{"id":2441,"date":"2025-05-23T18:25:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T22:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/teachers-college\/?p=2441"},"modified":"2025-05-23T18:25:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T22:25:50","slug":"library-of-congress-grant-civic-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bsu.edu\/teachers-college\/2025\/05\/23\/library-of-congress-grant-civic-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Ball State Receives Library of Congress Grant to Boost Civic Engagement through Legacy of Kennedy and King"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ball State University\u2019s Center for Economic and Civic Learning (CECL) has received a major grant from the Library of Congress. Through the Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) program, CECL will launch a national project titled With Compassion Toward One Another: Preparing for the Challenge of Civic Unity for America250 Through the Legacy of Kennedy and King, April 4th, 1968.<\/p>\n

\"\"

David Roof, Associate Professor of Educational Studies<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr. David J. Roof, Associate Professor of Educational Studies and CECL Director, will lead the project. It focuses on teaching civic courage, intellectual humility, and public service by exploring the intertwined legacies of Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The program highlights Kennedy\u2019s powerful eulogy delivered in Indianapolis just hours after King\u2019s assassination\u2014and just after Kennedy spoke at Ball State.<\/p>\n

CECL is partnering with the Indiana Historical Society and Ball State Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections to bring this project to life.<\/p>\n

Learning from a Legacy of Compassion<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cThis project brings together some of the most powerful lessons in American history,\u201d said Dr. Roof. \u201cApril 4, 1968, shows us what civic leadership, empathy, and courage look like. We want educators to help students engage with that legacy and apply it to today\u2019s world.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Timed to support the upcoming America250 celebration, the program encourages civic dialogue, service-learning, and historical reflection. It features primary sources from the Library of Congress, including civil rights-era photos, trial records, King\u2019s Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Kennedy\u2019s recorded speeches.<\/p>\n

April 4, 1968: A Moment That Mattered<\/span><\/h3>\n

That afternoon, Kennedy spoke to over 10,000 people at Ball State. Hours later, while heading to Indianapolis, he learned of Dr. King\u2019s death. Against advice to cancel, Kennedy chose to address a crowd in a majority-Black neighborhood in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

Standing on a flatbed truck, he delivered the news and called for peace, not anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we need in the United States is not division… not hatred… not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He quoted Aeschylus, speaking of the \u201cawful grace of God.\u201d While riots broke out in more than 100 U.S. cities that night, Indianapolis remained calm. Many credit Kennedy\u2019s words and presence for keeping the peace. That speech, preserved in Ball State\u2019s archives and the Library of Congress National Recording Registry, anchors this project\u2019s message.<\/p>\n

Three Phases of Action<\/span><\/h3>\n

The project will roll out in three stages:<\/p>\n