![]() ![]() Blacks could go weeks without seeing one another on campus. ![]() The percentage of Blacks on campus was less than 1%. ![]() The administration maintained an attitude of indifference, as Blacks slowly matriculated and were likewise swiftly forgotten. The campus of Indiana University at that time did not encourage the assimilation of Blacks. However, few Blacks could remain longer than a year or so without having to withdraw in search of employment. Despite the growing hostility of Whites toward Blacks in Indiana, some Black students sought a college education at Indiana University, as it was a tuition-free university of the highest quality. This environment made day-to-day life for Blacks an arduous task and attempts to successfully achieve in school, nearly impossible. Vigilante lynchings of Blacks were commonplace. Their intolerance toward Blacks fueled the negative mindset of other Whites residing there. The state of Indiana became a stronghold for the Ku Klux Klan. Consequently, the few Blacks who took up residence in Bloomington in those early years were socially ostracized and encountered extreme acts of prejudice and discrimination. This city was largely populated by settlers from below the Mason-Dixon line and therefore found many sympathizers of the Southern cause. The state of Indiana became the 19th state of the Union in 1816 and it founded Indiana University in Bloomington four years later. Kappa Alpha PsiĀ®, a college Fraternity, was born in an environment saturated in racism. ![]()
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