Indianapolis – The Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), with help from Indiana Black Expo’s Youth Video Institute, has developed a video that chronicles the history of civil rights in Indiana. The video, titled “Indiana’s Road to Equality” takes an in-depth look at the trials and tribulations faced by minorities and women throughout the Hoosier state.
“It’s important that this story be told,” said Jamal L. Smith, Executive Director of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission. “We must not forget the issues of segregation and widespread discrimination that plagued our state and country in the past."
From Indiana’s formation to statehood in 1816, to the creation of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission in 1961, the video takes viewers on an interactive journey of the fight for civil rights in Indiana. The video includes interviews with state legislators, community leaders as well as current and former Indiana Civil Rights Commission’s staff.
“As the state’s enforcement agency for civil rights we feel it is our responsibility to bring an end to discrimination,” added Smith. “However, as history demonstrates, to see real change it must be community-driven. Which is why it was important to get multiple perspectives included in the video.”
Click here to watch “Indiana’s Road to Equality” on YouTube.
Click here to access the "Indiana's Road to Equality" video file.
For more information, or to request your copy on DVD, call the Indiana Civil Rights Commission at (317) 232-2651 or e-mail bmeadows@icrc.in.gov.
The Indiana Civil Rights Commission enforces the Indiana civil rights laws and provides education and services to the public in an effort to ensure equal opportunity for all Hoosiers and visitors to the State of Indiana. For more information, contact Brad Meadows, ICRC Communications Manager, at (317) 232-2651.