By: Arielle Pare, Bicentennial Intern, Class of 2021, International Studies, French, Bloomington
Edited by: Ellie Kaverman and Bre Anne Briskey, Bicentennial Graduate Assistants
“When we open ourselves to face and deal with the realities of life, no matter how distasteful, we disarm our… oppressors.”—Goldie Ivory
Goldie Ivory, an adjunct faculty member in Indiana University South Bend’s sociology department during the early 1960s, broke the mold for leadership in northern Indiana and made strides in the male dominated field of criminal justice.
Early Life and Education
Goldie Lee Ivory was born on April 19, 1926.[1] Although she was born in Chicago, Ivory was raised in South Bend. After her 1944 graduation from South Bend Central High School, she continued her education at Indiana University in Bloomington, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in social service in 1949.[2] While Ivory was at IU, she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta and served as vice president of the sorority during her junior year.[3]
Throughout her life, Ivory returned to higher education as both a student and a professor. She enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in 1953 to pursue her masters in sociology, while she worked full time and raised her young twin sons with her husband.[4] When Ivory graduated in 1956, she became the first Black woman to earn a graduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.[5]
Despite Ivory’s assertion that her degree from Notre Dame was “the last one, believe me,” she returned to higher education as a student yet again in the mid-1970s, this time at IUPUI. . Ivory graduated with her masters of social work in 1977.
The Ivory “Korner:” Her Early Career
After graduation from IU, Ivory returned to South Bend to work at the Joseph County Juvenile Probation Department, where she worked first as a case worker and then as an intake supervisor. During her time there, Ivory became one of the first two Black individuals to work in there.[6] She continued to work in the probation department throughout her three years as a Notre Dame graduate student.
In 1959, three years after attaining her master’s degree in sociology, she became the chief probation officer at the South Bend City Court, where she was one of the first Black officers to serve in this position.[7]
Ivory also wrote an editorial column called “The Ivory Korner” in the Indianapolis Recorder during 1959, where she often wrote about the injustices of the juvenile justice system.[8]
In one column, she wrote about the need for adults to model positive behavior: “To teach by living the exemplary life is more meaningful to a child than ‘taking righteousness.’ Parents, ministers, teachers, and adults in general must forever be conscious of their conduct, for unnoticed there is a child imitating their particular behavior.”[9]
In 1960, Ivory began work as a psychiatric social worker at the Beatty Memorial Hospital, a state-run mental health facility.[10] In 1968, Ivory was named to the state board of parole for the Indiana Women’s Prison.[11] She was the first Black women to serve in this position.[12]
Educator at Multiple Universities
In 1960, Ivory began teaching at IUSB as an adjunct sociology professor. At the time, the campus, then called the South Bend-Mishawaka IU Center, was experiencing crucial changes that would enable its future success.
IUSB started documenting its history more reliably in the 1970s; the university possesses few records before this time.[13] For this reason, Ivory’s time at IUSB is not well documented. Nonetheless, she earned a reputation as an excellent teacher and a valuable asset to higher academic institutions.[14] It is likely that Ivory was the first Black woman on the IUSB faculty.
Ivory taught numerous classes in the sociology department, including “principles in sociology,” “social problems,” “criminology,” and “society and the individual.”[15] Numerous sources state that she was affiliated with Indiana University from 1960-1967, but the IUSB archives show conflicting gaps in Ivory’s employment with the institution during these years.[16]
However, her teaching was not limited to IUSB. In the mid to late 1960s, she also taught sociology and social work at Saint Mary’s College.[17] Starting in 1971, Ivory began teaching at Goshen College as an assistant professor of social work, where she continued teaching and rising through the ranks throughout the 1970s and 1980s.[18] She was later named professor emeritus of social work at Goshen in 1993.[19]
Although Ivory did not work full-time as a professor, it is important to acknowledge her role in paving the way for future women of color in higher education at IUSB and around northern Indiana.[20] Her presence in the classroom served as a reminder to young female students of color that they to could achieve their dreams.
Ivory began another job in 1962, this time in a different part of the education system: as a social worker in the Elkhart Community Schools (ECS). She was promoted to supervisor in 1966, and then promoted to director of human relations in the school system in 1970.[21] She was the first Black woman to hold an administrative position in the Elkhart Community Schools.[22]
Throughout the years and during her various other jobs, including starting her own private practice called Ivory CaringCorner, Ivory continued to work at Elkhart Community Schools until her retirement in 1987.[23]
“Enough is enough about bigotry:” Community Work and Activism in South Bend
Ivory was deeply concerned with enriching life in northern Indiana, especially for women of color. From a 1968 “Black is Beautiful” talk at a local church to 1994 speech at a YWCA on the historical contributions of Black women, Ivory was an outspoken educator and advocate.[24]
Reflecting on her many roles throughout northern Indiana from the 1960s to the 1990s, Ivory said she had lost out on jobs in male-dominated fields because of her gender. She also spoke about experiencing tokenism: “A few times I was given a job and promoted because I was Black and educated. I was used as a guinea pig.”[25]
Later in her life, Ivory said she did have students in her classes that “questioned her ability to teach because of the color of her skin.” [26]
However, Ivory chose to take a positive approach to achieving social change. She believed that effective social change began with recognizing others’ achievements and contributions, especially those of Black women. “Enough is enough about bigotry,” she stated in a reflection during Black History Month in 1994.[27]
Ivory also advocated for conflict resolution in society through peaceful means, especially through her activity with the Mennonite Church. During her address at the 1978 Peacemaking Seminar for Black young adults in Chicago, Ivory stated, “In the face of that cancerous disease, racism, I maintain that peace is the answer.” She continued, “While a peace theology is the boldest, most difficult to live, it is the only one that will allow us to affirm one another. It is the only one that affirms our personhood and lauds our individual uniqueness.”[28]
Ivory died on December 17, 2010.
Ivory has been recognized for her contributions to northern Indiana. Her remarkable life was celebrated by Michiana Women in 2015, when they shared Ivory’s life story as part of South Bend’s sesquicentennial celebration.[29] That same year, the University of Notre Dame recognized Ivory by adding a plaque with her name to its Wall of Honor in the Main Building.[30]
Bibliography
- “2015 Celebrating Michiana Women Leaders and SB150.” Michiana Women Leaders, https://michianawomenleaders.org/celebrations/2015-celebrating-michiana-women-leaders/.
- “A Very Brief History of Indiana University South Bend.” IU South Bend Libraries, d. https://library.iusb.edu/search-find/archives/finding-aids/iusb-history.html.
- Beal, Mary Pat. “Creativity Knows No Limit.” South Bend Tribune, October 18, 1993, p. 3.
- “Black Women in the Middle West Project Records, 1932-1986.” Indiana Historical Society Manuscripts and Archives, collection number M0530, box 14, number 20.
- Breckenridge, Lejene. “Black Women’s Contributions Noted.” South Bend Tribune, February 2, 1994, p. 6.
- Bulletins and Class Schedules, Archives of Institutional Memory, Indiana University South Bend.
- “Crime Faculty.” Munster Times, January 29, 1959, p. C9.
- “Goldie Ivory (1926-2010).” Michiana Women Leaders, d. https://michianawomenleaders.org/goldie-ivory/.
- “Goldie Ivory Appointed to Parole Unit.” South Bend Tribune, August 16, 1968, p. 6.
- Goldie Ivory: Human Resources Collection, Saint Mary’s College Archive.
- “Goldie Lee Ivory.” Prabook, d. https://prabook.com/web/goldie_lee.ivory/596145?profileId=596145.
- Ivory, Goldie. “Peacemaking in a Violent Society (Peace Be Still).” Peacemaking in a Violent Society, addresses presented at the Peacemaking Seminar, March 31-April 2, 1978, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 5-8. Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen College.
- Johnson, Mary Lee. “Ivory: ND Grad Hailed as Pioneer.” South Bend Tribune, December 23, 2010, p. A5.
- “Notre Dame Adds to Wall of Honor on Founder’s Day.” Notre Dame, October 13, 2015. https://news.nd.edu/news/notre-dame-adds-to-wall-of-honor-on-founders-day/.
- Pellow, Gaeny R. “Parent Power Only Gets Lip Service in South Bend Schools.” South Bend Tribune, July 15, 1981, p. 9.
- Wycliff, Don. Black Domers: African-American Students at Notre Dame in Their Own Words. August 2017.
- Obama, Michelle. (2009, March). State Department Women of Courage Awards. State Department Women of Courage Awards. Washington, DC.
- Ivory, Goldie “Peacemaking in a Violent Society (Peace Be Still).” Peacemaking in a Violent Society, addresses presented at the Peacemaking Seminar, March 31-April 2, 1978, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 5-8. Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen College.
- Beatty Memorial Hospital Facility History. Indiana Department of Corrections. https://www.in.gov/idoc/3240.htm
- Ivory, Goldie “Have We Really Tried?” Indianapolis Recorder, May 2, 1959. Ivory, Goldie. Indianapolis Recorder, 11 July 1959, page 10
Notes
[1] 1930 United States Census, found on Ancestry Library.
[2] IU Directory
[3] “Goldie Ivory (1926-2010).”
[4] Black Domers: African-American Students at Notre Dame in Their Own Words.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Black Domers: African-American Students at Notre Dame in Their Own Words.
[7] Johnson, 2010.
[8] Ivory, May 2, 1959
[9] Ivory, 11 July 1959.
[10] Beatty Memorial Hospital Facility History.
[11] “Goldie Ivory (1926-2010).”
[12] Ibid.
[13] Information from the Indiana University South Bend Collections and Archives.
[14] Goldie Ivory: Human Resources Collection, Saint Mary’s College Archive.
[15] Bulletins and Class Schedules
[16] “Goldie Lee Ivory.” Prabook; “Notre Dame Adds to Wall of Honor on Founder’s Day
[17] Goldie Lee Ivory.” Prabook,
[18] Ibid
[19] Ibid
[20] Information from the Indiana University South Bend Collections and Archives.
[21] Goldie Lee Ivory.” Prabook,
[22]“Goldie Ivory (1926-2010).”
[23] Goldie Lee Ivory.” Prabook,
[24] “Goldie Ivory Appointed to Parole Unit.”; Breckenridge, 1994
[25] Johnson, 2010,.
[26] Breckenridge,1994
[27] Ibid.
[28] Goldie Ivory, “Peacemaking in a Violent Society (Peace Be Still).”
[29] “Goldie Ivory (1926-2010).”
[30] Notre Dame Adds to Wall of Honor on Founder’s Day.”