Historic month begins with loss

The enlistment of black soldiers in the Union army helped win the Civil War for the North. Though they accounted for only 2 percent of the population, blacks made up 13 percent of the total Union Army and suffered 10 percent of its casualties. After the war's end, President Abraham Lincoln said in a speech after the war that without the willing participation of thousands of black soldiers, the Confederacy likely would have prevailed.\nThe participation of blacks in the Civil War proves that the black community is vital to American society, IU law professor Kevin Brown told members of the Bloomington community Tuesday night. That most Americans are unaware of such achievements proves that Black History Month is still relevant in American society, he said.\n"If it had not been for black people, the government of the people, by the people and for the people would have perished from this earth," Brown said at his keynote address for the kickoff of Bloomington's commemoration of Black History Month in City Hall.\nHe said blacks have contributed in other under-broadcasted ways as well. The civil rights movement provided a base for the women's liberation movement, and the movement to reduce discrimination against the disabled. Brown said he also learned in his travels that the American civil rights movement inspired the removal of apartheid in South Africa and the fight for the rights of the "untouchables" in India.\nThe event, sponsored in part by the city of Bloomington and the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, was attended by about 100 people from across Bloomington.\nIU senior Alexis Carter's voice performances gave the audience a musical interlude between speakers. Carter, who was the only IU student in attendance, said she was disappointed with the turnout from the student body, despite an opportunity for students to attend a myriad of Black History Month events on campus.\n"I know the city has its calendar, and IU has its own calendar, and at the same time, we need to be out there supporting these things," she said.\nMayor Mark Kruzan, who opened the holiday festivities, said even Bloomington, which considers itself progressive, has a history of racial discrimination, and for that reason it is important to celebrate Black History Month.\nBefore his speech, Kruzan asked the audience to participate in a moment of silence in remembrance of Coretta Scott King, the widow of Dr. Martin Luther King, who died Tuesday. Kruzan called King a courageous woman who persevered numerous threats of violence and the eventual assassination of her husband.\nIU's Black History Month celebrations begin at 4 p.m. today with the Opening Reception in the Federal Room of the Indiana Memorial Union.\nBloomington's Commission on the Status of Black Males also announced that it will present an award this month to an outstanding black male leader in the community. Nomination forms are available on the Commission's Web site at www.bloomington.in.gov.