The History Museum picks Dé Bryant for 2024 African American Legacy Award

Tribune Staff Report
·2 min read
Indiana University South Bend psychology professor Dé Bryant will receive The History Museum’s 2024 African American Legacy Award at the museum's Juneteenth Luncheon on June 11 in the museum’s Historic Oliver Gardens at the Copshaholm mansion in South Bend.
Indiana University South Bend psychology professor Dé Bryant will receive The History Museum’s 2024 African American Legacy Award at the museum's Juneteenth Luncheon on June 11 in the museum’s Historic Oliver Gardens at the Copshaholm mansion in South Bend.

SOUTH BEND — A psychology professor at Indiana University South Bend has been named the recipient of The History Museum’s 2024 African American Legacy Award.

Dé Bryant will receive the award at the museum’s Juneteenth Luncheon, taking place in the museum’s Historic Oliver Gardens from noon to 1:30 p.m. June 11.

Known as “Rasheeda” (wise woman) by members of her healing circle, Bryant is a community psychologist and leader of social justice initiatives, with more than 30 years of bringing together individuals with diverse mindsets to facilitate equity and empowerment.

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She is the founder and director of the Social Action Project (SOCACT), which is dedicated to understanding the deep roots of how justice is betrayed by society and using the healing power of the arts to restore balance.

At IUSB, Bryant has taught courses in social justice, trauma-informed psychology and interfaith activism.

She has pioneered ways to extend teaching beyond textbooks and into communities, earning Indiana University’s highest teaching award (The FACET) and the highest award for linking teaching-research-community building (The Lundquist Award).

In 2023, Bryant was invited to the Cumbre por la Paz (Peace Summit) in Mexico City, along with other members, as a co-founder of Black Lives Matter-South Bend.

Her current work includes the Ubuntu Spirit project using storytelling to overcome trauma, an initiative of the Social Action Project.

She is part of the nascent Grupo de Trabajo Afrodescendients, a working group on mental health awareness and alternative medicines among Afro-Latin peoples.

The African American Legacy Award is presented annually by The History Museum to celebrate the contributions of members of the African American community in the St. Joseph River Valley, to honor the legacies and achievements of past generations, to shine a light on those in the present, and to influence efforts that will impact the future.

Reservations for the luncheon are required. Tickets are $65.

For more information, call 574-235-9664 or visit historymuseumsb.org.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend's History Museum names 2024 African American Legacy Award