Building Beloved Community Committee Makes Donation to the Johnson County Museum

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Village Church, the Building Beloved Community Committee has donated $5,000 to the Johnson County Museum at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center to support the creation of a permanent “Redlined: Cities, Suburbs and Segregation” exhibit that will be accessible through the center’s website.

The donation also honors the church’s founding pastor, Rev. Dr. Bob Meneilly. A permanent exhibit at the center recognizes Dr. Bob’s efforts to welcome Black persons into the church and surrounding community.

The Building Beloved Community Committee focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, identity, age and ability.

The center’s original in-person exhibit was viewed by thousands of visitors in 2022, many of whom requested that the exhibit be made a permanent fixture. (The committee sponsored a guided tour of the exhibit in October 2022.) The center is now converting the in-person exhibit to a website.

Redlining refers to the systematic favoring of some populations in favor of others, usually based on race. Through images, original objects and documents, the Arts and Heritage Center presents the foundations of redlining in Johnson County, ways the private practice became federal policy during the Great Depression, and its expansion during postwar suburbanization. The exhibit also examines attempts to dismantle the system during the Civil Rights era and how the legacies of redlining continue today.

The Building Beloved Community Committee, a standing Session committee, meets on the first Sunday of the month at the Mission Campus and is always open to new members. Contact Rev. Chad Herring for more information.