Black History Month: Insights From Indiana University Bloomington Faculty.

Byline: Indiana University

BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Jan. 30 (AScribe Newswire) -- Indiana University faculty are available to comment on the following topics related to Black History Month:

THE GOLD AND GLORY: African-American Auto Racing

Before Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis and Jessie Owens, there was Charlie Wiggins, arguably the greatest auto racer of his era regardless of race. Known at that time as the Negro Speed King, Wiggins is the subject of a new Indiana University Press book, "For Gold and Glory: Charlie Wiggins and the African-American Racing Car Circuit," and an upcoming PBS program of the same name. Author Todd Gould traces the little-known history of the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes, the highly celebrated auto racing event for African Americans in the 1920s and 1930s, when the Ku Klux Klan cast a shadow over the social and political landscape and sporting events were segregated. Held on the one-mile dirt oval at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes featured the nation's top African American drivers and mechanics and boasted one of the largest purses in all of auto racing. "The men of the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes won much more than trophies and prize money. They garnered resp! ect and achieved an initial victory in the fight for civil rights," said Gould, an IU alumnus and winner of 10 Emmy Awards as a documentary filmmaker. David Baker, chair of the Jazz Studies Department at the IU School of Music, composed and performed the program's musical score. Gould can be reached at (000)-000-0000 or tmngould@aol.com. For a copy of the book, contact Marilyn Breiter of IU Press at (000)-000-0000 or mbreiter@indiana.edu.

AFRICAN-AMERICANS & RELIGION

African-American religious institutions are in a precarious position today, according to Quinton Dixie, an assistant professor of religious studies at IUB who specializes in African American religious history. They no longer are the single most important social organization in the black community, which reflects the political and economic growth of African Americans in general, Dixie said. But as the gap between haves and have nots widens, churches have seen their burden as social service providers increase to the …