Haneefah Khaaliq collection
Collection
Identifier: L163
Scope and Contents
This collection includes correspondence and thank-you cards, papers, a portrait photograph, legal documents, newspaper and encyclopedia articles, campaign literature, a bumper sticker, and a button from Haneefah Khaaliq in Indiana, ranging from 2021 to 2022, regarding her run for United States senator for Indiana in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Dates
- 2021-2022
Creator
- Khaaliq, Haneefah, 1983- (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Literary rights, including copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their legal heirs and assigns. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts. The publisher must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical Note
Haneefah Khaaliq was born January 20, 1983, in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana, in 2001. Khaaliq then attended Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis, obtaining a bachelor's degree in education. She worked as a teacher until 2014 and volunteered with AmeriCorps to server her community. Khaaliq then attended Valparaiso University School of Law, graduating in 2017. After passing the bar, she served as director of a civil rights agency, working to broaden Indianapolis' civil rights ordinance to protect sexual orientation and gender identity and to protect senior citizens from age discrimination. Khaaliq was also an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)/Title VI coordinator and operated of a virtual social service organization providing legal and mental health assistance and information to low-income clients.
Beginning in college, Khaaliq became a political activist who traveled across the country attending demonstrations for women's rights, civil rights, climate change, raising the minimum wage, Occupy Wall Street, and against human trafficking. She wrote about her experiences and self-published a pamphlet titled, A Better Police Force, in 2017. Khaaliq received several awards for her work in education and civil rights which include the Diversity Champion Award, recognition by the Indiana Women Lawyers Association, Marquis Who's Who, and Teacher of the Year. She has also received multiple Corporation for National and Community Service Awards, the Mayor's Organization on Disabilities Award, and the distinguished Katie Hall Educational Foundation Public Service Award.
After deciding to run for U.S. Senate, Khaaliq traveled to several Indiana counties and hosted town halls in 2021. Her top three campaign focuses were improving education, reducing poverty, and expanding civil rights law along with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Indiana Election Commission ruled on Feburary 18, 2022 that Khaaliq's petition--along with Republican Danny Niederberger and Democrat Dr. Valerie McCray, who won the Democratic nomination for a Senate seat two years later--had insufficient signatures--to appear on the Democratic Party ballot in the May 3, 2022 primary election. All three candidates failed to obtain signatures from at least 500 voters from each of the nine congressional districts. Incumbent Todd Young and Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott ran unopposed for the primaries of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively.
Khaaliq discovered that the individual who filed the complaint against her and McCray was Scott Yahne, a close friend of McDermott. In response, she filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Election Commission. Both the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Khaaliq went on to run a write-in campaign for the general election, making her the first African American to run for the U.S. Senate in a general election in Indiana's history. Young won the Senate seat in November with 59.6 percent of the vote, while write-ins totaled only 0.08 percent, of which Khaaliq received 148 votes. Khaaliq then become vice president of the Indiana Consortium for State and Local Human Rights Agencies and a member of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Burgess, Rob. "Democratic Senatorial Candidate Visits Wabash." Wabash Chronicle-Tribune (IN), July 27, 2021. https://www.chronicle-tribune.com/democratic-senatorial-candidate-visits-wabash/article_57ad0dbf-22b1-5346-91f4-f2e50daf1cdc.html.
Crusader Newspaper Group. "African American Woman Seeks to Replace Todd Young." Gary Crusader (IN), December 9, 2021. https://chicagocrusader.com/african-american-woman-seeks-to-replace-todd-young.
Crusader Newspaper Group. "'Enough is Enough.'" Gary Crusader (IN), September 27, 2022. https://chicagocrusader.com/enough-is-enough.
"Haneefah Kaaliq." Ballotpedia. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Haneefah_Khaaliq.
Khaaliq, Haneefah. "Haneefah Khaaliq on her Decision to be a Write-in Candidate in the 2022 U.S. Senate Race." YouTube, September 8, 2022. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH-IvMW2iwU.
Indiana Election Commission. Meeting minutes, February 18, 2022. Indiana Secretary of State. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/IEC-Minutes-and-Transcript-2.18.2022.pdf.
Lange, Kaitlin. "Sen. Young Won't Face Primary Challengers After Commission Removes Opponent from Ballot." Indianapolis Star, February 18, 2022. Updated February 21, 2022. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/18/todd-young-thomas-mcdermott-jr-indiana-senators-primary-election-commission/6834877001.
"Meet Haneefah." Haneefah Khaaliq, Es.: Former U.S. Senate Candidate for Indiana. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.haneefahkhaaliq.org/meet_haneefah.
Smith, Casey. "McCray Wins Democrat Nomination to Challenge Banks in Race for Indiana’s U.S. Senate Seat. Indiana Capital Chronicle, May 7, 2024. https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2024/05/07/mccray-wins-democrat-nomination-to-challenge-banks-in-race-for-indianas-u-s-senate-seat/.
Wikipedia. "2022 United States Senate election in Indiana." Wikipedia.org. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_election_in_Indiana.
Beginning in college, Khaaliq became a political activist who traveled across the country attending demonstrations for women's rights, civil rights, climate change, raising the minimum wage, Occupy Wall Street, and against human trafficking. She wrote about her experiences and self-published a pamphlet titled, A Better Police Force, in 2017. Khaaliq received several awards for her work in education and civil rights which include the Diversity Champion Award, recognition by the Indiana Women Lawyers Association, Marquis Who's Who, and Teacher of the Year. She has also received multiple Corporation for National and Community Service Awards, the Mayor's Organization on Disabilities Award, and the distinguished Katie Hall Educational Foundation Public Service Award.
After deciding to run for U.S. Senate, Khaaliq traveled to several Indiana counties and hosted town halls in 2021. Her top three campaign focuses were improving education, reducing poverty, and expanding civil rights law along with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Indiana Election Commission ruled on Feburary 18, 2022 that Khaaliq's petition--along with Republican Danny Niederberger and Democrat Dr. Valerie McCray, who won the Democratic nomination for a Senate seat two years later--had insufficient signatures--to appear on the Democratic Party ballot in the May 3, 2022 primary election. All three candidates failed to obtain signatures from at least 500 voters from each of the nine congressional districts. Incumbent Todd Young and Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott ran unopposed for the primaries of the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively.
Khaaliq discovered that the individual who filed the complaint against her and McCray was Scott Yahne, a close friend of McDermott. In response, she filed a lawsuit against the Indiana Election Commission. Both the Indiana Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Khaaliq went on to run a write-in campaign for the general election, making her the first African American to run for the U.S. Senate in a general election in Indiana's history. Young won the Senate seat in November with 59.6 percent of the vote, while write-ins totaled only 0.08 percent, of which Khaaliq received 148 votes. Khaaliq then become vice president of the Indiana Consortium for State and Local Human Rights Agencies and a member of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Burgess, Rob. "Democratic Senatorial Candidate Visits Wabash." Wabash Chronicle-Tribune (IN), July 27, 2021. https://www.chronicle-tribune.com/democratic-senatorial-candidate-visits-wabash/article_57ad0dbf-22b1-5346-91f4-f2e50daf1cdc.html.
Crusader Newspaper Group. "African American Woman Seeks to Replace Todd Young." Gary Crusader (IN), December 9, 2021. https://chicagocrusader.com/african-american-woman-seeks-to-replace-todd-young.
Crusader Newspaper Group. "'Enough is Enough.'" Gary Crusader (IN), September 27, 2022. https://chicagocrusader.com/enough-is-enough.
"Haneefah Kaaliq." Ballotpedia. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://ballotpedia.org/Haneefah_Khaaliq.
Khaaliq, Haneefah. "Haneefah Khaaliq on her Decision to be a Write-in Candidate in the 2022 U.S. Senate Race." YouTube, September 8, 2022. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH-IvMW2iwU.
Indiana Election Commission. Meeting minutes, February 18, 2022. Indiana Secretary of State. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.in.gov/sos/elections/files/IEC-Minutes-and-Transcript-2.18.2022.pdf.
Lange, Kaitlin. "Sen. Young Won't Face Primary Challengers After Commission Removes Opponent from Ballot." Indianapolis Star, February 18, 2022. Updated February 21, 2022. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2022/02/18/todd-young-thomas-mcdermott-jr-indiana-senators-primary-election-commission/6834877001.
"Meet Haneefah." Haneefah Khaaliq, Es.: Former U.S. Senate Candidate for Indiana. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://www.haneefahkhaaliq.org/meet_haneefah.
Smith, Casey. "McCray Wins Democrat Nomination to Challenge Banks in Race for Indiana’s U.S. Senate Seat. Indiana Capital Chronicle, May 7, 2024. https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2024/05/07/mccray-wins-democrat-nomination-to-challenge-banks-in-race-for-indianas-u-s-senate-seat/.
Wikipedia. "2022 United States Senate election in Indiana." Wikipedia.org. Accessed May 12, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_United_States_Senate_election_in_Indiana.
Extent
0.3 Cubic Feet (1 manuscript box)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation from Haneefah Khaaliq on 2023/01/27.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2025/05/12 by Brittany Kropf. EAD finding aid created 2025/05/12 by Brittany Kropf.
- African American politicians
- African Americans
- Buttons
- Campaign literature
- Correspondence
- Elections
- Elections -- Indiana
- Ephemera
- Indiana -- Politics and government
- Indiana -- Politics and government -- 21st century
- Lawyers
- Lawyers -- Indiana
- Newspaper articles
- Photographs
- Political campaigns--21st century
- Politicians
- Politicians -- 21st century
- Politicians -- Indiana
- Politics and government
- Programs
- Public speaking
- Stickers
- Teachers
- Teachers -- Indiana
- United States -- Politics and government
- United States -- Politics and government -- 21st century
- Women political activists
- Women politicians
Creator
- Khaaliq, Haneefah, 1983- (Person)
- Title
- Haneefah Khaaliq collection
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
