Giving Voice: Karen Freeman-Wilson

03/03/21 • 18 min

On this episode of Giving Voice, IHB historian Nicole Poletika talks with Karen Freeman-Wilson, the former mayor of Gary and current President of the Chicago Urban League. A follow up to the most recent Talking Hoosier History episode, "Tribe Come Home: The 1972 National Black Political Convention," their discussion centers on the ongoing effort for equal rights in Indiana, especially for Black women.

Previous Episode

“Tribe Come Home:” The 1972 National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana

Thousands of Black Americans from around the country came to Gary, Indiana, for the 1972 Black National Political Convention to transform the Black Power Movement into the Black Political Power Movement. Leaders worked to channel collective outrage - caused by voter suppression and discrimination, as well as the assassinations of major Civil Rights leaders - into political reform.

Next Episode

"I Did Not Walk Alone:" The Civil Rights Work of Rabbi Maurice Davis

In 1965, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called for religious leaders representing all faiths to join him in Selma, Alabama, for a march responding to recent violence against peaceful protestors. Rabbi Maurice Davis of the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation (IHC) answered this call, despite threats to his life. This episode looks at the work of Rabbi Davis to fight segregation and discrimination in Indianapolis, especially in housing and employment. It also considers why Jewish Americans joined the Black-led Civil Rights Movement in greater numbers than other groups and what lessons his work teaches us today about allyship and interfaith work for greater rights for all Americans. Current IHC Rabbi Brett Krichiver brings the words of his predecessor to life with music from IHC Cantor Aviva Marer. IHB historian Justin Clark hosts. Written and produced by IHB historian Jill Weiss Simins.