The Banneker Community Center 

HISTORY

The Banneker Center of Bloomington is a great place to go after school. It’s one of the most inclusive after school programs there is! But it wasn’t always a fun place you could walk to after school. 

The Bloomington Banneker Center was built in 1915 to be a segregated school. Until 1915 African American students went to a “Colored School” which is now the Monroe County History Center. Segregation means that children of color were sent to different schools than white children. The first principal named the school after Benjamin Banneker, who was a freed slave and successful mathematician and scientist. People who went to this school were actually mostly children of Shower Bros. Furniture Factory employees because Shower Bros. was one of the only businesses that hired people of color.

 In the 50s, when segregation ended, despite protests from white people, they integrated schools. But the old building just wasn’t big enough, so they made a new school: Fairview. But what to do with the old building? Sure enough the building was purchased. The City of Bloomington  purchased it for a total sum of one dollar (many would consider this… a bold business endeavor). Anyways, the building was turned into the Westside Community Center. The Westside Community Center had a big gymnasium where most people played their youth basketball.  

In a few years though, 1994 to be exact, in honor of its black history, the Westside Community Center was renamed to the Benjamin Banneker Center after the famous black inventor, Benjamin Banneker. In the years to come, the Banneker Center would become one of the most famous places in the city of Bloomington. 

ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY

Nowadays, as we mentioned before, the Banneker Center is a fun place to go after school and it has lots of fun activities. These activities include things such as reading events, summer camps, and after-school enrichment for kids. They also offer cooking classes, a free library, and a food pantry. Part of their mission is to provide the youth of Bloomington with a safe space to participate in the community. All of these events and programs are possible because of the funding provided by the city of Bloomington's Parks and Recreation department. All in all, the Banneker Center provides support for youths and is a vital piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is the City of Bloomington.