Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2019

T H E N A N D N OW F R O M T H E A R C H I V E S COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS IN FALL 1946, Southwestern University music instructor (later associate professor) Iola Bowden Chambers and her students began teaching piano lessons to the African-American community—20 years before the integration of the local school district. Collaborating with the Georgetown school board, the First United Methodist Church of Georgetown, and the SUChristianStudent Association, Chambers and her students founded the Negro Fine Arts School, which provided students with the opportunity to study music until its closure in 1966. Today, under the auspices of the Center for Integrative Learning, SU students continue connecting with the Georgetown community through various service projects, such as supporting voter initiatives and teaching and tutoring English as a second language in local public schools. 1948 2018 Photo by Lucas Adams 50 SOUTHWESTERN 2014