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Sangamon Experience

Sangamon Experience - Grand Opening Of New Exhibit: Soil & Soul

The Sangamon Experience at the University of Illinois Springfield invites you to attend the grand opening of its new exhibit, Soil & Soul: Farming in the Sangamon River valley, which includes a documentary film that tells the stories of 10 individuals who have spent their lives farming throughout the Sangamon River valley, an area that encompasses approximately 1,500 square in central Illinois.

Soil & Soul is presented by United Community Bank, with additional funding from the Melvin Wing Charitable Trust and the Dan and Carolyn Dungan Family Fund. 

New “Soil & Soul” exhibit and film explore the history of farming in Sangamon County

A famers hands on the steering wheel of a combine looking out a window.

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Experience will open a new exhibit and premiere a documentary film titled “Soil & Soul: Farming in the Sangamon River Valley.” The documentary tells the stories of 10 individuals who have spent their lives farming throughout the Sangamon River Valley, an area encompassing approximately 1,500 square miles in central Illinois.

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UIS’ Sangamon Experience explores central Illinois journalism and social justice in the 1980s

Women holding signs that say "ERA" march through the streets of Springfield in 1982 as part of an Equal Rights Amendment rally.

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Experience will host a panel discussion titled “Echoes of Change: Central Illinois Journalism and Social Justice in the 1980s.” Co-sponsored by NPR Illinois, the event will explore the impact of local journalism during this transformative era.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 24

WHERE: UIS Student Union Ballroom, 2251 Richard Wright Drive, Springfield

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Understanding Inequality: Redlining is only part of the story

Redlining, some scholars contend, has become a “narrative crutch” that obscures a much longer history of housing discrimination. Redlining didn’t create systemic racism in American housing patterns, it sanctioned it. Vulnerable communities still feel the impacts of this profitable disinvestment in vast and far-reaching ways. The perpetuation of racist residential patterns far exceeds the reach of government actors. Public and private actors are, in many ways, equally responsible for the spaces we do and do not inhabit to this day. This session will center a local lens and deep dive into new maps and resources added to “Mapping Inequality” and other related digital humanities projects from the University of Richmond’s Digital Scholarship Lab and New American History. Participants will have an opportunity to explore OER resources designed to help seek solutions in the modern era.

New UIS Sangamon Experience exhibit tells the history of underrepresented people in central Illinois

A black and white photo showing a large group of women attending a Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) event.

“The Struggle for Change,” a new exhibit by the University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Experience, will tell the history of underrepresented people in central Illinois when it opens on Jan. 12 on the lower level of the UIS Public Affairs Center. The exhibition will run through Sept. 6.

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Screening of, The Life and Work of Vachel Lindsay

You are invited to attend the screening of The Life and Work of Vachel Lindsay, hosted by Sangamon Experience, on Friday, April 14 at the Brookens Auditorium at the University of Illinois Springfield from 6 pm. A panel discussion will follow. The documentary was directed and produced by The Storyteller Studios and commissioned by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and State Historic Sites Springfield.

Memories of State Government: Springfield’s Doc Helm and his Photo Collection 1941 – 1992

The Sangamon Experience at the University of Illinois Springfield and the UIS Diversity Center will host a presentation entitled "Memories of State Government: Springfield’s Doc Helm and his Photo Collection 1941 – 1992" by Illinois State Archives Director Dr. David Joens and Archival Program Administrator Cathy Popovitch.
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