Our City Our Voice

The Indianapolis Public Library’s Center for Black Literature & Culture (CBLC) is dedicated to celebrating the vibrant and resilient heritage and triumphs of those born of African roots. We spoke to Bryanna Barnes from the CBLC to learn more about the center.

Located in the R.B. Annis West Reading Room at Central Library, the Center for Black Literature & Culture is home to a 10,000+ item collection of books, CDs, magazines, movies and research tools, all of which showcase black history and culture.

This space is for ALL who are interested in exploring the rich heritage that has influenced nations across the globe. Visit the center to browse its collections, join the IPL for one of the signature programs, or explore the digital collections and website online.

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Dr. Martin Luther King Park, located at 1702 Broadway St. in the city, has a very rich history in the community. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was scheduled to hold a campaign rally in the inner city. As Kennedy received word that King had been shot, city officials and policy urged him to cancel his appearance. He refused.

Kennedy arrived to a gathered crowd at 17th and Broadway, very close to where the memorial sits today, and addressed the crowd. Instead of a campaign speech, Kennedy delivered a passionate statement informing the crowd of King’s death and urging racial reconciliation. His words were so moving that the crowd erupted in applause instead of anger.

The heart of Kennedy’s message is still on display in the park along with monuments (which include the Landmark for Peace sculpture) that serve as a reminder of King’s fight for peace, justice, and unity.

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All month long, WISH-TV is highlighting people and places where you can celebrate Black History Month.A group of African American leaders came together back in 1900 and formed the Young Men’s Prayer Band. It merged into a colored YMCA by 1910, and by 1913, it would be known as the Senate Avenue YMCA.

The Senate Avenue YMCA, 420 N. Senate Ave., was the center of community through activism and education. For many years, it sponsored what became known as “monster meetings” that attracted leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois, George Washington Carver and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Senate Avenue Y also offered various cultural, religious, cultural and exercise classes.

By the 1950s, the Senate Avenue YMCA was one of the largest Black YMCAs in the United States. The center would close and move to Fall Creek in 1959.

A state historical marker for the Senate Avenue Y is at the corner of Michigan Street and Senate Avenue in downtown Indianapolis.

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The Flanner House is well known in the Circle City for its goal of supporting and advocating for community members who need a hand-up. That mission started 125 years ago as many enslaved black people migrated North from Southern states.

In the 1940s, the nonprofit started building what would be known as Flanner Homes. The project created a lot of opportunities for low-income African-American families. During this time period, many black soldiers were unable to cash in on the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944. Flanner Homes allowed families to build houses, and receive sweat equity, and low-income loans for the work. 

Many of the Flanner House Homes still stand today while the concept of “sweat equity” has been adopted by other organizations like ‘Habitat for Humanity’. 

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All month long, WISH-TV is highlighting people and places where you can celebrate Black History Month.

In 1946, Crispus Attucks High School alum Ruth McArthur opened the McArthur Conservatory at 808-810 Indiana Avenue in downtown Indianapolis.

The McArthur Conservatory was the first school in Indiana to offer a formal jazz program. The conservatory had over a dozen departments, most of which offered two to three year programs. Departments included voice, choral workshop, piano, guitar, drama, instrumental studies, dance, church music.

The school was a training ground for jazz greats like Dr. Larry Ridley and Slide Hampton.

Many of the students would perform in jazz clubs around Indiana Avenue and for various community groups and events. Desegregation in the 1950s and 1960s resulted in more opportunities for African-Americans to study at other institutions. This caused a decline in enrollment at McArthur Conservatory.

By 1963, the school would close. Indiana University purchased the building in 1967.

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Today, if you stop by the area of West Vermont Street along the Canal Walk, you’ll see a Hampton Inn by Hilton, but long before the building was a hotel called Bethel A.M.E., the oldest African American church in Indianapolis. Built-in 1869, Bethel A.M.E. was situated in the heart of the African American community. Notable members include Madam C.J. Walker, Doctor Joseph Ward, Reverend Willis Revels, and Mercer Mance.

In addition to being a place of worship for members, the church served as a refuge for freedom seekers during slavery. In the years before the American Civil War, the congregation also played a role in helping freedom seekers find refuge. In the early 1900s, key organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Indiana State Federation of Colored Women’s clubs gathered at the church.

By the end of the 20th century, the church was a historical landmark, but membership was in decline. The building was sold in 2016 and turned into the hotel that’s there today. Many of the church’s distinctive features have been preserved from the pendant lights and stained glass to the historic staircase.

There are even artifacts throughout the years that will soon be on display. As for the congregation, it erected a new church known as ‘Bethel A.M.E. Cathedral‘ on Zionsville Road in 2018 after the historic building was sold.

If you would like more information on the church’s history, click here.

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A civil rights activist is using her voice to share how her experiences growing up in the South and West Coast inspired her activism and empowered her to write a children’s book and address issues facing the African American community.

Nekima Levy Armstrong, a lawyer and activist, recently shared her thoughts on Black History Month and the fight for fairness, especially regarding race, poverty, and police violence across the U.S. Armstrong grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where she saw the effects of racism and poverty firsthand.

When she was eight, her family moved to South Central Los Angeles, where she experienced the challenges of inner-city life. She says her eyes were wide open after the beating of Rodney King by the Los Angeles Police Department, resulting in protests.

As a mom, Armstrong believes kids can understand and speak out against injustice. She wrote a children’s book called “J is for Justice” to teach young people about activism and the Civil Rights Movement.

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More than 90 years after his death, Marshall “Major” Taylor is still known by many as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

Today, many places honor his legacy outside the Major Taylor Velodrome, including murals and historical markers that you can find on Meridian Street and the Monon Trail.

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All month long, WISH-TV is highlighting people and places where you can celebrate Black History Month.

Created back in 1998 by Gilbert Taylor and housed inside Crispus Attucks High School, Indianapolis’ first segregated black high school, the Crispus Attucks Museum took eight years to put together. At the time, it was more of a collection and it fit in a room not much larger than a closet.

Today, it’s known by many as the premier history museum in the Midwest. From the achievements of basketball legends like Oscar Robertson to jazz greats like Wes Montgomery, you’ll find a number of exhibits. The most recent new edition is The Anti-lynching Exhibits of 1935. The exhibit, a partnership with IU Bloomington and the city of Indianapolis, shows how much America has overcome and the varying layers of resilience it’s taken to get here.

If you would like to check out the museum, it is located at 1140 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. You can make an appointment between 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

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A new Indiana House bill would replace instances of the word “gender” with the phrase “biological sex” in some state statutes.

House Bill 1291 aims to remove the word “in certain statutes in which the term is used to describe the condition of being physically male or female.”

Advocates against the legislation said it would dangerous for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

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