The “Bridgewaters Family Photographs” exhibit opens Friday at IU’s Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center, celebrating the famous local family and its influence on the community.\nThe African American Arts Institute, in partnership with the Mathers Museum of World Cultures and the Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration, will present photos of the family spanning over 60 years dedicated to the Bridgewaters family legacy and African-American history in Bloomington.\nThe rich history of the Bridgewaters family beings with Elizabeth Bridgewaters, a 1930 IU graduate, who is known as the “unofficial historian of Bloomington Black History,” said Rebekah E. Moore, head of the African American Arts Institute.\nElizabeth was the daughter of Preston Eagleson, IU’s second African-American graduate and the first African-American to play basketball for the University.\nHer sister-in-law, Frances Marshall, was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University.\nMarshall always said being the only African-American woman on campus never really affected her. \n“I never worried about being a woman going to school,” she said in a 1982 Indiana Daily Student article. “I never worried about being black going to school. I just went on with what I had to do. I got my lessons, did my work, and went home.”\nHer daughter, Elizabeth Ann Bridgewaters, also an IU graduate and a current IU staff member, was a major contributor to the “Bridgewaters Family Photographs” event.\nThe exhibit, which opens at 4 p.m. Friday, seeks to encourage members of the community to learn about the Bridgewaters family’s legacy.\nMore than 800 photographs were donated for the exhibit, many from Bloomington citizens and University graduates.\nThe photos portray the history and influence of the Bridgewaters family, spanning multiple generations.\nThe African American Arts Institute, which is planning the event, created the exhibit to pay tribute to the many influential African-American members of the community. The institute’s goal is to support the visual and cultural projects of African-Americans. The program itself seeks to encourage local youth to uphold the exceptional models for achievement for their community set by the Bridgewaters family.
Following the opening reception, there will be a special program for the Banneker Community Center to educate local elementary, middle and high school students. The program will include an open discussion about continued activism of higher education and involvement in the community.\nMoore said the exhibit is aimed toward the members of the community.\n“We really want to strive to get members of the community interested in their history and try to get them involved,” Moore said. “We want the people to be aware of the exciting history of Bloomington.”\n“Bridgwaters Family Photographs” will run through the month of February as part of IU’s celebration of Black History Month.
