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White Supremacy

A Community in Conflict

5 items

1844
Despite predominant pro-slavery views during the 1830s through the 1850s, there were those who risked prosecution under the Fugitive Slave Act to help enslaved men, women, and children escape to freedom in the north.

Digital Exhibit

1846
Intimidation, bullying, threats, and manipulation have all been used by people in McLean County in order to gain and maintain power. In the process individual rights and freedoms were often denied to those on the receiving end.

Digital Exhibit

1850
In the 1840s and 50s, more African Americans settled in McLean County. But they soon learned that their opportunities were limited.

Digital Exhibit

1862
By the time the Civil War began, views on slavery in McLean County had become predominantly anti-slavery. But there were still those who supported slavery.

Digital Exhibit

1921
During the early 1920s, McLean County experienced an intense period of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) recruiting, meetings, and public gatherings.

Digital Exhibit

Abraham Lincoln in McLean County

1 item

Expansion of Slavery
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 threatened to extend slavery into northern territories. This da...

Digital Exhibit

Articles

2 items

soldiers standing in smoking rubble

Bloomington inescapably linked to Springfield Race Riot
The Springfield Race Riot of August 14-15, 1908, when thousands of white residents rampaged thr...

Article

klansman on a hooded horse

Notorious silent movie drew local protests
The 1915 silent film “The Birth of a Nation” is acclaimed today as one of the greatest achievem...

Article

Biographies

4 items

Alverta Duff

Duff, Alverta
 Alverta Duff was the oldest child of Peter Charles and Fannie E. (Walker) Duff. She was born o...

Biography

Murray, Ethel
Much of what we know today about Murray comes from oral history which can sometimes contradict ...

Biography

Rice, Martha Baker
Martha H. Baker (Rice) was born in Richmond, Kentucky on September 4, 1817.  Her parent’s names...

Biography

Sarah Withers

Withers, Sarah
Sarah Rice Withers was born to John M. Rice and Patsy (Polly) Johnson Rice in Jessamine County,...

Biography

Blog

2 items

McHistory: Segregation in Bloomington-Normal
Listen to the audio on WGLT's website hereMcHistory goes back in time to explore big momen...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 116: We Shall Overcome, October 1965
On Sunday, October 24, 1965, demonstrators from Illinois State University marched along Main St...

Blog Post

Research

1 item

Post Amerikan
Held by the MCMH and digitized by Eastern Illinois University. The Post Amerikan began publicat...

Article

Speakers Bureau

1 item

The Unconquerable: Kickapoo of Central Illinois

Speakers Bureau