Moment of Indiana History
shows Archive
February 18, 2008
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No More Beauty Queens
Although race relations on most college campuses in the 1960s were volatile, the Bloomington campus of Indiana University was relatively progressive in attempting to establish civil rights for all of its students. Despite the state’s Southern ties, and the sometime pervasiveness of the Ku Klux Klan throughout Indiana government, Bloomington provided a less hostile environment for blacks than other places in the state.
February 11, 2008
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Leveling the Playing Field
One of the ways black students encountered racism in Bloomington in the 1940s was in its eating establishments, many of which illegally refused them service. One undergraduate student was particularly frustrated not to be able to get a quick meal between classes. Although George Taliaferro’s life-sized photo hung inside the Book Nook on Indiana Avenue, the defensive back who had led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten victory in 1945 had to trek all the way to the west side of town to get fed.
February 4, 2008
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The Father of the School of Law
Long before racial tensions came to a head in the 1960s, the quest for integration was underway on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. Important strides were made during the tenure of the university’s eleventh president, Herman B. Wells.
January 28, 2008
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Dillinger – The Hoosier
Although he met his end in front of a Chicago movie house on July 22, 1934, the nation’s first Public Enemy Number One eventually found his way back home again to Indiana. Alongside Eli Lilly, James Whitcomb Riley, and President Benjamin Harrison, legendary gangster John Dillinger is buried in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis .
January 21, 2008
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Dillinger – Movie Goer
Indiana has consistently captured the attention of Hollywood with its legendary athletic figures and traditions. Such films as Knute Rockne: All-American, The Crowd Roars, Breaking Away and Hoosiers have lent a glamour to Hoosier sports once reserved for its gangsters.
January 14, 2008
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Shortridge High School
Indianapolis-born Kurt Vonnegut always placed his alma mater--Shortridge High School--beyond the range of his trademark slings and arrows.
January 7, 2008
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Kurt Vonnegut
With the passing of 2007, Indianapolis completes its year-long commemoration of native son Kurt Vonnegut. When the irreverent author passed away in April, the city had already unveiled plans to christen 2007 “The Year of Kurt Vonnegut.” Ironically, the author had once joked that he would be remembered in his hometown only by virtue of his familial relation to a longtime Indianapolis hardware store chain.
December 31, 2007
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Mr Jingle Bell Rock
During the holidays, radio listeners around the nation get their fill of pop tunes about Santa, reindeer and Grandma, in no particular order. Secular holiday music with a rock-and-roll beat is so ubiquitous now that it’s hard to imagine the season without it.
December 24, 2007
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Jean Shepard
Jerry Seinfeld cites him as an influence, and named his third son after him. In his seminal text, Understanding Media , Marshall McLuhan tagged his work as innovative in its use of the medium of radio. But outside the context of the now-classic holiday flick A Christmas Story , the name Jean Shepherd may go unrecognized.
December 17, 2007
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A Christmas Story
Holiday rituals around the country often include tuning in for the 1983 film A Christmas Story . Although it wasn’t a hit at the box office, the MGM feature has assumed its place alongside such holiday classics as Miracle on 34 th Street and It’s a Wonderful Life , thanks to an extended life on TV.
