Scenes like this put a public face to segregation in McLean County during the mid-20th Century. Photo from McLean County Museum of History.
Dr. Mark Wyman, ISU emeritus history professor, will present “Segregation – Our Community’s Secret,” 1:30 p.m. April 11 at the McLean County Museum of History.
Admission is free for the presentation, which will focus on the now largely forgotten history of segregation in the Twin Cities. According to Wyman, a local African American leader once commented to him that “people don’t know how bad it was here – even black kids don’t know how bad it was.”
He cited local traditions that barred African-Americans from many aspects of life in Bloomington-Normal, now largely unknown by all but the victims of that racial exclusion. Wyman decided to investigate that era for himself, scouring local newspapers for details.
Wyman taught at ISU from 1971 until his retirement in 2004. A former newspaperman, his historical publications have covered topics including Western hard-rock miners, immigrants returning to Europe, and hobos harvesting crops across the West.
For more information about Wyman’s program, please contact the museum’s education department by calling 309-827-0428 or emailing education@mchistory.org.