WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
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On today’s edition of Bring It On!, hosts, Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell, spend the hour with Laurisa LeSure, the director of Better Homes: The Play. In the 1950s African American Studebaker workers from the South won out over Jim Crow in the North to build 22 homes in a white neighborhood and create a legacy. Their success demonstrates the decisive importance of fair housing for generations to come. It is a victory in a battle that has not been won yet since housing discrimination and redlining persist today.
This collective group was known as the Better Homes of South Bend, and they built 22 homes on 1700-1800 blocks of North Elmer Street, creating a vibrant and peaceful community here in a formerly all-white neighborhood. And now, history is being transformed into a play based on the book by Gabrielle Robinson, Ph.D.
In honor of Black History Month, we felt it was important to shed light on this Indiana story of resilience. There is a historical marker on South Bend’s far northwest side where 22 Black families began a housing co-op in the 50s known as the “Better Homes of South Bend.” WNIT of South Bend will show the entire play along with talk-back segments from the cast & crew of “Better Homes: The Play” on Friday, February 23, at 9 PM and on Sunday, February 25, at 8 PM.
Credits:
Today’s hosts are Clarence Boone and Liz Mitchell.
Bring It On!’s Executive Producer is Clarence Boone.
The show Consultant and WFHB News Department Director is Kade Young.
Program Engineer is Chantalle LaFontant.
The original theme music was created by Jamyl Efiom, with additional background tracks by David Baker.
