Dawn Mosley Blackman, a Chicago native, moved to Champaign in April 1993. As a military wife she lived in Europe and the Middle East, where she apprenticed with native craft people, which led led to Motherlands Multicultural Resource Center and Motherlands Culture Club, located at Church Street Square in 1995. In Spring 1999 Motherlands Culture Club was adopted as a ministry by the Church of the Brethren. Some of the programs that have grown out of this partnership include: Kwanzaa Karamu Celebration; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peace Banner Workshop; Community Craft Closet; Back to School/ Schoolsʹ Out Cook Outs; Childrenʹs Volunteer Network; Community Pot Lucks; Randolph Street Community Garden; Community Internet Access Point; Emergency Food Pantry; Dorcas Ministry ‐ Clothing Assistance. Her community group associations include: Champaign Downtown Association; A Womanʹs Center; SisterNet; Champaign Public Library ‐ Fredrick Douglas Sculpture Committee. She is a recipient of a McKinley YWCA award for community service and The Madam C.J. Walker award for women in business, Champaign chapter of the National Council of African American Men. She is the mother of a grown daughter, Dawn Jr.
Dawn was featured in Difference Makers 2010: An eBlack Champaign-Urbana Publication.