Grant-supported events include Campus and Community Clean-Up and IDEAs Challenge in the Arts
Blackburn College has received a $14,960 grant through Healing Illinois, a state-wide racial healing initiative of the Field Foundation and Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). At Blackburn, the grant supports spring 2026 programs that connect students and Carlinville residents through shared experiences, service, and conversation.
The series concludes in April with two specific programs: a Campus and Community Clean-up day, and Blackburn’s annual IDEAs Challenge in the Arts, an art show that welcomes community members to campus.
Blackburn was one of 20 Central Illinois organizations selected in December 2025 to receive Healing Illinois funding from the Field Foundation and IDHS. Since 2020, the initiative has supported local projects across the state focused on connection, dialogue, and shared understanding. This year, more than $4.3 million is being distributed to support that work.
Blackburn’s Healing Illinois funding has supported various programs in the spring semester, beginning with Blackburn’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation and a keynote address by Dr. Margaret “Margie” Lawler, who currently serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and Deputy Director of Personnel for the Illinois Secretary of State. The semester programming also included a “Lunch and Learn” on the legacy of Coretta Scott King, and a keynote address for Black History Month. The keynote address was given by linguistic anthropologist Dr. Kendra Calhoun of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and explored the connections between language, identity, and power.
The spring series will wrap up with two community-focused events in April – a day of service and an arts showcase. Blackburn will host a Campus and Community Clean-Up event, bringing students and residents together for clean-up efforts in various parts of the Carlinville community, including a small group on campus.
On campus, the Healing Illinois grant will support Blackburn’s IDEAs (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Anti-racism) Challenge in the Arts. This annual juried competition invites students to explore these themes through creative expression in visual art, storytelling, and performance, sparking reflection and conversation.
The goal of the Healing Illinois grant is to support projects that bring people together, create space for conversation, and highlight the experiences of different communities. At Blackburn, that work reflects both the campus and its surrounding community of Carlinville, a town of approximately 5,700 people. About 35 percent of Blackburn students identify as people of color, and the College enrolls students from across Illinois and beyond, including major metropolitan areas. That mix of backgrounds creates opportunities for conversation and connections across different experiences.
“What matters most is creating opportunities for people to connect in real ways,” said Logan Elliott, Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students at Blackburn. “From working side by side during the Campus & Community Clean Up to engaging with students’ creative work through the IDEAs Challenge in the Arts, these experiences help our community members on campus and in Carlinville better understand one another. This support from the Healing Illinois grant has allowed us to expand those opportunities and strengthen ties among community members.”
Blackburn’s Campus and Community Clean-Up Day will be held on Saturday, April 11, beginning in the Demuzio Campus Center parking lot at 10:00 am. The IDEAs Challenge exhibition and reception will take place on Friday, April 24, in the Renner Art Center starting at 7:00 pm. Both events are free and open to the public.