Marion Public Library introduces Black history exhibit

Marion Public Library partnered with the NAACP to create a Black history exhibit about lynching. 

Rebecca Scheer, the recording secretary of the NAACP, and President Whitaker attended Dr. Lichtenstein’s workshop a few years ago. 

Lichtenstein explained the horror that occurred in the state of Indiana, and specifically, the hangings that occurred here in Marion. The three of them decided to create an exhibit in Marion to remember the history and honor the victims of these tragedies. 

“Many of the old timers in Marion did not want to revisit it” Scheer said.

Scheer shared a story about a woman in Marion who had passed away in 2021 at the age of 110. 

 “This woman was out of town when this was happening, and her family called her and told her, ‘Don’t come home.’” Scheer said, “While the old timers did not want to revisit this, the younger people do, and they want to know more, they want to learn more, and they want to come to terms with it.” 

Dr. Lichtenstein came to the Marion Public Library last year and thought the room for the exhibit was perfect. 

“This exhibit means that we are remembering what has happened,” Marion resident Deleane Solomon said. “It’s not Black history it is American history, and we want to honor those who came before us and we are never going to forget the legacy they built and left us with.”

“It’s interesting to come see. There’s a lot that went on here that I didn’t know about” Minnie Cole, another Marion native said. 

The exhibit is open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-5 in the history center in Marion Public Library.