Collections

This collection contains newspapers created by and related to the students of Indiana University South Bend, spanning a date range from 1950 to the present. Noteworthy titles in the collection include The Preface (1969-present), the university's preeminent and longest-running student newspaper, and IU Center News (1950-1962), the university's first student-run publication. The collection includes several other shorter-lived IU South Bend student publications, as well as other area newspapers that have been collected because of IU South Bend student, faculty, and/or alumni involvement.

The Streets family papers document the life of South Bend, Indiana residents Dr. Bernard and Odie Mae Streets, and their families in previous and subsequent generations. Both Dr. Bernard and Odie Mae Streets were life-long community activists in South Bend and beyond, and Dr. Streets was the first African American dentist in the city. This collection of personal papers and photographs documents both their service to and activities in the South Bend community over several decades. The Streets were key figures in community activism on many levels, bettering South Bend's underserved populations and neighborhoods. The Streets family also was active in national non-profit and religious-based organizations.

The Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center LGBTQ Collection contains materials relating to the experience of people in and around South Bend, Indiana, who describe their sexual and/or gender identity as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer, as well as people who consider themselves allies to the LGBTQ community. South Bend and neighboring cities in north central Indiana and south central Michigan, like so many cities in the United States during the second half of the 20th century and first quarter of the 21st, has experienced a radical transformation in attitudes towards the LGBTQ community. For much of the 20th century, South Bend's LGBTQ community was closed and closeted. With a stronger Catholic and Christian culture than other cities (as evidenced in places like the predominately Catholic University of Notre Dame as well as significant Polish and Eastern European immigration), South Bend had been described as a less welcoming place than larger cities with higher percentages of "out" LGBTQ people and stronger gay cultures, such as San Francisco or New York City. Without the promise of acceptance by their families or protections against discrimination in their workplaces, people often did not identify as LGBTQ publicly. Many felt they could publicly identify only within the few gay-friendly public spaces, such as the Sea Horse Bar and Cabaret. Like much of the United States, South Bend underwent significant changes in the first quarter of the 21st century through the efforts of countless "out" individuals and straight allies. By 2012, those efforts helped make South Bend one of the few cities in Indiana to add LGBT protections to its human rights ordinance. In 2015, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg publicly came out as well, becoming the highest ranking government official in Indiana to do so. The IU South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center LGBTQ collection — the first of its kind in the city — helps all people understand and reflect upon the major advancements in LGBTQ acceptance over the last fifty years, and how this one Midwest city moved from a place where many people felt they needed to hide their identities into a more welcoming and more open community.

Mr. J. Chester Allen and his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Fletcher Allen, were prominent African American attorneys in the South Bend, Indiana area. The Allens lived a relatively privileged lifestyle; however, they were very aware that their privilege necessitated a responsibility to help other African Americans who suffered injustices – social, economical, and educational. As lawyers, they worked within the system and with such groups as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Urban League (among others) to bring about positive social change. Their efforts brought an end to the Engman Natatorium's exclusion of African Americans, and they helped bring equity to war contracts in Michiana industries for both African Americans and women during World War II. Their family law practice often took on pro-bono cases for those who could not afford lawyers of their caliber.

The Helen Pope papers document the life of South Bend, Indiana resident and community activist Helen Pope (1916-2004). Helen Pope was a lifelong civil rights advocate and health care professional in the South Bend area. She was an active volunteer in many community organizations, earning several awards and distinctions for her service, including being inducted into the South Bend Hall of Fame in 1992. The collection documents her professional and service activities, as well as her personal life with her husband of over sixty years, James S. Pope.