The Indiana Historical Society (IHS) will receive a $100,000 gift from the Robin and Charlitta Winston Family Fund for African American History. This generous gift will support IHS’ ongoing work to preserve and share African-American history in Indiana through research assistance, community engagement, traveling exhibits, publications and more.
The president of the Winston/Terrell Group, Indianapolis resident Robin Winston, says it was IHS’ own history of innovation and outreach that led him to extend his support to the organization, located at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center in downtown Indianapolis.
“I was excited by IHS and its President and CEO John Herbst’s commitment to inclusion,” said Winston. “Seeing the diversity of offerings, such as the You Are There series of exhibits, told me that he was onto something and was trying to bring new voices to it.”
Indiana’s oldest organization, IHS is dedicated to connecting people to the state’s past, while engaging with its present and looking to its future. At the core of IHS’ mission is the goal to tell everyone’s story, and it works actively to fill gaps in the historic records it holds.
Current exhibits span topics such as the Battle of Gettysburg and the largely forgotten story of Italian POWs at Camp Atterbury, while LGBT and multi-cultural collecting initiatives strive to preserve and protect the heritage of all Hoosiers.
The Winston Family Fund will underwrite a number of IHS’ ongoing efforts, such as Black History News & Notes, a section in IHS’ award-winning journal “Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History.” The gift will support new traveling exhibits featuring Black history, including the display at the annual Indiana Black Expo. It also will support reference services at the William H. Smith Memorial Library, where IHS staff provide public access to vast collections including Madam C. J. Walker, The Indianapolis Recorder and material used for family history and genealogy.
“We greatly appreciate this generous support from the Robin and Charlitta Winston Family Fund for African American History,” said Herbst. “Their belief in what we do gives us the support we need to continue to do our very best work, here in Indianapolis and statewide, to tell and preserve Hoosier stories for future generations.”
For more information about IHS’ exhibits, programs and services, or to learn how to make a donation, contact IHS at 317-232-1882 or visit indianahistory.org.
