Conversations in Indiana African American History and Culture

Historians, researchers, and educators share their knowledge of Indiana’s Black heritage.

March 23; May 25; July 27

Indiana Landmarks Center, Indianapolis

In this recurring series presented by Freetown Village, historians, researchers, and educators discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage, followed by question-and-answer sessions.

On March 23, Eunice Trotter, director of Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program, will share information about Mary Clark’s little-known 1821 state Supreme Court case, which helped end indentured servitude in the Hoosier state.

On May 25, Leslie Etienne, director of the Africana Studies Program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, will discuss the Dust Bowl Tournament basketball league at Lockefield Gardens—a segregated Public Works Administration Black housing community in Indianapolis.

On July 27, Anthony Conley, former history instructor at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis, examines Black migration to Indiana in the nineteenth century.

Sponsored by Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program, Indiana Humanities, IUPUI Africana Studies, and Association of the Study of African American Life and History Joseph Taylor Branch. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks Center and talk begins at 6 p.m. in person and online. Free with RSVP. Learn more details and register on Freetown Village’s website.

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