Political Activism and the Poor People’s Party
Join our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage. Our presenter will be historian Anthony Conley.
Robert and Helen Lynd's groundbreaking sociological study of post-World War I American society, Middletown: A Study in American Culture (1929), firmly affixed Muncie, Indiana, among the most researched mid-sized urban areas in the United States. Their study depicted a Black population completely shut out of local politics.
This marginalized status finally began to change in 1971, when Reverend James C. Williams, pastor-activist of Muncie's Trinity United Methodist Church, launched a campaign that made the first serious African-American candidate for Mayor in the city's history. Running on the "Poor People's Party" platform, Rev. Williams' grassroots, multiracial, church-based campaign introduced numerous working-class residents to political activism in "Middletown, America."
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.