The newest local history exhibit at the Carnegie Museum of Montgomery County is Unequal and Undaunted: Education and Community at Lincoln School for Colored Children. It will open Saturday.
The exhibit explores the as yet untold story of education at the two Lincoln School buildings, which are now demolished. The school’s operation from 1881 until 1947 served both as a place of elementary education and as a gathering place for the Black community in Crawfordsville.
Drawing on the research in the newly published in “To Remember the Forgotten School: the Story of the Lincoln School for Colored Children” by Shannon Sullivan Hudson and Vicke Hudson Swisher, the exhibit documents the 65-year history of the school. During the school’s operation, local residents debated and disputed the school’s existence as Lincoln School staff members educated Black and Mulatto children with limited resources.
The project was underwritten by grants from the Indiana Humanities and the Eli Lilly Endowment Restoring Hope, Restoring Trust initiative. A special thank you to all of our collaborators including the authors, Bethel AME Church, Wabash College and the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County.
Unequal and Undaunted: Education and Community at Lincoln School for Colored Children will open with a public reception 2-4 p.m. Saturday. Light refreshments will be provided.
The exhibit will be on display through Dec. 31.
