Events

Thornbrough Lecture Series

The Thornbrough Lecture Series is an annual series on African American history, sponsored by the Indiana Association of Historians, which takes place every fall.  The lectures honor the lives and careers of sisters Gayle and Emma Lou Thornbrough. Gayle (1914-1999) made a lasting contribution to Indiana history as librarian, editor, and administrator. Emma Lou (1913-1994) was a professor, researcher, and author who left a profound mark on Indiana history.

The 2024 Thornbrough Lecture will be held on Tuesday October 1 at 6:00 p.m. at the Indiana Historical Society in downtown Indianapolis. This year’s distinguished lecturer, Dr. Crystal Moten, will present “Continually Working: Black Women’s Struggles for Economic Justice in the Midwest.” Moten, a public historian, curator and writer, focuses on the intersection of race, class and gender to uncover the hidden histories of Black people in the Midwest. She currently serves as the inaugural Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Obama Presidential Center Museum in Chicago, IL. In this position, she plays a key role in the collaborative effort to complete the design and implementation of the inaugural exhibits while also serving as the primary steward and subject matter expert of the Obama Foundation Museum Collection. Dr. Moten supervises and manages the curatorial team and its activities.

Prior to joining the Obama Foundation, Dr. Moten served as Curator of African American History in the Division of Work and Industry at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, DC. In this capacity she stewarded collections as they related to the history of African Americans in business and labor; collaborated on several exhibitions; wrote for the museum’s blog; and helped start, produce, and host Collected, a Smithsonian Podcast on African American History. She also reviewed and appeared on documentaries for the Smithsonian Channel including, She the People: Votes for Women.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, her research has appeared in books, journals, documentaries, and other media. Dr. Moten has taught at colleges and universities across the country including the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Dickinson College; Macalester College; and American University. Her book Continually Working: Black Women, Community Intellectualism and Economic Justice in Postwar Milwaukee (Vanderbilt University Press, 2023) was recently awarded an Honorable Mention for the Sara Whaley book prize on the topic women and labor by the National Women’s Studies Association.

Headshot credit: Maurice L. Bland

Past Thornbrough Lectures:

2023: Dr. Kate Masur, Northwestern University,“We Ask Only for Evenhanded Justice: Fighting the Black Laws in the Antebellum Midwest”

2022: Dr. Charlene Fletcher, Conner Prairie, “For Whose Protection?: Black Women and Confinement in the late-19th Century”

2021: Dr. Terrion Williamson, University of Minnesota, “We Live with Death and It Is Ours: Black Women, Serial Murder, and Reckoning with Home”

2020: Dr. Laura Merrifield Wilson, University of Indianapolis, “The True Political Pioneer: Harriette Baily Conn”