All-Colored Girls Softball team brought young players on adventures across the Midwest. In 1987, Renelda sat down to talk about her years in baseball's spotlight. This episode was produced by Nathalie Villalobos and George Garner from the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center. Additional thanks to Ryan Olivier and the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend. Full transcript of this episode available here. Over the last three years, professors, staff, and students from the University of Notre Dame reached out to community partners about a new project called Foundry Field. They're building a new diamond on South Bend's southeast side, focusing on honoring local baseball history, particularly marginalized players. The Civil Rights Heritage Center is one of the partners, contributing historical research. Learn more about the project and its focus on local history and art at foundryfield.org. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Near the end of World War II, at age four or five years old, Abdul Nur moved from Elkhart, Indiana, to South Bend. Despite the short distance, Abdul experienced a huge cultural shock. For the first time, he was surrounded by children from multiple racial and cultural groups. Abdul went on to experience multi-ethnic spaces throughout his time at Central High School and into the Air Force. As early as middle school, Abdul began a deep education into Islam that eventually led him, as an adult, to convert and take on the name Abdul Nur. These experiences led him to get involved in civil disobediences in Nashville, Tennessee, fighting for justice during the height of the 1960s civil rights movement. With a degree from Indiana University South Bend, Abdul became involved in several activist groups here from the 1960s through the 90s. In 2001, IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center students Andrea Sheneman and David Healey sat down with Mr. Nur. They spoke about his early experiences in South Bend's schools, his learning and conversion to Islam, and how that all informed his actions for justice. This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

At two public events in October 2022, doctors Jamie Wagman and Julia Dauer from Saint Mary's College presented the results of an oral history collection project they'd been working on. The idea was to collect stories of real people in our community deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The full versions of these oral histories are preserved in the Civil Rights Heritage Center's archives, but today we share audio from Drs. Wagman and Dauer's public presentations. Narrators include Mark Albion, Dea Andrews, Fr. Brian Ching, Stacy Davis, Nikki Hammond, Skyler H., Jennet Ingle, HR Jung, Andre Northern, Lauren S., Ramal Taylor, and Asa Wood. This episode was produced by Jamie Wagman and Julia Dauer from Saint Mary's College, Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend, and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

One of the most fundamental human needs is shelter. From the 1910s through the 1950s, many thousands of people of African descent fled the most brutal forms of economic, racial, and violent oppression in the U.S. South and sought refuge in South Bend, Indiana. Many white people did not warmly welcome them into their new homes. African American people were largely only allowed to live in the city's west side. Quickly produced, low-quality factory homes were one of the few choices for most African Americans. A lot of people were only able to make shacks out of old piano boxes. As the city grew and evolved, some neighborhoods maintained white racial exclusivity by adding restrictions onto deeds that homes only be sold to other white people. In other neighborhoods, less overt, but equally effective pressures thwarted African American homeownership well into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Today, we hear from South Bend citizens who were simply trying to find a place to live. Narrators include Willie Mae Butts, George McCullough, Maurice Roberts, Charlotte Hudleston, Margaret and Leroy Cobb, Jack Reed, Audrey and Dr. Bernard Vagner, Tom Singer, Barbara Brandy, Ralph Miles, Glenda Rae Hernandez, and Federico Rodriguez. This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

On June 29, 1922, several hundred people attended a special, two-hour evening opening of the new Engman Public Natatorium. By September, South Bend's Parks Board estimated almost 10,000 people took advantage of the brand-new facility. It is unclear exactly when the white people in charge of the Natatorium first denied entry to African American people—but they did. And as a taxpayer funded, supposedly “public” facility, it became a focus of local civil rights action by a group of doctors, lawyer, politicians, and other Black professionals pushing against an entrenched system of discrimination. By 1978, the Natatorium was over fifty years old, and it was falling apart. Officials started asking whether it was time to shut it down. Paul McMinn was just out of college then. Bob Goodrich offered him a job to run the Natatorium. Neither of them knew it would be the Nat's last open season. In 2018, I sat down with Paul and Bob, and also Bob Heiderman who taught classes at the Natatorium and other pools in South Bend. As we're now over a century since the Natatorium first opened, I thought it was fitting to hear Paul and the two Bob's talk about the last days of the Engman Public Natatorium. This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Madeline Smothers was born in Rockville, Illinois, in 1917. By 1935, she joined members of her extended family living in South Bend's east side, soon befriending people in power like lawyers J. Chester and Elizabeth Fletcher Allen. At this time, South Bend was rapidly evolving—but for African Americans who left the South to chase factory jobs up north, they were still confronting the entrenched racism they hoped they were fleeing when they left the South. As entrenched as racism was, many people still pushed for change—including Ms. Smothers' friends, the Allens. And the Allens' young, fair complected friend Madeline was a palatable candidate for some of the first jobs held by African Americans downtown. The trust she built led Ara Parseghian, the University of Notre Dame's football coach in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, to ask Madeline and her husband for help recruiting and retaining Black athletes. In 2003, David Healey sat down with Madeline in the east side home she lived in for decades. Madeline talked about the early days of South Bend's growing African American community, her time with the Allen family, and how different her experience was as a light-skinned African American woman in South Bend. This episode was produced by Jweetu Pangani from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Jack Reed was about four or five years old when his mother moved him from Tennessee to South Bend. He absorbed a strong desire to work watching his mother clean other people's homes. The job he desired most was as a state police officer. The Indiana State Police, however, did not hire African Americans. Jack eventually served as the first African American Battalion Chief in the South Bend Fire Department, and then later got an offer from Mayor Joe Kernan to serve on a greater scale in his administration. Jack stayed on with the transition to Mayor Steve Leucke. From an office atop the County City Building, Jack had a unique view of how the city worked and tried to support its people. In 2001, IU South Bend student Greg Balue and Civil Rights Heritage Center Director Les Lamon sat down with Jack Reed. They talked about Jack's experiences with racism in this city, and in spite of his treatment, how he made his way up through multiple levels of city service. This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Dr. Les Lamon was a long-time history Professor at IU South Bend. In 2000, he started the Freedom Summer class that brought students on a bus tour through the civil rights movement in the U.S. South. David Healey was a student in that class. Inspired by his experience, he became an early founding member of the Civil Rights Heritage Center on campus and led the early Oral History program. His efforts preserved the life stories of dozens of local people— the very stories we've shared on this podcast. David passed away in March 2010—two months too soon to see the results of his research and organizing to transform the former Engman Public Natatorium. In May 2009, Les and David were on a road trip to Fort Wayne—and Les turned on the tape recorder. He and David talked about their inspirations as white men to study the African American civil rights movement, and about forming and leading the early days of the Civil Rights Heritage Center. This episode was produced by Jweetu Pangani from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here. We're going to take a two-month break from releasing episodes so our IU South Bend student producers can concentrate on finishing their semester's classes. Look for a new year of local stories beginning January 26, 2022, with longtime firefighter, police officer, and Mayoral staffer Jack Reed. Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

In the 1970s, Ricardo Parra helped organize and direct a new midwest chapter of the National Council of La Raza, a progressive Chicano political advocacy group. Over the following decades, both Ricardo and his wife, Olga Villa, became integrally involved in South Bend's growing Latinx community. They allied themselves with almost every local organization, like La Raza, El Campito children's center, the former El Centro migrant advocacy center, and of course, La Casa de Amistad. Olga was a strong leader, had a love for life, and deeply supported those who worked with her. In 2014, Olga passed away at the age of 71. Four years later, in 2018, I sat down with Ricardo along with Valeria Chamorro from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. We talked about Ricardo's arrival at Notre Dame, his life with Olga, and how the local Latinx community has grown and changed over the past fifty years. This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript of this episode available here.  Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

In 1952, three-year-old Ralph Miles moved with his family to South Bend after an uncle told Ralph's father that the Bendix company was hiring.  Ralph's special needs school gave him work well beyond his grade level. He left that school to attend Harrison and then Washington. The work was on grade level, and way too easy for him. Bored, and without appropriate emotional and learning spaces, he acted out. By the time he got to Washington High School, he turned to violence, particularly to combat racist white students.  Eventually, Ralph was expelled for bringing a gun into school.  He did not have a positive opinion of local Black leaders or Black organizations. He saw cronyism, colorism, and compliance with white people in power at the expense of people in his west side community.  In 2003, Civil Rights Heritage Center historian David Healey sat down to talk with Ralph Miles. They discussed Ralph's early years in his special needs school, his perspective as a disaffected high school student, and his critiques of South Bend's Black elite.  In the interview, both David and Ralph use words like “normal” and “regular” to describe Ralph's first school—the one for students with special needs. We do not condone the use of those words, as they set a rigid and unacceptable definition of “normal”, and pits those that differ as somehow irregular or abnormal.  This episode was produced by Jweetu Pangani for the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South bend, and by George Garner for the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center. Click here for a full transcript of this episode.  Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

In the 1920s, Lucille Sneed's parents left Tennessee for South Bend to work at Studebaker. They were part of the first wave of African Americans migrating north chasing what they saw as opportunities in factory jobs.  During World War II, Lucille's brother was called into military service. Lucille took his place at the Studebaker factory.  She stayed after her brother returned. Lucille learned how to sew with large, industrial machines to make upholstery and other fabric materials for thousands of Studebaker cars. She also learned how to navigate segregation in South Bend's shops, theaters, and restaurants.  In 2002, Civil Rights Heritage Center co-founder Amy Selner and historian David Healey sat down with Ms. Sneed. They talked about her work at Studebaker, her time at Central High School, and what South Bend was like in the middle of the 20th century. This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at IU South Bend, and by George Garner from the Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Click here for a transcript of this episode.  Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Do you know someone whose story about South Bend should be preserved?  We're seeking nominations for new oral history recordings. Every year, we'll invite about six people with unique, compelling stories to share how they experienced South Bend's past.  Nominate someone now: https://go.iu.edu/3WVo Learn more about the new oral history recording project: https://mailchi.mp/8d6594f2e6f8/know-someone-whose-south-bend-story-should-be-preserved

In 1867, the people inhabiting what we now call South Bend established a corporation to run community schools. Today, few things are as important, or as fought over, as our public schools. This episode shares stories from people who were children in South Bend schools from the early through late-mid 20th century, as well as stories from people who, as adults, fought for change.  Narrators include Barbara Brandy, John Charles Bryant, Leroy and Margaret Cobb, Coleridge Dickinson, Glenda Rae Hernandez, George Hill, William Hojnacki, George McCullough, Federico Rodriguez, and Helen Pope.  This episode was produced by Donald Brittain from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend; and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center. Full transcript: https://go.iu.edu/3ZKC Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Dale Gibson was a long-time resident of South Bend, and a teacher at Adams and the former LaSalle High School.  As a white man, he neither experienced nor recognized the segregation happening in South Bend. In college, an attempt to bring a Black friend to a local swimming pool sparked a life-long interest in the anti-war and racial justice movements.  Dale was actively involved with South Bend's First Unitarian Church. In the 1960s, they were vocal against the war in Vietnam and in favor of African American equality. It's likely that outspokenness provoked someone to bomb the church in 1968.  Dale wrote an in-depth history of the 1968 Unitarian Church bombing: https://www.uua.org/midamerica/history/vignettes/history-vignette-6-first-unitarian-church-south-bend In 2003, David Healey from the Civil Rights Heritage Center sat down with Dale. They talked about Dale's early remembrance of South Bend, how that incident in college affected him, and how that led to a life devoted to the First Unitarian Church, childhood education, and the fight for justice.  Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Marguerite Taylor is a long time resident of South Bend's north east side. She's the daughter of Renelda Robinson, a neighborhood leader honored as the namesake of the Robinson Community Learning Center. As a girl, Renelda got to travel by playing softball for a local chapter of the The American Negro Girls Softball League. She did this when sports not only segregated women, but the few white women's teams—like the All American Girls' Professional Baseball League—refused to accept African American players.  In 2003, Marguerite Taylor was joined by Charlie Howell to speak with the Civil Rights Heritage Center's Les Lamon and David Healey. They talked about Renelda Robinson, and the incredible changes they've witnessed in South Bend's near north east side.  Full transcript of this episode available at https://go.iu.edu/3TBe Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Jerome Perkins was one of the first African Americans to serve as a police officer in South Bend, serving from 1952 to 1972. Back then, just like now, deep frustrations over African Americans' treatment at the hands of police grew ever deeper. Jerome answered a call from the Mayor who hoped to improve community relationships by installing more Black officers. In 2003, David Healey sat down with Officer Perkins to discuss his life and his career. Officer Perkins did not loudly call out any police injustice; however, there is some subtle context in here. He spoke of the segregation between white and Black officers, the racist behaviors he endured, how white people received far softer treatment for similar offenses, and how the frustration felt by over-policed Black people boiled over.  Learn more about the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center at crhc.iusb.edu.  Want to learn more about South Bend's history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, www.freemusicarchive.org. 

Savino Rivera, Sr. is a bilingual educator and coach with two decades of service to the South Bend Community School Corporation. He's the child of two migrant farm workers. When his father left the family, his mother continued farm work to support him and his nine brothers and sisters. With her working almost every hour almost every day, and with no history in the U.S. school system, Savino had to navigate high school, college, and his career on his own.  Mr. Rivera built a career providing support for local immigrant students in the South Bend Community School Corporation working under the late Maritza Robles, a celebrated school board member and advocate for local Latinx students.  This episode was produced by Joey Meyers from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend; and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Jeannette Hughes' father taught church history. The job meant she and her family moved to many different college towns around the U.S. Being part of a fundamentalist faith group, Jeannette had little conception of a transgender identity. She had, as she called it, “a normal boyhood.” Still, she knew that she wanted her cousins to call her “Sandy,” and felt more herself sitting down to use the bathroom.  As Jeannette became an adult and traveled the world, she began understanding more about the trangender experience. She eventually settled in Goshen, adopted her true gender identity, and even found a faith community that embraced her.  In 2015, Jeannette sat down with Dr. Jamie Wagman from St. Mary’s College. They talked about her parents and the fundamentalist faith community they shared, and how discovering a transgender serving store in Chicago changed her life.  This episode was produced by Joey Meyers from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend; and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View original photographs and documents from people who made history. Check out our archival collection online or in person at our website: https://clas.iusb.edu/centers/civil-rights/local-history/index.html Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Willie Mae Butts was born in West Virginia. She came to South Bend in 1952 when her husband decided to open a medical practice along West Washington.  Willie Mae devoted so much of her time—to working with her husband’s medical practice, to raising her children, and to many local causes, including as the first African American woman elected to South Bend’s Human Rights Commission.  In 2003, Willie Mae sat down with IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center’s David Healey. They talked about her early days along South Bend’s west side, how hard it was for her and others to find jobs and housing, and how tirelessly she worked organizing for change.   This episode was produced by Joey Meyers from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend; and George Garner from the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View original photographs and documents from people who made history. Check out our archival collection online or in person at our website: https://clas.iusb.edu/centers/civil-rights/local-history/index.html Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Ben Johnson is best known as one of only thirty people who served all eight years in President Bill Clinton’s administration.  His parents were sharecroppers from Arkansas who moved to South Bend when Ben was a young child. Ben spent many years here, and became a strong advocate in the fight for African American equality. That advocacy brought him into contact with people in power. It encouraged him to try and gain that power to use for his community. In 1971, he became the first African American man to run a serious campaign for South Bend’s Mayor.  In the late 1970s, Ben left South Bend for Washington, D.C. to serve in local government. Eventually, he was chosen by President Bill Clinton to serve on the national stage.  In 2003, Ben talked by phone to IU South Bend professor Dr. Les Lamon. They talked about his activism in South Bend outside systems of power, and how he moved to positions of power from inside those systems.  This episode was produced by Joey Meyers of the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend, and George Garner of the IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. See our collections online at https://clas.iusb.edu/centers/civil-rights/local-history/index.html.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

The late Rep. John Lewis speaks at Indiana University South Bend in 2001. In 2001, Charlotte Pfeifer was Director of Indiana University South Bend’s Office of Campus Diversity as well as a South Bend Common Council representative. That year she led the fifth in a series of events called “Conversations On Race.” The keynote speaker was Representative John Lewis. John Lewis passed away last Friday after a lifetime of fighting for justice. To honor his life, we present the speech he delivered here at IU South Bend in 2001. Hope you enjoy.

NOTE: Work on this episode of South Bend’s Own Words started before the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. With respect to the uprisings in cities across the U.S. right now, we wanted to be sure their names were said. There are far too many other names to share, and our city is not immune to police violence. The murder of Eric Logan last year was only the latest in a long history. ----- The “long, hot summer of 1967” described the many uprisings in cities across the U.S. Real hurt felt by real people was large ignored by white people in positions of power. Decades of racial redlining, job discrimination, and both micro-and macro-aggressions fueled an idea that violent expression was the only recourse. In 159 cities across the U.S., a spark turned decades of oppression into violent outburst. In South Bend, Indiana, in July, 1967, a white police officer shot an unarmed African American man in the leg. His name was Melvin Phillips. That bullet sparked South Bend to join 158 other cities. Days of violent eruption followed. Today, we hear from three people who lived through, or participated in, the South Bend uprising. This episode was produced by Seth Umbaugh and George Garner. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Jenell Kauffman learned to embrace dual identities. Born with the name John Danforth, Jenell knew as early as age six that "it would be nice" to be a woman. What Jenell lacked was the language of the transgender experience. As a young person, John knew there were people who were cross-dressers, or drag queens. But the world John lived in was strictly gendered: girls wore girls’ clothes, and boys wore boys’ clothes. But John also knew the feeling of wanting to be something more. Eventually, John learned to incorporate Jenell and present with both identities. In 2015, Jenell sat down with St. Mary’s College professor Dr. Jamie Wagman. They spoke about Jenell’s youth, and how Jenell learned to co-exist as both Jenell and John. This episode was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we learn how to engage you and continue the work we do, we'd love to hear from you about how we do that. Go to http://crhc.iusb.edu and find our contact information. Call the Center and leave us a voicemail, or email Darryl Heller and George Garner to let us know how you are and what you think we can do during these hard times. This episode was produced by Mark Flora and George Garner. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Bishop Donald L. Alford is a staple along South Bend’s Western Avenue. He’s the founder and pastor of Pentecostal Cathedral Church of God in Christ, and also the founder and owner of Alford’s Mortuary. A lifelong resident of South Bend, Bishop Alford graduated from Washington High School in 1957. In 2007, Bishop Alford sat down with Indiana University South Bend professor Les Lamon, and student Sara Lowe. They talked about Bishop Alford’s life and his work, and the changes he’s seen along Western Avenue over many decades. This episode was in the works right before and released during the 2020 Coronavirus pandemic. We're all staying safe and staying at home, and if you're in a position to do so, we hope you are too. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Listen to the full, unedited interview with Bishop Alford at https://archive.org/details/OH-Alford-Donald-2007-12-04 This episode was produced by Mark Flora and George Garner. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Federico Chico Rodriguez by IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center

Glenda Rae Hernandez embraced the movement for civil rights in the U.S. south. As a college student, she signed petitions not to eat at Woolworth’s until they integrated their lunch counters. She even attended a lecture by a young Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King. In 1965, Glenda and her husband moved to South Bend. She soon began advocating for her south east neighborhood, became an early ally to the growing Latinx community, fought discrimination against African Americans in their housing choices, rallied against war, and became a fixture in the local activist community. You’ll still see her at meetings today, carrying what seems to be her body weight in buttons with progressive messages. In 2002, she sat down with the Civil Rights Heritage Center’s David Healey. They talked about some of her many local actions against racism, and against war. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Dr. Irving Allen is the son of Elizabeth Fletcher and J. Chester Allen. They were lawyers who, among their many actions, helped integrate the Engman Public Natatorium. As black professionals though, the Allen’s faced aggressions—mostly from their South Bend neighbors and colleagues, but even from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In August 2004, Dr. Allen sat down with Dr. Les Lamon, David Healey, and John Charles Bryant. He spoke about his parents’ perceptions of racism, their history of advocacy, and their legacies. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit our website at http://crhc.iusb.edu and tap "Local History and Archives." Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

When Barbara Brandy was nine years old, a group of her family and friends tried to come into the Engman Public Natatorium to swim. At the time, the city-owned pool was segregated by day. Monday was the only day African Americans could swim. Barbara and her friends came after church on Sunday. The white man behind the ticket booth told them, “No.” This day was just one in the 68 years she spent in South Bend. The racism she faced, the life she was able to lead, and the stories she told, have inspired countless others. Read Barbara Brandy’s recollection of her experience at the Natatorium from a 2009 article in the South Bend Tribune: http://articles.southbendtribune.com/2009-02-09/news/26736874_1_natatorium-bathing-suit-red-today Learn more of South Bend’s History from Michiana Memory: http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

Leroy and Margaret Cobb were two of the 26 people who fought severe housing discrimination in order to build a safe, stable, and wonderful neighborhood. The organization was called the Better Homes of South Bend. Read more about Better Homes from Gabrielle Robinson’s book, _Better Homes of South Bend_. Check out a copy at any of the libraries listed below, or purchase your own copy here: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9781467118651. CRHC Library: https://crhc.libib.com/#14428744X St. Joseph County Public Library: https://sjcpl.bibliocommons.com/item/show/2117410099_better_homes_of_south_bend For more on the historic marker dedicated in the Better Homes neighborhood, visit the Indiana Historical Bureau’s site: http://www.in.gov/history/markers/4365.htm Learn more of South Bend’s History from Michiana Memory: http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

In honor of 2019's Black History Month, we're rebroadcasting some of our favorite stories from people who made South Bend's history. Helen Pope grew up on the west side of South Bend, Indiana during the 1920s. She watched her city grow and change over the eighty years she lived here. She earned a nursing license from Ivy Tech and a degree in early childhood development from IU South Bend. She worked as a nurse at the old Northern Indiana Children’s hospital, back when they segregated their patients by race. Helen helped end that horrible practice. But when South Bend started losing its factory jobs in the 1960s, African Americans were among the hardest hit. More and more jobs needed college degrees, so without equal access to higher education, lots of positions were out of reach. Helen did what she could to help. She worked with women in need as a YWCA director, and coordinated President Lyndon Johnson's Model Cities program on the West Side. She worked with the school system, with the NAACP, with Hering House, with the Urban League, and so many others. In the 1980s, she became the local coordinator of the History of Black Women in Indiana project. So she didn't just make history in South Bend—she made an effort to share stories from across the state of black women before her who also made history. Helen sat down with the Civil Rights Heritage Center twice in 2001 to talk about the ways she made history. I’ll play you an excerpt of her first interview with IU South Bend’s Kathy O’Dell, David Healey, and Dr. Les Lamon along with long-time resident John Charles Bryant.

Andrea Petrass lived almost her whole life in South Bend. She was assigned male at birth, and though she was able to play the part of a boy, she knew she wanted to be one of the girls. Without any role models of people who had transitioned, she had no language to express that as an option. In 2015, before her transition, Andrea sat down with Dr. Jamie Wagman from St. Mary’s College. They talked about Andrea’s childhood in South Bend, the messages she received about gender, and how, for much of her life, Andrea struggled with expressing her true self.  June is Pride Month across the United States. Celebrate by connecting with The LGBTQ Center at http://www.thelgbtqcenter.org/.  Also, our heart felt congratulations to Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Chasten Glezman who were married on June 16, 2018. We know that for so long LGBTQ couples, along with opposite race couples, were denied the right to marry by straight, white people. From Loving v. Virgina through Obergefell versus Hodges, the right to marry the person you choose is—and must always be—protected.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Andrea Petrass lived almost her whole life in South Bend. She was assigned male at birth, and though she was able to play the part of a boy, she knew she wanted to be one of the girls. Without any role models of people who had transitioned, she had no language to express that as an option. In 2015, before her transition, Andrea sat down with Dr. Jamie Wagman from St. Mary’s College. They talked about Andrea’s childhood in South Bend, the messages she received about gender, and how, for much of her life, Andrea struggled with expressing her true self. June is Pride Month across the United States. Celebrate by connecting with The LGBTQ Center at http://www.thelgbtqcenter.org/. Also, our heart felt congratulations to Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Chasten Glezman who were married on June 16, 2018. We know that for so long LGBTQ couples, along with opposite race couples, were denied the right to marry by straight, white people. From Loving v. Virgina through Obergefell versus Hodges, the right to marry the person you choose is—and must always be—protected. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.

On April 4, 1968, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by a white supremacist. The news echoed throughout the U.S. We hear from five people who remember that day and the immediate aftermath: Charlotte Huddleston, Willie Mae Butts, Lynn Coleman, George Neagu, and Karen White. Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. Audio of Robert F. Kennedy's announcement courtesy John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum, Boston, Massachusetts.

Lois Clark is a tireless advocate for peace and justice. For four decades she served with the local Head Start, educating scores of children. As Mayor Pete Buttigieg put it when he honored Lois in 2013,"She has made an incalculable impact." But many in South Bend recognize her as one of the people who stand, or in Lois’ case, sit, on a downtown street corner protesting war. She hold signs that say “honk for peace,” and patiently waits for passers-by to do so. When they do, Lois smiles and waves.  In 2016, Lois sat down with IU South Bend’s Dr. Monica Tetzlaff, Dr. Paul Mischler, and Jamie Morgan. They soaked up Lois’ wit and wisdom as she shared her philosophies on life, peace, and justice.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Listen to Lois' full oral history on Michiana Memory: http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16827coll13/id/298 Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/. 

Anita Roberts is descended from one of the first families of color in South Bend. Her grandfather worked as a foreman at the Studebaker wagon factory, and her grandmother as a domestic worker in the Studebaker family home. As an adult, Anita moved to New York to embark on a long career, first as a union activist and later as a representative for the International Council of Shopping Centers. She participated in one of the freedom rides, fighting against segregation in a Maryland lunch counter. She even got to meet some of the 20th century’s iconic civil rights leaders like the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King.  Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/.  Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.