Benham West Documentary
What Happened at Benham West: African American Stories of Community, Displacement and Hope
What Happened at Benham West: African American Stories of Community, Displacement and Hope is a history project that has collected elders鈥� stories of Elkhart鈥檚 predominantly African American Benham West neighborhood and documented the process of the city鈥檚 eventual clearing of the neighborhood. The project includes both an 80-minute documentary and a forthcoming book.
The documentary premiered on Friday, May 19, 2023, at the Crystal Ballroom at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart. Additional launch events for the documentary and book have been taking place in Elkhart, Goshen and South Bend, Indiana. These events are free and open to the public. Please if you would like to receive announcements about these events.
Pre-order the book
Project coordinators Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, MA, 香蕉影视 Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism coordinator, and Jamie Pitts, PhD, 香蕉影视 Professor of Anabaptist Studies and Director of the Institute of Mennonite Studies, appeared on WSBT 22’s on Feb. 24, 2025, to discuss the What Happened at Benham West documentary and the new book by the same title. Now available for pre-order from Wolfson Press, the book is scheduled for release in June 2025.
Host a documentary screening
Your church or organization can host a screening of the 80-minute documentary. The film can be a helpful introduction to the lasting economic and social impacts of White supremacy and structural racism, and you can opt to include a presentation after the film for additional context.
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For the latest information about the project and upcoming screenings, see the Benham West project’s and profiles. Follow us to see all our posts!
Leaders and participants
Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, MA, Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism coordinator at 香蕉影视, and Jamie Pitts, PhD, Professor of Anabaptist Studies and Director of the Institute of Mennonite Studies at 香蕉影视, coordinated the project, with extensive support from project assistant Patrick Obonde (MA 2020).
The elders’ narratives 鈥� which are contextualized with extensive supporting research on practices of segregation locally, in the state of Indiana and across the nation 鈥� are featured in the documentary and a forthcoming book by the same title.
Read the article announcing the launch event
Read the article reflecting on the launch event
Interviewees: Bonnie Clark 鈥� Phyllis Davis 鈥� Christine Edgerton 鈥� Arthur Fisher 鈥� Travis Jackson 鈥� Nadine Johnson 鈥� Glenda Love 鈥� Rev. Dr. Plez Lovelady 鈥� Rev. Willie Jean Mayes 鈥� Steven Millsaps 鈥� Sondra Mose-Ursery 鈥� James Otterbridge 鈥� Esther Pettis 鈥� Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson 鈥� Jean Robinson 鈥� Leroy Robinson, Jr. 鈥� Charles Walker
Interviewers: Nekeisha Alayna Alexis, Jamie Pitts and Charles Walker
Project Advisory Committee: Rev. Jon Brown, Dr. Plez Lovelady, Rev. Willie Jean Mayes, Daniella Panetta and Jason Shenk. Special thanks to: Ed Kauffman, Barbara Pitts and Brittany Purlee.
Book publisher: Wolfson Press
Photography: Oliver Pettis, Black Lion Cinematography
Documentary filmmaker: Oliver Pettis, Black Lion Cinematography
Funding: A grant from the provided funding for the history project, and a grant from in cooperation with the provided funding for the launch event. Additional funding came from a Vibrant Communities Grant from the . Thank you 鈥� we are grateful!
Events
- Additional launch events for the documentary and book are taking place in Elkhart, Goshen and South Bend, Indiana. These events are free and open to the public. Please if you would like to receive announcements about these events.
- Past: Documentary screening at 鈥�Art for a Change! A Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day鈥�: Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the Tolson Center, 1320 Benham Avenue, Elkhart, Indiana
- Past: Juneteenth Celebration documentary screenings: Monday, June 19, 2023, at the Ruthmere Museum in Elkhart (three showings)
- Past: Documentary premiere: Friday, May 19, 2023, at the Crystal Ballroom at the Lerner Theatre in Elkhart. The event opened with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a screening of the documentary at 7 p.m. | Read the article announcing the launch event | Read the article reflecting on the launch event
- Past: 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Program hosted by the 香蕉影视 Intercultural Competence and Undoing Racism Team
Background
What Happened on the Benham West grew out of 香蕉影视鈥檚 2020 MLK Day program, Repairing the Harm: A Community Conversation on the Systemic Exclusion of African Americans in Elkhart. That event featured a panel discussion on the exclusion of African Americans in the community of Elkhart, Indiana, where the seminary is located. Conversations between local African American leaders Rev. Jean Mayes and Rev. Dr. Plez Lovelady during the gathering and among participants afterwards emphasized the need to name and address both current and past harms.
In response to this need and with the passionate encouragement of elders and allies both within Elkhart and beyond, Nekeisha Alayna Alexis and Jamie Pitts coordinated a team to produce the aforementioned documentary and book. Together, the pieces explore life in the predominantly Black Benham West neighborhood 鈥� known to many as 鈥渢he village鈥� 鈥� including experiences of segregation in Elkhart; the city鈥檚 clearing of Benham West; and some of the remaining elders鈥� hopes for the future.