Stargazing

This music video is a culmination of research exploring the life of Elizabeth Breckenridge (1843-1910) who lived and worked as a paid domestic service for in the home of Indiana University's first president for over 50 years.

Dr. Maria Hamilton Abegunde and Dr. Raymond Wise worked with Indiana University librarian and Wylie House Museum Director Carey Champion, doctoral student Jeffrey Giddings, and students from the African American Arts Institute (AAAI) to research and explore Breckenridge's life through original poetry, prose, and musical performance.

Rather than fabricating Lizzie's life or filling in the missing pieces of an archive, this project will use the arts to create an opening of possibilities to locate Lizzie's story within a larger narrative at Wylie House, in Bloomington, and in Indiana.