At South Bend City Church, one of our mantras is “Everyone an Icon,” and in order to honor the stories around us during Black History Month, we want to be students of our history in this city by engaging with a couple of valuable local resources.
The first is the book “Better Homes of South Bend,” by Gabrielle Robinson. It is an American story of courage from the 1950’s, in which African American Studebaker workers from the South won out over Jim Crow in the North to build 22 homes in a white neighborhood and create a legacy. Books are available at the Civil Rights Heritage Center, through online and local retailers, and from the public library.
Our learning will continue with the African American Landmark self-guided tour; visiting some of the sites where history was made—from schools to churches to neighborhoods and sites of political and social gathering, developed by the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center.
For further resources, you can revisit Resources for a Church that Wants to Fight for Black Lives, which was was curated by members and leaders of the South Bend City Church community.
