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• CIVIL RIGHTS HERITAGE CENTER INDIANA UNIVERSITY SOUTH BEND Comments for HPC (Good evening, etc.) It's hard to understate the importance of the former Engman Public Natatorium in the historic record of the city of South Bend. Between 1922 and 1936, those who were allowed to come into the building did so by passing under the word "public" carved into the concrete at the front of the building. Yet, and in spite of the fact that African Americans had always been in the city and, at this time, were moving into the city in record numbers, between 1922 and 1936 the Natatorium's caretakers—all of whom were white—denied entry to African Americans. As a city owned and operated, supposedly "public" pool, this became one of several places of activity where we, as a city, began choosing what kind of a city we want to be: Are we one that wishes to believe that word "public" is one that includes every human being? Or are we one that believes it is okay for some to selectively determine who that word "public" gets ascribed to. Leaders in the city, both white and of color, chose to work together and risk their life and livelihood to make South Bend a place where that word "public" is ascribed to all humans. Today, reborn as the home of the Indiana University South Bend Civil Rights Heritage Center, an educational institution dedicated to the study and preservation of the history of civil rights and the experiences of marginalized and oppressed peoples in the city, we have no immediate threats of the building being lost. Still, we believe that the former Natatorium's role in the history of the city is one that must be protected. Before IU South Bend came into the picture, in 1999, the city of South Bend set aside funds to study the feasibility of the Natatorium's demolition. Fortunately, we had neighbors and protectors—including some in the Historic Preservation Commission— who avoided its destruction. While I have zero expectation that that could or would ever happen again, I want to add layers of protection to help ensure that it won't. The history of the Natatorium is too pivotal, and need for its story today is too great for it to again be threatened. That is why I come here today to wholeheartedly endorse local landmark status for Engman Natatorium—a building that today we can truly say is "public." Comments for HPC Reading, last updated July 16, 2018 (Version 1,0, final) Page 1 of 1