SOUTH BEND ― To understand the full picture of how important South Bend’s Black community is, highlighting the present and future are just as important as honoring the past.
Standout athletes from South Bend like Saint Joseph 1,000-point scorer Elijah King are celebrated, thanks to those who came before him like Entee Shine, a 1950 South Bend Central alumnus who was one of the first two Black Notre Dame men’s basketball players.
While 1980 LaSalle graduate Debra Walker-Augurson made history in 2011 by becoming the first Black girls basketball player from South Bend to be inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, Riley freshman Jada Outlaw is also blazing trails by leading the Wildcats’ first-ever gymnastics team.
Adams senior Jocelyn Jones is using her platform as one of the city’s best girls soccer players to ensure that African American stories are being told. Not just hers or her younger sister’s, Ariana, but also of those who have passed away, like 1996 Clay graduate Jaraan Cornell.
When Washington senior Adriana Swanson is rightfully praised for bringing home a 2025 IHSAA track & field state championship in the 100-meter hurdles, the area also remembers fellow Panther Skylar Diggins representing the Pride of the West Side in the IHSAA Class 4A girls basketball state championship game four years in a row, capturing a championship as a sophomore in 2007 and winning Indiana Miss Basketball as a senior in 2009.
While none of these four student athletes of the modern era represent the same school or play the same sport, they all have at least one thing in common: they are integral to South Bend’s strong Black community.
“We matter every single day,” Swanson said. “I love being Black. I feel like it’s my strength. I feel like it makes me who I am, and I wouldn’t choose to be anything else.”
Black history informing Black futures
According to the United States Census Bureau, South Bend’s reported population as of August 2025 is 103,713. Approximately 24.1% of that population is Black, and according to U.S. News, 59.6% of the 812-person Washington student body is Black or biracial.
For Swanson, an Indiana University track and field commit who aspires to be an attorney, living in a city where much of its foundation was and continues to be built by African Americans urged her to speak about the power of Black history. It’s also what makes her confident that she is a strong representative for the future of her hometown.
“History shouldn’t be something that is hidden; it’s something that should be taught,” Swanson said. “This community is tight knit, especially for how big it is. So, even as an 18-year-old, I have a voice.”
Highlighted by a 2025 100-meter hurdles state championship, Swanson finished her high school career as an eight-time NIC, sectional and regional champion in the 100 and 300-meter hurdles. She is unquestionably one of the most accomplished athletes in city history, regardless of era, race, gender or sport.
Swanson realizes the demographic will look completely different once she heads to college come August. Of the 46,442 students enrolled at IU-Bloomington, just 2,016 are Black, while 2,333 are biracial.
That reality doesn’t scare Swanson. A believer in the benefits of a diverse community, she looks forward to becoming friends with more people who don’t look like her while never losing her identity.
“It’s important to know where people came from, whether it affects you or not,” Swanson said. “Every group has their own issues, and they all have their own strengths. Knowing that can bring us closer together. Black people aren’t going anywhere, so I feel like knowing how they got to where they are now is greatly important, so it doesn’t repeat.”
The next Wesley or Anderson Jr.
King doesn’t make much of attending a school with 806 students of which just 10.3% are Black or biracial. He never feels like he doesn’t fit in at Saint Joseph, a credit to the naturally inclusive attitude of South Bend in 2026.
King also draws inspiration from successful Black student-athletes who came before him, like Riley’s Blake Wesley (’21) or Damezi Anderson Jr. (’18).
“I’m thankful to be Black,” King said. “… I just want a legacy that can continue down the road so the next Black person that comes in can thrive as much as I did, if not more.”
In his sophomore season, King was Saint Joseph’s second leading scorer and rebounder with 14 points and 5.1 boards per game. In the IHSAA Class 3A state title game, King led the Huskies with 16 points en route to a 56-52 victory against Indianapolis Crispus Attucks.
As a junior, King was named First Team All-NIC while helping the Huskies win the NIC championship and an IHSAA 4A sectional title. Already fielding some Division I offers, King believes he is in a good position to become one of the next great Black high school basketball players to come from South Bend.
He’s already considered a potential Indiana All-Star and Mr. Basketball candidate ahead of his senior campaign.
“Everything isn’t given,” King said. “It’s not even just a race thing, but in South Bend you have to work almost 10 times harder than people who live in those bigger cities or bigger states. So, if I do get there ― when I get there ― I’ll have a story to tell that I didn’t get it easy.
“If one of us wins, I think the whole Black community wins.”
Powerfully diverse
If one school in South Bend represented the ethnic melting pot that is the city itself, its Adams. Of its 1,987-person student body, 34.2% are Black or biracial, 32.3% are white and 31.3% are Hispanic.
Growing up in a biracial household and playing on a diverse varsity girls soccer team has made understanding the power of inclusivity second nature to Jones.
“I can say, ‘I’m proud of who I am,’ and I don’t think that separates me from people,” Jones said. “We play for the city. I think we are an accurate representation of Adams.”
In her senior season, Jones earned ISCA All-State Honorable Mention, ISCA All-District First Team and NIC All-Conference First Team honors. Jones earned the exact same recognition as a junior. While Adams fell to Penn in an IHSAA Class 3A sectional championship game in 2025, Jones helped lead the Eagles to their best record in more than a decade.
She plans to continue her soccer career collegiately at Roosevelt University, a private institution in Chicago where 1,060 of its 4,600 students are Black or biracial. These accomplishments and Jones’ experience are what she said is an extension of the Black community’s defining trait: hard work.
Jones is willing to continue making an effort to ensure young Black voices are being heard and all Black experiences ― both uplifting and discouraging ― are being recognized.
“It can be hard to understand why the fight is so persistent … but I feel like people telling their experiences and listening to them is very important,” Jones said. “I think we’re really powerful because we have a lot of outreach. I think a lot of people listen to us.”
The path to stepping up
Like Jones, Outlaw is biracial, and she admitted that she didn’t have many Black role models in her life when she was younger. She’s taking her role as the Wildcats’ leading gymnast seriously, hoping that she can be someone aspiring student-athletes can look up to, in particular her Black peers.
While Jones, King and Swanson didn’t mention much first-hand experience of racism, Outlaw was candid in saying that she has. Of the 998 students at Riley, 46.6% are Black or biracial.
“Sometimes, I try to figure out why we get treated differently,” Outlaw said. “Skin color is just skin color.”
Outlaw admitted that she often compartmentalizes the pain that comes with being the subject of racism, saying that sometimes speaking up only makes the bullying worse. As she gets older, Outlaw’s eyes of the outside world get more mature by the day.
She not only continues to learn about Black history, but also how much of the African American community still struggles in America today. It’s how she has drawn inspiration from the likes of Ruby Bridges, the first African American to attend an all-white school as part of desegregation in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, as well as Jordan Chiles, a 2024 Olympic gold medalist gymnast and current senior at UCLA.
Outlaw said both of those role models give her the confidence to use her voice for change despite being just 15 years old.
“Everyone needs to learn that no matter skin color or race, we can all still be friends and get along,” Outlaw said. “When I make friends, I don’t look at their skin color. As a young, Black athlete, I hope I can create more opportunities for other Black women and men to step up.”
NOTE: This is part four of a four-part series exploring the history of Black athletes in South Bend. The complete series ran July 20-23 online at southbendtribune.com and in the July 20, 21, 22 and 26th print editions of the newspaper.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: These 4 South Bend high school student athletes are proud to be Black
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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By Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
