IU graduate student uncovers segregation in student teaching in 1930s

In the 1930s, seven Black Indiana University education students[CJ1]  were made to finish their student teaching at Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis rather than the nearby Bloomington High School. It was a decision that some believed was an attempt by the university to uphold structural racism[CJ2]  and anti-Black racial injustices within central Indiana. Jo Otremba, a graduate student at IU and recipient of the Wilma Gibbs Moore Fellowship, hopes to tell their stories. Jo Otremba (left) and Nate Sayles (right) shortly after meeting for the first time. (Photo/ Nate Sayles) Pursuing their master’s degree in library science with a specialization in archives and records management, Otremba has always been drawn to maintaining and organizing the tidbits of human life. From photographs to journal entries, to small sentences buried within a mountain of information, these little excerpts, they explain, are what drew them to the field in the first place. “[Archiving] is what I know,” said Otremba, who is currently in their last semester at IU. With an hourly job in the graduate program, Otremba began this passion project unexpectedly. Otremba was working on a research assignment, one typically that would result in a blog post online for the school...