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Celebrating Black Excellence in Indiana

Remembering where it started

In 1915, Harvard-educated historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse Moorland founded what’s now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. That organization established Negro History Week in 1926, which strived to inspire schools and communities to organize local celebrations and host performances and lectures.

February was chosen to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Lincoln, our nation’s 16th president, paved the way for the abolition of slavery via the Emancipation Proclamation.  Frederick Douglass, escaped slave turned activist and author, was a prominent leader in the abolitionist movement to end slavery.

Black History went from a week to a month as it became more prominent during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1976, President Gerald Ford proclaimed February to be Black History Month.

(Source: Five Fascinating Facts About Black History Month | Front Range Community College Blog)

While most Black history revolves around migration after the Civil War, did you know that many free and formerly enslaved black people settled in Indiana much earlier?

The Homestead Act of 1862 is considered one of the most important pieces of legislation in U.S. history. Signed into law by President Lincoln after the Southern states seceded, this act provided public land to private citizens.

In Indiana, we can see the increase in some areas where African American populations settled after the Homestead Act was signed into law. For example, Ripley County had one documented rural settlement, which substantially increased from two African Americans in 1820 to 103 in 1870. The Indiana Historical Society has compiled a list of early black settlements by county.

Some major settlements at the time include the Roberts settlement in Hamilton County and the Pettiford Weaver settlement in Grant County, which is one of the most researched Black settlements in Indiana.  You can learn more about these families by:

Have you ever heard of James Sidney Hinton? He was the first African American to hold state office in Indiana, as well as the first African American to serve in the Indiana State Legislature.

Hinton was born in 1834 to parents who were free people of color in North Carolina. His family moved to Indiana in 1848. Hinton attended a Quaker high school and attended the Union Literary Institute, located within the Greenville Settlement. When the Civil War broke out, Hinton tried to enlist in the Union Army and was turned away, so Hinton volunteered for service in Massachusetts, serving as a recruiter. He returned to Indiana in 1863 to assist with organization of the Indiana 28th U.S. Colored Troop. Hinton was elected to represent Marion County in the House of Representative in 1880 and served for one term. You can learn more about James Sidney Hinton here and view a lifelike bust of him in the Indiana Statehouse.

Another notable representative is Henry J. Richardson Jr. Richardson was a civil rights lawyer and activist who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1932-1936. He later became a judge in Marion County, Ind.  Richardson was integral in the passing of laws that integrated the Indiana National Guard and ended racial discrimination in public accommodations. In addition, he secured fair employment practices law for public works projects and won what is considered a landmark public house discrimination case in 1953. To learn more about Henry J. Richardson Jr., click here.

Helpful links

  • Virtual New Albany Field Trip (available on YouTube): You can experience “A Reason to Remember: A Virtual New Albany Field Trip” in a special annex exhibit. This educational film tells Indiana history in collaboration with four other historic sites in New Albany.
  • The Indiana Historical Society has one of the largest repositories documenting the history of Indiana from early exploration to current times. This link is a gateway to African American History materials.
  • Ball State University has a website titled Indiana Crossroads: Hoosier Civil Rights. You can browse different stories of significant events as well as use an interactive map called Mapping Freedom. There is also a timeline of Hoosier Civil Rights.

Embracing Where We Are: Black Futures Month - Free to Dream, Free to Flourish, Free to be Me

Per their website: “Black Futures Month is a visionary, forward-looking spin on celebrations of Blackness in February. The Movement for Black Lives is using this time to both consider and celebrate our Black radical history and to dream and imagine a world in which we are free and self-determined. This Black Futures Month M4BL will uplift artists, creators, and organizers telling stories we have yet to hear — stories that will unlock our future. To kick off M4BLs month-long celebration, they are releasing a short Afrofuturist film produced in partnership with Root Story Films that imagines a future when all Black people will be free.”

Helpful links

  • The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture's Searchable Museum has online exhibits and stories that highlight current events in health, law, education and other topics.
  • The University of Southern Indiana is hosting Black History Month events throughout February. Check out the schedule at Black History Month - University of Southern Indiana.

Looking forward

The Indy Black Chamber of Commerce was established in 2015 to serve as an information resource for development of black business. The Indy Black Chamber of Commerce has the goal of bridging the gap of economic disparity within the Black community, while creating advocates in these communities to support proactive efforts and plans of success in education, business and the political arena.

The Indy Black Chamber of Commerce is currently collaborating with the Mortar Entrepreneurship Academy. The Mortar Entrepreneurship Academy is a 15-week course designed for people who are starting or want to grow their business. Application can be found on the IBCC website.

The Endeavor Entrepreneur Resource Guide has a list of 26 Black entrepreneurs in the Midwest, which includes several Indiana natives and current residents. Indiana members included on this list include:

  • Cameron Brown, co-founder and president of Acumen Media, a sports platform that changes the way fans view sports while giving athletes opportunities to control their brand and monetize their fanbase.
  • Yaw Aning, Founder and CEO of Malomo, a shipment tracking platform that tracks repeat purchases and helps to reduce customer support tickets for e-commerce brands. The tracking platform is already integrated with Shopify, as well as other U.S. carriers.
  • Taylor Simpson, CEO of Halo App. The Halo app is a peer-to-peer marketplace lending platform that helps to evaluate financial health and trustworthiness of the user outside the credit system.  Halo App is partnered with the Indy Chamber to help small business owners.
  • Nick Turner, Founder and CEO of DeliverEnd. DeliverEnd’s goal is to make online marketplace purchases safer by eliminating the risk and worry of robberies, assault, and fraud. This is achieved by offering video chat, hiding locations, escrowed payments, and drivers to pick up delivery items.
  • Walle Mafolasire and Tayo Ademuyiwa, M.D., founders of Gifelify, which connects people to places of worship, nonprofits and causes to make donations.

Ways to become involved:

  • Take a moment to recognize and honor African American culture, accomplishments and impact on our nation’s history. Check out your local library-many in Indiana have in person and virtual Black History Month events for all ages.
  • Starting or getting involved in a book club that highlights a variety of inclusive topics.