Tag: Black History Month

Vignette from Black Market at Bloomington city hall: New nonprofit aims to close equity gap in science ed

Jules Tram with All-Star Imagination (Feb. 11, 2023).
Jules Tram with All-Star Imagination (Feb. 11, 2023).
Black Market at Bloomington city hall (Feb. 11, 2023).
Former Bloomington mayor John Fernandez stops by the Monroe County History Center table. Seated are circuit court judge Geoff Bradley and history center curator Gabby Krieble (Feb. 11, 2023).
Black y Brown community mural from the 2022 festival (Feb. 12, 2023).
Handmade unisex jackets from Kankou Elegance. (Feb. 11, 2023).
A purchase was made from Cat’s Closet. (Feb. 11, 2023).

On Saturday, the city of Bloomington hosted a “Black Market” at city hall as part of its celebration of Black History Month.

The event was an homage to the Black Market of the late 1960s, which was firebombed by a man with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. The market was located in the space now known as People’s Park.

The market sold products made in Africa or by African-Americans, serving as a cultural center for Black students attending Indiana University. The market stood at the corner of Kirkwood Avenue and Dunn Street. The campus is just a block away, to the east.

On Saturday, vendors were set up in the city hall atrium, along the hallway in city council chambers, as well as on the second floor. Continue reading “Vignette from Black Market at Bloomington city hall: New nonprofit aims to close equity gap in science ed” →

Bloomington city councilmember on Black History Month events: “Get to know someone that you didn’t know when you walked into that event.”

Bloomington city clerk Nicole Bolden addresses the city council about events the city has planned out for Black History Month. (Feb. 1, 2023)

The recent police killings of two men—Manuel Esteban Paez Terán in Atlanta and Tyre Nichols in Memphis—got a mention during the Bloomington city council’s regular Wednesday meeting.

From her desk in the left side of the council chambers, city clerk Nicole Bolden said, “These killings don’t celebrate the joys of Black History Month, but they certainly reflect the reality of Black history.”

Bolden was quoting best-selling author and cultural critic Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who gained fame playing 20 years in the NBA. The sentence is included in the Feb. 1 edition of Abdul-Jabbar’s Substack newsletter.

The point of Bolden’s remarks was to encourage councilmembers and the public to attend at least some of the events that have been planned as a part of Bloomington’s celebration of Black History Month.

During report time at the start of the meeting, councilmember Jim Sims remarked about the choice of February as national Black History Month, “I would be remiss not to say that, of course, it’s the shortest month of the year.” He added, “But that’s another conversation for another day.” Continue reading “Bloomington city councilmember on Black History Month events: “Get to know someone that you didn’t know when you walked into that event.”” →