Mission
We exist to center and elevate the collective Black voice and experience at Butler University.
We strive to lead the disruption and continued dismantling of systemic racism.
We will cultivate the collective Black strengths to build and maintain a more inclusive community.
Origin
The Hub for Black Affairs and Community Engagement was established in 2020 in response to the killing of George Floyd, Jr. to address systemic and institutionalized racism from the vantage point of the Black intellectual tradition. Butler University was founded in 1855 by abolitionist attorney Ovid Butler, who believed higher learning should be open to all, regardless of race, gender, or religious affiliation. The Hub honors and reflects this founding mission and exists today as an institutional command center to address systemic racism and Black oppression in keeping with Butler's broader commitment to creating an intentionally diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning and working environment.
Featured Hub for Black Affairs and Community Engagement Initiatives
Books and Breakfast
The "Books and Breakfast" initiative is a partnership between the Hub and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center that fosters community engagement and empowerment through a recurring gathering centered on shared reading, discussion, and food. Beyond cultivating intergenerational conversations, the initiative also intentionally addresses literacy challenges by offering accessible texts that resonate with participants' experiences. Donations towards this initiative will help cover the costs of providing over 100 free books to the community.
Black Intellectuals Series
This year’s intellectual series, Imagining Black Futures, looks to explore Afrofuturist and Digital Blackness as a culture, art, science, and strategy for liberation through film. Each screening is followed by a discussion led by a Hub Faculty Director with the audience. Proceeds towards this initiative will fund visiting scholars for panels and class visits connected to the series.
Hub Physical Space
Key to the healing and empowerment of Black students, faculty, and staff is to have a physical gathering space that presents as familiar, as a sanctuary, and as an entry point for community members on to the wider Butler campus. The daily encounters of being minoritized at a predominantly white institution can be debilitating if you are moving in isolation. There is a dedicated space currently in Jordan Hall complete with three offices (Faculty Director, Student Apprentices, and Project Specialist) along with a public suite space and a workroom (with refrigerator, microwave, coffee machine, and plenty of cabinet space for supplies). This space is in ongoing development and is open for both chance/informal connections and intentional open houses and social events. Donations to maintain the physical space of the Hub will help us make renovations to make the Hub more accessible and continue to provide free supplies and snacks to students, staff, and faculty.
Fortnightly Literary Book Collection
The Fortnightly Literary Collection, inspired by the Fortnightly Literary Book Club (est.1923), is a dynamic compilation of books by Black authors spanning genres and the diaspora. It promotes accessibility to Black literary works, fosters engagement with cultural and intellectual knowledge, and features themed selections each semester. It is currently housed on the first floor of Irwin Library near the front desk. Donations towards this initiative support the acquisition of new books and the development of co-curricular initiatives that highlight the current theme of that semester.
Community Partnerships:
We have several Butler and Indianapolis community partnerships to support the work we do on campus and ensure our impact extends beyond the Butler bubble.
● Center for Black Literature and Culture
● Asante Art Institute of Indianapolis
● Indianapolis Public Schools
● Efroymson Diversity Center
● MLK Center Indy
● Black Student Union at Butler University
● CircleCity Storytellers
● Spirit & Place (Indiana University Indianapolis)
