Keeping the trails open
At an event at the Natatorium today, four community leaders were honored as Trailblazers–individuals who broke ground for South Bend in areas such as desegregated employment and education. Mayor PeteButtigieg talked about how these individuals had helped change what had been unthinkable to something the absence of which would be unthinkable a single generation later. He went on to remind us that trails, having been blazed, need to be kept open–for the future of our community, worthy accomplishments need to be maintained and developed.
The setting for the celebration was itself a great symbol of transformation, South Bend’s former public natatorium, a swimming pool where segregation long reigned, a building which is now a community center and home of the Civil Rights Heritage Center and a marker of a public university’s commitment to all the people of its region. I am proud to be on the faculty of IU South Bend in part because of its commitment to the Natatorium.