BLACK HISTORY NEWS & NOTES INDIANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY LIBRARY February, 1982 No. 8 ) Black History Now A Year-round Celebration A new awareness of black history was brought forth in 1926 when Carter Woodson in­ augurated Negro History Week. Since that time the annual celebration of Afro-American heritage has grown to encompass the entire month of February. Now, with impetus from concerned individuals statewide, Indiana residents are beginning to witness what hope­ fully will become a year-round celebration of black history. During the weeks and months immediately ahead a number of black history events have been scheduled. The following is a description of some of the activities that will highlight the next three months. Gaines to Speak Feb. 2 8 An Afro-American history lecture by writer Ernest J. Gaines on February 28 is T H E A T E R Indiana Av«. being sponsored by the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library (I-MCPL). Gaines BIG MIDNITE RAMBLE is the author of The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and several other works ON OUR STAGE pertaining to the black experience. The lecture will be held at 2:00 P.M. at St. Saturday Night Peter Claver Center, 3110 Sutherland Ave­ OF THIS WEEK nue. Following the event, which is free DECEMBER 15 1UW l\ M. and open to the public, Gaines will hold Harriet Calloway an autographing session. Additional Black QUEEN OF HI DE HO History Month programs and displays are IN offered by I-MCPL. For further informa­ tion call (317) 269-1700. DIXIE ON PARADE W ITH George Dewey Washington “Generations” Set for March Danny and Eddy FOUH PENNIES COOK and BROWN A national conference will be held JENNY DANCER FLORENCE EDMONDSON in Indianapolis March 25-27 focusing on SHORTY BURCH FRANK “Red” PERKINS American family life. "Generations— The SEW FEATURE PICTURE A D M IS S I O N 4 0 c SEW FEATURE PICTURE Family in American Life: A Dialogue with the Community" will take place at the (Photo courtesy of Duncan Schiedt) Sheraton-Meridian Hotel (formerly S n u ­ ffer1 s). Scholars and other citizens, adults and young people, parents and This 1930s poster reproduction will be children— families— all are invited and included in an Indiana Historical Society encouraged to participate in this unusual exhibit on Indianapolis' Indiana Avenue program. The conference is being organ­ neighborhood. A forum on the future of ized by the Indiana University-Purdue the Avenue area will be held at the exhi­ University Indianapolis (IUPUI) Center bit opening, April 18. Story on page 2. BHNN_1981-11_NO8 John Weston Nolcox family, Lyles Station, Gibson County, Indiana. The history of Lyles Station, a black farming community, is among the topics to be considered at "Indiana's Black Heritage Conference." Story on page 3. for American Studies, the Children's Utilizing historic photographs, memo­ Museum, and the Indiana Historical Bureau. rabilia, and other display materials, the The core of "Generations" will be exhibit will trace the background and de­ 1^ days of concurrent sessions in which velopment of the Avenue from 1821 through nearly forty scholarly papers (written in the present. Included in the display will layman's language) will be delivered. be materials pertaining to Madame C.J. Presentations concerned in varying degrees Walker, Lockefield Gardens, Crispus Attucks with Afro-American life will be included. High School, the Avenue jazz scene, the Lively and wide-ranging discussions will Walker Building, churches, businesses, follow the papers. Three keynote addresses community groups, and General (now Wishard) and a number of related activities are also Hospital. planned. For details and further informa­ The exhibit opening will provide a tion contact Dorane Freland, IUPUI Center forum to discuss future plans and visions for American Studies, 925 W. Michigan St., of the Indiana Avenue neighborhood. The Indianapolis, IN 46202 (317) 264-3759. program will begin with brief comments from representatives of four groups that Indiana Avenue Exhibit, have strong interests in the development of the Avenue area: Ravenell Fields, Program at IHS in April director of the Midtown Economic Develop­ An exhibit focusing on the history ment and Industrial Corporation (MEDIC), of Indianapolis' Indiana Avenue neighbor­ a community service organization located hood will be on display at the Indiana on Indiana Avenue; Bernard McCullough, Historical Society, 315 W. Ohio Street, vice-president of the Walker Urban Life Indianapolis, from mid-April through the Center, a group currently renovating the end of July. A panel discussion on the Avenue's noted Walker Building; Robert future of "the Avenue" area will be fea­ Baxter, special assistant to the vice-pres­ tured at the exhibit opening, Sunday, ident, Indiana University-Purdue University April 18. Indianapolis; and an unnamed spokesman for the Department of Metropolitan Development, Studies Program, with the support of the City of Indianapolis. A question and Indiana Historical Society and the Indi­ answer period will follow the speakers' ana Historical Bureau. comments. All individuals interested in Indi­ Further details of the Indiana Avenue ana black history are encouraged to exhibit and its April 18 opening will be attend the meetings. According to Monroe sent to Black History News and Notes sub­ Little, conference coordinator, two pri­ scribers at a later date. mary benefits are expected from the gathering. "First it will provide. the most up-to-date information on black Indiana and American history. Second, Two Day “Black Heritage” and perhaps most importantly, 'Indiana's Black Heritage' will establish a much Meeting Has Much to Offer needed dialogue between professional "Indiana's Black Heritage Confer­ historians, school teachers and admini­ ence," an event which may become the strators, and the public about the his­ largest black history gathering ever held torical achievements, progress, and in the state, is scheduled for April 23-24 problems of blacks and the methods which at Indiana University-Purdue University can be successfully employed to compile, Indianapolis (IUPUI). Eight sessions study, and disseminate information about featuring more than a dozen talks and black Indiana and American history." presentations are planned. The conference A program for the conference appears is sponsored by IUPUI's Afro-American elsewhere in this issue. Oriental Band of Persian Temple #46, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Indianapolis, 1952. This photograph was recently loaned for copying by Herman Slaughter, India­ napolis. Social and fraternal groups have played an impor­ tant role in the development of Indiana's Afro-American heritage. The Society Li­ brary is interested in col­ lecting both written and visual records of such or­ ganizations. Black History News and Notes is a free quarterly publication of the Indiana Historical Society Library. Intended in part to highlight the activities of the Society Library's Black History Program, it is issued during the months of February, May, August, and November. Additions to the newsletter's mailing list are made upon request. Editor............ ...................... Steve Vincent Editorial Assistant ...................... Gwen Crenshaw Contributors...... ......... Errol Stevens, Coy Robbins Typesetter........ ....................... Barb McCurdy Printing.......... Indiana Historical Bureau Print Shop Correspondence concerning Black History News and Notes may be sent to Steve Vincent, Editor, Black History Newsletter, Indiana Historical Society Library, 315 W. Ohio St., Indianapolis IN 46202. / Hoosier History Revisited: Flanner House Editor's note: A paramount concern of those interested in Indiana's Afro-American heritage is the seeming absence of historical documentation. Generally, little attempt has been made to record the myriad stories of people and events that have shaped the black Hoosier experience. Those aspects of Afro-American history in the state that have been documented, meanwhile, often have gone unnoticed by the general public. Over the coming month this column will address the latter problem by reviewing a number of little known histories, biographies, and other studies concerning Indiana black history. Particular attention will be given to the history each work provides, as well as to its potential for future scholarship. ****************************************************************************************** "The Indianapolis Study: Flanner House." Cl21Hp., prepared for Indianapolis Foundation, Indianapolis, 1939. Unpublished study. Mimeographed. Includes graphs, tables, maps. By the mid-1930s Flanner House, a black Indianapolis community service organization, was facing the most crucial period in its then forty-year history. The Great Depression was placing tremendous strains on the swelling numbers of blacks in the city, and Flanner House, despite a wide range of successful self-help programs, was increasingly losing ground to the demand for its services. Adding to its woes were overcrowded and dilapidated offices on North West Street, wholly inadequate to house the work of such an active and vital organization. Fortunately, energy and innovative need for such a move. The resulting 1939 leadership were Flanner House hallmarks. "Indianapolis Study" is an impressive Realizing that new headquarters were es­ sociological analysis of black life in the sential, the group's board of directors city. Based upon questionnaires and inter­ sucessfully sought a grant from the Indi­ views completed by 1,501 black families, anapolis Foundation