Marguerite Taylor and Charlie Howell

Marguerite Taylor is a long time resident of South Bend’s north east side. She’s the daughter of Renelda Robinson, a neighborhood leader honored as the namesake of the Robinson Community Learning Center. As a girl, Renelda got to travel by playing softball for a local chapter of the The American Negro Girls Softball League. She did this when sports not only segregated women, but the few white women’s teams—like the All American Girls’ Professional Baseball League—refused to accept African American players. 

In 2003, Marguerite Taylor was joined by Charlie Howell to speak with the Civil Rights Heritage Center’s Les Lamon and David Healey. They talked about Renelda Robinson, and the incredible changes they’ve witnessed in South Bend’s near north east side. 

Full transcript of this episode available at https://go.iu.edu/3TBe

Want to learn more about South Bend’s history? View the photographs and documents that helped create it. Visit Michiana Memory at http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/. 

Title music, “History Explains Itself,” from Josh Spacek. Visit his page on the Free Music Archive, http://www.freemusicarchive.org/.