Research Guides: Posey County Historic Marker: Commemoration Efforts

October 21, 2023 Public Lectures and Commemoration Ceremony

On Saturday October 21, organizers, community members, and descendants gathered to hear a series of talks at the Alexandrian Library in Mount Vernon and at the courthouse for a candlelight service commemoration.

Images courtesy of Daniel Knight - Studio B; Kristalyn Shefveland; Sophie Kloppenburg

October 21, 2023 Commemoration Ceremony

Dr. Laurel Standiford Reyes, a professor of psychology at the University of Southern Indiana and lynching memorial organizer, speaks about the impact that lynching and racism has had on Black people throughout the country

Dr. Mark Auslander, a professor of anthropology at Mount Holyoke, discusses working with descendant communities

Dr. Cacee Hoyer Mabis, professor of history at the University of Southern Indiana, discusses the role of education in memorialization efforts

Sophie Kloppenburg, event organizer and memorial founder, looks out toward the crowd before the commemoration ceremony begins

Ray Kessler, the president of the Mount Vernon Historical Society, gives an introductry and contextual speech about the racial climate in 1870s Southern Indiana at the first corner

Seth Rainey, a local state police sergeant and coach, recites a book excerpt written by Andre Le Mont Wilson between the 1st and 2nd corner. Andre is a writer and descendent of Daniel Harris(on) Sr., John Harris(on), and Daniel Harris(on) Junior

David Bonds, a descendant from Jim Good, speaks at the 2nd corner about the atrocity

Lynette Troutman, a student and descendant of Jim Good, recites the poem, “New Day’s Lyric” by Amanda Gorman

Kerry Tyus, a local highschool student and athlete, recites a piece of spoken word that was written by Aaron Bonds who is the director of Actor Interpretation and Theater of the Indianapolis Children’s Museum and a descendent of Jim Good

Regina Bonds and Stevie Bonds give a speech at the 4th corner written by Diana Daniels, about how their families have prospered despite the lynching’s generational trauma. Diana is the Executive Director of the Indiana Council of Educating Students of Col

Local pastor Bryan Thompson gives a prayer asking attendees to keep the seven men and other victims of racial injustice in their prayers

A woman somberly listens to one of the speakers

Sophie Kloppenburg gives closing remarks for the ceremony

Spring 2025 Commemoration

On February 19, 2025, the CLA hosted the Berger Lecture which included a documentary about a landmark 1980 court case in Chattanooga that used the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act to bankrupt the Klan across the country. Following the film, participants were invited to the MAC/Pace Gallery to bear witness to an important regional exhibit, Unmasked: The Anti-Lynching Exhibits of 1935 and Community Remembrance in Indiana. This exhibit unites two anti-lynching art exhibitions from 1935—one organized by the NAACP and the other by the Communist Party—showcasing how art has long been a tool for protest and remembrance.

This project was developed and curated by Alex Lichenstein and Phoebe Wolfskill, colleagues at Indiana University, and Rasul Mowatt at North Carolina State University. Through shared research commonalities, the installation’s display was brought to USI by Kristalyn Shefveland, Professor of History and Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

USI Shield Article "Unmasked: A glimpse into a local history we aren’t always taught"