Social Justice Walking Tour
- Walking Tour
- 14 Stops
Explore how 19th and 20th century Bloomington dealt with immigration, labor rights, gender equity, and racial justice.
Begin this tour at the east side of the McLean County Museum of History, 200 N. Main St. in Bloomington. The first two stops are at this location, before heading north to the corner of Jefferson and Main St. We recommend visiting these sites during the day. Always be aware of your surroundings and respectful of the sites you are visiting.
This tour is a collaborative effort of Not in Our Town, a local human rights organization, and the McLean County Museum of History.
Tour originators were Museum Executive Director Emeritus Greg Koos and Museum Board Member Mike Matejka, with Museum Librarian Bill Kemp also joining the effort. Museum of History staff and many community members aided in this research.
Financial Support:
This project was financially supported by the Illinois Humanities Council and an Illinois Department of Human Services Healing Illinois Grant.
Illinois Humanities is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Illinois General Assembly [through the Illinois Arts Council Agency], as well as by contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed by speakers, program participants, or audiences do not necessarily reflect those of the NEH, Illinois Humanities, our partnering organizations or our funders.
Website Development Team:
Not In Our Town: Mike Matejka, interns Aaron Sanders, Yvin Shin and Aditi Sharma
McLean County Museum of History: Julie Emig, Susan Hartzold, Hannah Johnson, Bill Kemp, Torii Moré, George Perkins, Candace Summers, and Jeff Woodard
Proofreading provided by Ruth Cobb, Loretta Santejka, Hannah Johnson, Torii Moré, and Julie Emig
Land Acknowledgment Statement:
We want to acknowledge that the land we call McLean County is the ancestral land of many Native groups, beginning with the Paleoindians 12,000 years ago and most recently Algonquin-speaking groups, including the Kickapoo, who were forced west from this area in the 1830s. Other groups in this area include (but are not limited to) Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascouten, Odawa, Sauk, Mesquaki, Lenape, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw Nations. These lands were the traditional territory of these Native Nations before their forced removal, and these lands continue to carry the stories of these Nations and their struggles for survival and identity.
This statement was drafted in collaboration with the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas, and Nichole Boyd, former Director of the Native American House at UIUC.