Collection ID: SC 165
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Hardin, Boniface, Fr.
Abstract:
Audio recordings of taped radio show episodes, primarily from the series The Afro-American in Indiana, but also including the additional programs Reflections in Black and Black Heritage, as well as a radio special and recordings from a NAACP convention. The radio shows, hosted by Fr. Boniface Hardin, featured multiple high-profile guests. The episode topics includes sports, music, education, historiography, slavery, the American Civil War, Reconstruction, segregation, the Indiana Constitution, the United States Constitution, church, religion, the NAACP, WWI, WWII, medicine, black businesses, the Institute of Afro American Studies, prison, labor history, and more.
Extent:
124 open reel tapes and 6 Audiocassettes
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

The Afro-American in Indiana radio series, SC 165, Archives of African American Music and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Father Boniface Hardin (1933-2012) played a significant role in shaping African American education in Indiana. Born James Dwight Randolph "Randy" Hardin on November 18, 1933 in Bardstown, Kentucky, he went on to earn a master of divinity in 1959 and become a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in southern Indiana. In 1965 Fr. Hardin relocated to Indianapolis, where he became associate pastor and the first African American priest of Holy Angels Parish. A well-known civil rights activist, he worked tirelessly to improve the community and combat racism.

In 1977 Fr. Hardin founded Martin University with Sister Jane Schilling, and served as president for 30 years until his retirement in 2007. The Indianapolis inner city university, named for the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and St. Martin de Porres, was established to serve adult learners in low-income neighborhoods and remains Indiana's only predominantly Black liberal arts college. In the 1970s, Fr. Hardin also initiated and hosted a weekly half-hour radio program, The Afro-American in Indiana, broadcast over Indianapolis public school station WIAN-FM. The radio series was part of Fr. Hardin's mission to promote Black history to a broad audience, with a specific focus on the experiences of African Americans in Indiana, reaching back to the beginnings of statehood.

Scope and Content:

The radio program The Afro American in Indiana was founded by Fr. Boniface Hardin in the early 1970s as one part of his effort to educate about the experiences of African Americans in Indiana and beyond. The series eventually became a PBS affiliated program according to Hardin biographer, Nancy Chism. The topics discussed by the hosts and their guests were wide-ranging. The collection of tapes donated to the AAAMC is unlikely to be a complete set of all of the episodes in the series, but there is no master list extant so it is unclear how many total episodes were aired. The series aired on Indianapolis-based station WIAN-FM, with each episode lasting approximately half an hour. Also in this collection are recordings from what appear to be two other radio series, or possibly mini-series aired as part of The Afro-American in Indiana, Black Heritage and Reflections in Black. These recordings are typically around one hour in length. Several other recordings were donated with the radio series episodes, including recordings from a NAACP convention.

Acquisition information:
Donated to the AAAMC in 2016 by Martin University.
Processing information:

Processed by AAAMC Staff. Tape indexes prepared by Nancy Chism. Completed in 2017.

Arrangement:

Arranged in one series:

Series 1: Recordings
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Use of time-based media materials (audio and video) may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Access to streaming audio, moving image, and full resolution digital image materials may currently be restricted to researchers who can authenticate with an IU account or who are physically present on campus. Remote streaming to individual researchers may be allowed with the completion of applicable forms.

For further information about access to online audiovisual materials, contact AAAMC staff at aaamc@indiana.edu.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, including but not limited to the Indiana Public Records Act (5-14-3-2 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which Indiana University assumes no responsibility.

Copyright is retained by the creators/authors of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. All requests for copying and publishing materials must be submitted in writing to the Archives of African American Music and Culture, and may require the written permission of the creator(s)/author(s) or donor(s).

PREFERRED CITATION:

The Afro-American in Indiana radio series, SC 165, Archives of African American Music and Culture, Indiana University, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Smith Research Center, Rooms 180-181
2805 East 10th Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47408-2601, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-8547
aaamc@indiana.edu