On September 6, the Des Moines Register published a series of historic photos of the city's pools. The piece was in response to upcoming municipal budget cuts due to Iowa's new property tax laws. The impacts of the cuts are devastating: job cuts, reduced emergency services, reduced library hours, and cuts to parks and recreation. … Continue reading A History Of…
Union Baptist Church Oustings
As I researched Union Baptist Church, it was strikingly clear the role the church had for the Black community. Carter G. Woodson states prior to emancipation churches were “the only institution which the Negro, in a few places in the South and throughout the North, was permitted to maintain for his own peculiar needs.” Churches … Continue reading Union Baptist Church Oustings
Five Stages
What a century the last three months have been. Unrelenting chaos, an increasingly rapid news cycle, and new pressures in our daily lives - it's a lot to cope with. It's hard to name the feeling or the root cause of dysregulation when there is so much coming in. For me, the feeling is grief. … Continue reading Five Stages
Thank you, Black People
Today I'd like to take a moment to celebrate Black inventions that make our daily lives easier, safer, and healthier. If you've used any of these things in the past week (and I'm sure you have), you can thank Black people. Blood Banks: In 1940, Dr Charles Drew created the first large scale plasma and … Continue reading Thank you, Black People
Current Events in the 515
I had another post drafted, but it seemed a bit frivolous given current events in the Des Moines, Iowa metro. As a proud graduate of Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS), and the child of a DMPS teacher, I am shocked and heartbroken over the arrest of Superintendent Ian Roberts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), … Continue reading Current Events in the 515
Researching Black Ministers is Hard
When I started planning 2024’s Black History month content, I had aspirations of featuring a minister every Monday…because Minister Monday is catchy, right? Despite having a notebook full of names, I got really hung up on initials. Almost all Iowa’s late 19th century/early 20th century ministers went by their first and middle initials in newspaper … Continue reading Researching Black Ministers is Hard
The Black Church
The Church has always been the cornerstone of Black communities. The Church is a place where people have gathered to celebrate, grieve and support one another. The Church is where our stories are rooted and where we will find our history. In his 2021 book, The Black Church, This Is Our Story, This Is Our Song, … Continue reading The Black Church
Mapping Iowa’s Black Churches
At the beginning of December, I was invited to return to my alma mater, Grinnell College, for the Digital Liberal Arts Collaborative (DLAC) Teaching with Technology Fair. The program connects students with opportunities to apply technology within the Humanities discipline. Last fall, our board member and affiliated researcher, Sarah Purcell, was able to hire a … Continue reading Mapping Iowa’s Black Churches
Voter Suppression in 2023
Today I want to talk about modern voter suppression and the importance of staying vigilant. Shortly ahead of the 2016 presidential election a friend in St. Louis had her voter registration purged, despite having never missed an election. Until this point, it hadn’t occurred toma me that someone like me, who carries the privileges of … Continue reading Voter Suppression in 2023
Dana James
Des Moines native, Dana James, is an alumna of East High School and Grand View University and founder of Black Iowa News. Ms. James founded Black Iowa News in 2020 after noticing gaps in news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically, the severe impacts of the virus on the Black community. Having worked for the … Continue reading Dana James