Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Archives

Bill Phillips created meaningful legacy as first Black councilman

No matter the circumstances, Bill Phillips was always going to work.   During World War II, he trained in a segregated unit. As the civil rights movement unfolded in the 1960s, he earned a historic seat on the […]

1969 homecoming put focus on Elkhart’s simmering race issues

The homecoming queen didn’t receive her honors, and the football crowd was subdued. Racial tensions were at a boiling point in 1969 Elkhart.