1
100
10
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https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/7129af08c726a29d25fe77f34ff6ac79.jpg
37734a3d1e9501b90ea3f4d4c5ac44a3
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People
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George P. Stewart
Description
An account of the resource
George Pheldon Stewart was born in Vincennes, Indiana in 1874. As a young man, he moved to Indianapolis and joined Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. In his youth, George had learned a great deal of the printing trade from his brother, Charles [1]. At Bethel AME, Reverend D.A. Graham suggested Stewart take over the Church Recorder, hoping that the young man would expand the publication’s scope to include stories of African American involvement in Indianapolis fraternities and societies, in addition to existing church news [2]. In 1897, he took the advice of Graham and with his newspaper experience, cofounded the Indianapolis Recorder with Will Porter [3].
Stewart was a member of many Indianapolis organizations. His extensive involvement in the African American community allowed him to stay up to date with the latest news, which he published in the Recorder [4]. In addition to his religious ties to the AME Church, Stewart involved himself in political, business, and fraternal ventures.
On the political front, the paper’s creation coincided with the beginning of William McKinley’s presidency. Stewart was a Republican and, as a result, the Recorder highlighted his support of the Republican party [5]. His political involvement included chairman of the Colored Republican Committee, and membership in the National Negro Business League and Indiana Negro Welfare League [6]. Stewart was an officer of the Indiana Association of Colored Men, and used his print shop to supply handbills and printed items for their political cause [7].
Stewart was a part of many fraternal organizations as well, including the Waterford Lodge #13, F. & A.M. Marion Lodge #5, Persian Temple #46, Nobles Mystic Shrine, Indianapolis Camp of the American Woodsman, and Knights of Pythias [8]. He was most involved with the Knights, as he and Porter had been active in the Order since the creation of the black Pythians in Indiana [9]. Stewart’s devotion to his affiliations was evident in the ways he used his business and print shop to support them. He provided publicity to his fraternal and institutional connections in the Recorder and took care of the printing needs for many Black businesses, printing programs, handbills, cards, and stationary [10].
Stewart was well known and respected in Indianapolis’s Black community. His position as publisher and editor of the Recorder allowed him to serve as a mentor to many, and strangers and friends alike often sought his advice. He died in 1924 at age 50. His widow, Fannie Stewart, filled his roles as owner and publisher for the Recorder after his death. His family continued to work in various roles for the newspaper until 1988 [11]. Stewart’s hard work was essential in encouraging the Black community to become civically involved and to defend equality and Civil Rights in Indianapolis [12].
During George P. Stewart’s reign, the office for the Indianapolis Recorder moved multiple times. It was first located on New York Street, but was moved to Indiana Avenue in 1900. From there, it relocated to the Knights of Pythias building on West Walnut and by 1918 moved to a new location on Indiana Avenue, where it stayed until the 1970s [13]. The Indianapolis Recorder buildings during Stewart’s lifetime were all in the Ransom Place Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (1992) for its association with influential African Americans in Indianapolis history [14].
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
[1] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart,” Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame, Indiana Historical Society, accessed March 15, 2021, https://ijhf.org/george-p-stewart.
[2] Marcus N. Mims, “The Recorder,” accessed March 15, 2021, https://www.marcusnmims.com/the-recorder.html.
[3] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart,” Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame, Indiana Historical Society, accessed March 15, 2021, https://ijhf.org/george-p-stewart.
[4] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart.”
[5] Connie Gaines Hates, “The Indianapolis Recorder; Still Strong after 96 Years,” Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), February 1, 1992.
[6] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart.”
[7] George P. Stewart Papers, 1894-CA. 1930s, 1990.0469. Indiana Historical Society Archives, Indianapolis, Indiana.
[8] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart.”
[9] George P. Stewart Papers, 1894-CA. 1930s, 1990.0469.
[10] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart.”
[11] Wilma Gibbs, “George P. Stewart.”
[12] “Living History, Every Week,” Indianapolis Recorder, March 12, 2020, https://indianapolisrecorder.com/ad6e0558-6468-11ea-b619-03b2fd7ecb47/.
[13] George P. Stewart Papers, 1894-CA. 1930s, 1990.0469.
[14] “Ransom Place Historic District,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed March 15, 2021, https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/ransom-place-historic-district/.
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Student Author: Gwyneth Harris
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
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Information about rights held in and over the resource
PHOTO & VIDEO:
George P. Stewart, Indianapolis Recorder Co-Founder, Indiana Historical Society, P0556.
https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p16797coll72/id/821/rec/53
1800s
1900-1940s
African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
Entrepreneurship
Indianapolis
Marion County
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/d0ed920a55cfacf6cf6f7f367234509e.jpg
29f546bd746accc4eecc72ebdb137899
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Places
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Martin University, Indianapolis
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Martin University is Indiana’s only predominately African American institution of higher education. Founded by Reverend Father Boniface Hardin and Sister Jane Shilling in 1977, the private, non-for-profit university is named after two influential “Martins”: Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and St. Martin de Porres, a Peruvian saint who dedicated his life to serving the poor and became the first bi-racial Catholic saint. Originally located at 35th Street and College Avenue, Martin University is now situated on North Sherman Drive in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana.[1]</p>
<p>Most historically African American colleges and universities, such as Tuskegee University and Bethune-Cookman University, were established in the mid-to-late nineteenth century to provide valuable knowledge and skills to African Americans in order to promote equality and provide opportunities for formerly enslaved people. Although Martin University was established a century after many of these historical institutions, it was founded on the same values of freedom. Established in 1977, during a time when educational opportunities were limited for African Americans who lived in the inner city of Indianapolis, the original mission of the University was “to serve low-income, minority, and adult learners” in the Indianapolis community.[2]</p>
<p>Martin University is known for its home-like atmosphere, supportive staff, and dedication to service. The institution has produced over 1,500 alumni, many of whom have become recognized leaders in Indianapolis. Notable Martin University graduates include “a former Deputy Mayor for the City of Indianapolis, an Administrator for the Pike Township Fire Department, a former Marion County Sheriff, a Marion County Chaplain, a McDonald's Franchise Owner, a Pastor of a 16,000 member church, clergymen, social workers, daycare workers and owners, police officers, and published authors.”[3]</p>
<p>Co-founder Boniface Hardin was the first president of Martin University and led the institution from 1977 until he retired thirty years later in 2007. Under Hardin’s leadership, the small university earned accreditation and became a fixture in Indianapolis. Following Hardin’s retirement, Martin University went through a period of unstable leadership, as three presidents passed through the institution in a five-year period. The university had also been struggling with funding for many years, even during Hardin’s presidency, and by 2013, Martin University was in danger of closing.[4] The university desperately needed a strong and dedicated leader to restore its finances and credibility.</p>
<p>Dr. Eugene White, former superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools and friend of Boniface Hardin, came out of retirement to assume the position of president of Martin University in August 2013. Under his stable leadership, the institution put a strategic plan in place to get out of debt and improve its standing with the government and local community. While the first years of White’s presidency were very challenging, with the cutting of programs and revaluation of everything from curriculum to budget, White found inspiration in the dedication of Martin University’s staff. Between 2013 and 2016, White’s strategic restoration plan successfully restructured the school and saved it from the brink of closure.[5]</p>
<p>Martin University celebrated the fortieth anniversary of its founding in 2017, a triumph made even greater by the institution’s recent rejuvenation. Dr. Sean L. Huddleston, former Vice President and Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer for the University of Indianapolis, succeeded Dr. Eugene White as president of Martin University in 2019.[6] The institution is currently working toward expanding its catalog of degree programs, providing salary increases to staff, and increasing its student population.[7] Martin University has long-served Indianapolis as an urban educational center of excellence and is on the path for continued growth in the coming years.[8]</p>
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
[1] <span>“About Martin University,” Martin University, accessed June 1, 2020, https://www.martin.edu/about-martin.<br />[2] “Martin University History,” Martin University, accessed June 2, 2020, https://www.martin.edu/history.<br />[3] “Martin University History.”<br />[4] Amber Stearns, “The rise, fall and resurrection of Martin University,” NUVO News, July 26, 2017, https://www.nuvo.net/news/the-rise-fall-and-resurrection-of-martin-university/article_88bc5f06-7209-11e7-abee-ab81a1d1ced2.html<br />[5] Ibid.<br />[6] “Huddleston Named President Of Martin University,” WFYI News, January 7, 2019, https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/huddleston-named-president-of-martin-university. “President Huddleston’s Bio,” Martin University, accessed June 2, 2020, https://www.martin.edu/office-of-the-president<br />[7] Stearns, “The rise, fall and resurrection of Martin University.”<br />[8] Ibid.</span>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Student Author: Natalie Bradshaw
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
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PHOTO & VIDEO:
Father Boniface Hardin, President of Martin University, Public domain, via Wikimedia commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Father_Boniface_Hardin,_President_of_Martin_University.jpg
1950s-present
education
Entrepreneurship
Indianapolis
Marion County
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/f4a0da160fc1d5b8e4aab68bc3378741.jpg
c4d9c2863de561c34db4149cd050b8be
Dublin Core
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Title
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Places
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Ransom Place Neighborhood, Indianapolis
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Ransom Place Neighborhood is a historic district located northwest of Monument Circle in the center of downtown Indianapolis. Bounded by 10th, St. Clair, West, and Camp Streets, this area includes subdivisions platted 1865 and 1871, and features historic homes built in the eclectic Queen Anne architectural style that was popular at the end of the nineteenth century. Ransom Place Neighborhood is considered the most intact neighborhood associated with the African American population of Indianapolis.[1] Named after prominent resident Freeman Briley Ransom, the district was listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1992.[2]</p>
<p>As early as the 1830s, the area that is now Ransom Place Neighborhood was identified as an African American settlement.[3] The land was originally developed by free African Americans and former slaves who moved north to find prosperity during the nineteenth century. This western section of Indianapolis, close to Fall Creek and the White River, was notoriously marshy and prone to flooding. The undesirable land was the only land that early African American settlers were permitted to purchase. Over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a thriving African American community formed in Ransom Place Neighborhood, and the area was converted into a residential area and profitable business district for African American families. Ransom Place Neighborhood was also the site of the first public housing project in Indianapolis, Lockefield Gardens.[4]</p>
<p>Many prominent professionals lived in Ransom Place Neighborhood, including African American community leaders, doctors, and attorneys. Churches, schools, and businesses provided for the needs of the residents.[5] Freeman Briley Ransom (1882-1947), the namesake of the neighborhood, lived with his family at 828 N. California St.[6] F. B. Ransom was a successful lawyer, business man, and civic leader who moved to Indianapolis in 1910. Most notably, Ransom served as the corporate attorney and manager of the Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, a pioneering African American cosmetics company. In addition to his legal work for Madam C. J. Walker, Ransom was an accomplished community leader who served as legal counsel for the Senate Avenue YMCA, Phyllis Wheatley YWCA, Indianapolis branch of the NAACP, and the Frederick Douglass Life Insurance Company, helped found the National Negro Business League and the Marion County Bar Association, and served on the Indianapolis City Council from 1939-1942.[7] F. B. Ransom’s son, Willard Ransom, was also a noted attorney and resident of Ransom Place Neighborhood.[8]</p>
<p>Ransom Place Neighborhood was expanded in 1945 when the Indianapolis Redevelopment Commission selected the area as its first redevelopment project. Helping repair houses in older parts of the neighborhood and constructing new homes in surrounding areas, the assistance of the Indianapolis Redevelopment Commission revitalized Ransom Place Neighborhood.[9] During the early 1960s, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) began buying property in order to develop a downtown Indianapolis campus. Between 1960 and 1980, IUPUI had obtained nearly 1,000 properties and had effectively surrounded Ransom Place Neighborhood.[10] The university’s pressures to redevelop the area for their own purposes, combined with the flight of many prominent African Americans to more prosperous Indianapolis neighborhoods in the early 1970s, led to a period of denigration for the historic neighborhood. In 1976, Lockefield Gardens, a major source of pride for Ransom Place’s community, was closed and converted into private apartments for IUPUI students.[11] Construction of the United Life Building in the 1980s removed a portion of Indiana Avenue, effectively blocking access from Ransom Place to downtown Indianapolis furthering marginalizing the African American community.[12]</p>
<p>Following a period of decline in the 1970s and early 1980s, Ransom Place Neighborhood was revitalized in the late 1980s when Jean Spears, an African American community leader who worked with the Indiana Avenue Association helped to renovate African American homes and businesses in Indianapolis, moved into 849 Camp Street in Ransom Place Neighborhood.[13] Spears started a campaign to promote the African American history of the neighborhood and, with a team of other community leaders, officially named the district Ransom Place Neighborhood in memory of the successful attorney Freedman Briley Ransom.[14] Following the naming, the Ransom Place Historic District was accredited by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and the Ransom Place Neighborhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.</p>
<p>While Ransom Place Neighborhood is protected as a historic landmark, many locals fear that the neighborhood- a symbol of African American persistence and ingenuity- could be erased by gentrification. With much of the land surrounding Ransom Place being developed for private businesses and apartments, it is becoming increasingly expensive for long-time residents to remain in the area. Unless the gentrification includes local African American families, many fear that the African American community that built and sustained the neighborhood for generations will disappear.[15]</p>
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
[1] <span>“Ransom Place Historic District,” National Park Service, accessed May 25, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/indianapolis/ransomplace.htm.<br />[2] “Ransom Place Historic District,” Indiana Historical Bureau, accessed May 25, 2020 https://www.in.gov/history/markers/216.htm.<br />[3] “Ransom Place Historic District,” National Park Service.<br />[4] Richard Essex, “A changing neighborhood: Ransom Place,” Indianapolis WISH-TV, February 15, 2019, https://www.wishtv.com/news/a-changing-neighborhood-ransom-place/.<br />[5] “Ransom Place Historic District,” National Park Service.<br />[6] “Ransom Family Papers, 1912-2011,” Indiana Historical Society, accessed May 26, 2020, https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/ransom-family-papers.pdf.<br />[7] Ibid.<br />[8] “Ransom Place Historic District,” National Park Service.<br />[9] Ibid.<br />[10] Essex, “A changing neighborhood.”<br />[11] Ibid.<br />[12] National Park Service."Go Diagonal." Indianapolis: Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary. Accessed May 31, 2020. https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/indianapolis/textonly.html#diagonalessay.<br />[13] “Spears Family Papers, 1930-1986,” Indiana Historical Society, accessed May 26, 2020, https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/spears-family-papers-1930-1986.pdf. “Historical Ransom Place,” City of Indianapolis, accessed May 26, 2020, https://sites.google.com/view/city-of-indianapolis/home/ransom-place.<br />[14] Ibid.<br />[15] Essex, “A changing neighborhood.”</span>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Student Author: Natalie Bradshaw
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Camp Street in Ransom Place, attributed to Nyttend, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camp_Street_in_Ransom_Place.jpg
Relation
A related resource
<a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/216.htm">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a>
1800s
1900-40s
1950s-present
Entrepreneurship
Housing
Indiana Historical Bureau Marker
Indianapolis
Marion County
NAACP
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/6c7099b0194aa732bed6e60dbc4e0819.jpg
b601ed2201b3f7aad34495e83f219d5e
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Places
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Andrew Means Park Manor
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Born in Alabama, Andrew Means graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in 1918. He studied under George Washington Carver and was befriended by Tuskegee Institute President Booker T. Washington. After graduation, Means spent a few years in the US Army and subsequently worked as a railroad porter.[1] Means then traveled north to Gary, Indiana, in order to work in the steel mills, a path taken by many African Americans at the time.[2] This influx of African Americans moving north for fair and equal jobs, and to escape segregation in the South was known as the Great Migration. From the 1910s to 1970, over 6 million African Americans from the rural South migrated to northern cities, including Gary.[3]</p>
<p>In 1922, Andrew Means and his brother, Geter, created a homebuilding business with $90 and a borrowed typewriter. Means Brothers, Inc. became one of the Midwest’s largest African American real estate development companies.[4] The brothers created 11 housing developments with nearly 2000 homes and/or rental properties in Gary alone. They created homes for African Americans using African American employees and sub-contractors.[5] In addition to housing developments, Andrew Means also constructed the Gary First Baptist church, where he was a member, within the Andrew Means Park Manor neighborhood.[6]</p>
<p>Of all the housing the brothers developed, Andrew Means Park Manor, also known as “Means Manor”, was the most impactful to the Gary community and still exists today. The neighborhood consists of nearly 150 homes[7] including Andrews Means’ own home. At the time of construction in the early 1950s, Means Manor provided African American families safe affordable single family housing at a time when many neighborhoods did not welcome African Americans and Gary was deeply segregated.[8] Remembered by a former resident “I think the community flourished because everyone there was there under the same circumstances. A lot of the families that came, that lived in my neighborhood, their parents came from the South and they were there primarily because of the steel mills, because those were guaranteed jobs, that was guaranteed income.”[9] At the time of its construction, the homes in Means Manor were priced from $15,000 to $75,000.[10]</p>
<p>Means Manor is located in Gary’s Midtown neighborhood. When Means Manor was constructed, 97% of Gary’s African American population lived in the Midtown neighborhood. The neighborhood was mostly self-contained with many retail outlets as African Americans were excluded from Downtown Gary prior to desegregation in the 1960s and 1970s.[11] Means Manor remains as a legacy to Andrew Means and his brother’s achievements of providing affordable and equal housing to Gary’s African American community.</p>
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
[1] <span>Indiana Landmarks. African American Landmarks. Indiana Landmarks, 2019. Accessed May 21, 2020. https://www.indianalandmarks.org/2019/02/andrew-means-gary-developer/<br />[2] Allison Shuette. Didn’t Want Us To Grow Up Thinking the World Was Terrible. Welcome Project, 2017. Accessed May 21, 2020. https://welcomeproject.valpo.edu/2017/01/27/didnt-want-us-to-grow-up-thinking-the-world-was-terrible/<br />[3] The Great Migration, 2020. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/great-migration. Accessed May 22, 2020.<br />[4] Indiana Landmarks.<br />[5] African American businessman, Andrew Means,of Gary Indiana. He is successful in real estate and construction. https://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675045071_Negro-Americans_Leslie-Builders-and-Contractors_construction-site_buildings. Accessed May 22, 2020.<br />[6] Indiana Landmarks.<br />[7] Leroy W. Jeffries. Blueprint for better negro business. Negro Digest. December 1961. Accessed May 21, 2020. https://books.google.com/books?id=b7MDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=%22means+park+manor%22+gary&source=bl&ots=Qgmdcz3Y7Z&sig=ACfU3U1sL9M0rnOo3H_srKnYBY2JdKQ-fg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHnMC4nZrpAhXGKM0KHYMUAfIQ6AEwB3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22means%20park%20manor%22%20gary&f=false<br />[8] Indiana Landmarks.<br />[9] Allison Shuette.<br />[10] Leroy W. Jeffries.<br />[11] Andrew Hurley. Environmental Inequalities: Class, Race, and Industrial Pollution in Gary, Indiana, 1945-1980. 1993. University of North Caroline Press.</span>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Student Author: Mary Swartz
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
PHOTO & VIDEO:
Courtesy Indiana Landmarks https://www.indianalandmarks.org/2019/02/andrew-means-gary-developer/
1900-40s
1950s-present
Entrepreneurship
Gary
Housing
Integration
Lake County
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/e6860a1d2543c585fae054d388a15a7e.jpg
3faad94137dde6e2f56afafd7cab0865
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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People
Person
An individual.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Willard B. Ransom
Description
An account of the resource
Willard B. (Mike) Ransom was born in Indianapolis in 1916. He attended Crispus Attucks High School, newly opened as an African American high school in 1927. As an athlete at Attucks, he and his teammates were barred from competition against white schools by the Indiana High School Athletic Association.[1] Ransom graduated from Talladega College in Alabama in 1932 with summa cum laude honors and earned his Juris Doctorate from Harvard in 1939, as the only African American in his law school graduating class.[2]<br /><br />Just a few years after earning his law degree, Willard Ransom was appointed Indiana’s assistant attorney general. Only two months into his four-year term, he was drafted into the US Army in 1941. Ransom was eventually deployed to Belgium and France, and worked in the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Office. During his service, Ransom, along with other African American service men, experienced “blatantly discriminatory and humiliating treatment.” He recalls, “We were fighting discrimination. Black officers couldn’t go into officers’ clubs, enlisted men couldn’t go into the noncommissioned officers’ clubs.”[3] <br /><br />After the war, he returned to Indianapolis where he experienced prejudice and discrimination, as nearly all downtown restaurants, hotels, theaters, and other public places were segregated and closed to African Americans, which he considered an “overt slap in the face.”[4] During a 1991 interview, he said, “the contrast between having served in the Army and running into this discrimination and barriers at home was a discouraging thing.”[5] In order to fight the racial discrimination he and others experienced in Indiana in the 1940s, Ransom reorganized the state chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served five terms as its chairman. He served as an Indiana delegate at the 1948 Progressive Party national convention, befitting his aggressive and relatively radical approach to leadership in the 1940s Civil Rights movement. Ransom organized local protests against businesses, before many of the marches and sit-ins that took place in the South.[6] He organized small sit-ins at a White Castle hamburger stand, drugstores, department stores, and restaurants.[7] He led over 50 protesters at a sit-in at the segregated bus station restaurant at the former Traction Terminal Building in downtown Indianapolis. Ransom recalls, “There was a big restaurant there, and there were so many blacks traveling on buses. We were insulted in that place because no one would serve us.”[8] His efforts to end segregation through protests and sit-ins lead to several arrests for Ransom.[9] <br /><br />Ransom worked closely with NAACP’s chief lawyer (and future Supreme Court Justice) Thurgood Marshall in the late 1940s regarding school desegregation in Indiana. He wrote Marshall in 1948 “we are going to approach the various school boards again with petitions asking abolition of segregated schools….” He was part of a group of lawyers who drafted the “Fair Schools” bill which was passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 1949, legally ended segregated schools in Indiana.[10] The African American Indianapolis Recorder proclaimed “we assert this is the greatest forward stride in democracy made by the Hoosier State since the Civil War.”[11] <br /><br />Willard served as the assistant manager of Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company, the highly successful and well-known African American-owned cosmetics company, from 1947 to 1954, and then became the general manager until 1971, as well as Trustee of the Walker Estate. After the sale of the Walker Manufacturing Company in 1986, he served as a board member of the Madame C.J. Walker Urban Life Center, a non-profit organization which operated the Walker Building for educational, charitable, and cultural functions benefiting the African American community in Indianapolis.[12] <br />In 1970, Ransom co-founded the Indiana Black Expo and served as chair of the Finance Committee. He served on the board of directors of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, now known as the National Conference for Community and Justice. Ransom helped create the Concerned Ministers of Indianapolis, a group who focused on the integration of African Americans into the business world; in 1993, he received the organization’s Thurgood Marshall Award in 1993 for his dedication to civil rights.[13] Ransom became the first African American director of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and board member of the Merchants National Bank and Trust Company.[14] Ransom was a partner in the Indianapolis law firm Bamberger & Feibleman from 1971 until his death at the age of 79 in November 1995.[15] <br /><br />Willard “Mike” Ransom was recognized on numerous occasions for his influence on Civil Rights in Indiana, and the Hoosier state would have looked very different for African Americans if not for his and his father’s (Freeman Ransom) ceaseless activism and pursuit of equal rights. The family lived in segregated downtown Indianapolis in what is now known as the Ransom Place Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, honoring the family for their contributions to Civil Rights in Indiana.[16]
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[1] Madison, James. “’Gone to Another Meeting’:Willard B. Ransom and Early Civil Rights Leadership”. Indiana Magazine of History, 114 (September 2018).<br />[2] Jones, Jae. Willard Ransom: Pioneer in Civil Rights Movement in Indianapolis.December 9, 2017. Accessed February 12, 2019.<br />[3] St. Clair, James E. and Linda C. Gugin. Indiana’s 200: The People Who Shaped the Hoosier State.Indiana Historical Society Press. 2015. Accessed March 9, 2020. <br />[4] Madison, James.<br />[5] Henry Hedgepath, “Who’s Who,” The Indianapolis Recorder(1982), 3.<br />[6] Ransom family papers show attorneys' work to end discrimination.March 9, 2016. Accessed February 12,2019. <br />[7] Madison, James.<br />[8] Hedgepath, “Who’s Who,” 3.<br />[9] Madison, James.<br />[10] Madison, James.<br />[11] Indianapolis Recorder,March 12, 1949.<br />[12] Madison, James<br />[13] Pattillo, Rebecca. Ransom Family Papers, 1912-2011, 4. Indiana Historical Society. December 2015. Accessed March 9, 2020. <br />[14] Pattillo, Rebecca. Ransom Family Papers, 1912-2011, 4. Indiana Historical Society. December 2015. Accessed March 9, 2020. <br />[15] Pattillo, Rebecca. Ransom Family Papers, 1912-2011, 4.Indiana Historical Society. December 2015. Accessed March 9, 2020. <br />[16] Ransom Place Historic District, National Park Service. Accessed March 13, 2020. https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/92001650.
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<a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/92001650" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Register of Historic Places</a><br /><a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/216.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a>
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https://images.indianahistory.org/digital/collection/p0303/id/180/rec/2
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Madam C.J. Walker
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">Madam C.J. Walker, originally named Sarah Breedlove, was born </span><span data-contrast="auto">in</span><span data-contrast="auto"> 1867 in Louisiana to former slaves.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> At the age of </span><span data-contrast="auto">seven</span><span data-contrast="auto">, she became an orphan and lived with her older sister Louvenia</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">1]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Breedlove married Moses McWilliams at the age of 14 and </span><span data-contrast="auto">in 1885, </span><span data-contrast="auto">they had a daughter Lelia</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">Widowed </span><span data-contrast="auto">two years later, </span><span data-contrast="auto">Sarah </span><span data-contrast="auto">Breedlove McWilliams and her daughter moved to St. Louis, where she worked as a laundress and studied at night school.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">2]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">Breedlove McWilliams</span><span data-contrast="auto"> suffered from hair loss, which inspired</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">experiment</span><span data-contrast="auto">ation</span><span data-contrast="auto"> with homemade hair care remedies, resulting in products that promoted </span><span data-contrast="auto">healthy </span><span data-contrast="auto">hair growth.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">3]<br /></span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">In 1906, while living in Denver, Colorado, Breedlove McWilliams married </span><span data-contrast="auto">Charles Joseph</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Walker</span><span data-contrast="auto">, who worked in advertising</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">She became known as Madam C.J. Walker and</span><span data-contrast="auto"> decided to sell her</span><span data-contrast="auto"> own hair care</span><span data-contrast="auto"> products under </span><span data-contrast="auto">her new moniker</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">4]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">The </span><span data-contrast="auto">new name</span><span data-contrast="auto"> evoked a French flair </span><span data-contrast="auto">to make her products more impressive to potential buyers</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">as opposed to a</span><span data-contrast="auto"> “condescending name like ‘Aunt Sarah</span><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-contrast="auto">’”[</span><span data-contrast="auto">5]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">In 1908, </span><span data-contrast="auto">while living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, </span><span data-contrast="auto">Walker founded Lelia College, named for her daughter, which offered a course in her</span><span data-contrast="auto"> hair care and beauty</span><span data-contrast="auto"> methods</span><span data-contrast="auto"> to aspiring “hair culturists”</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">6]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">In 1910, </span><span data-contrast="auto">the Walkers </span><span data-contrast="auto">moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she opened a laboratory and a beauty school. </span><span data-contrast="auto">Walker and her husband </span><span data-contrast="auto">divorced</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in 1912.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">7]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">The Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company included a factory, and along with the laboratory and beauty school, </span><span data-contrast="auto">manufactured </span><span data-contrast="auto">Walker’s beauty products and train</span><span data-contrast="auto">ed</span><span data-contrast="auto"> her nationwide sales force of “beauty</span><span data-contrast="auto"> culturi</span><span data-contrast="auto">sts” using the “The Walker System”. </span><span data-contrast="auto">With </span><span data-contrast="auto">the factory employees</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and</span><span data-contrast="auto"> thousands of </span><span data-contrast="auto">African American women sales </span><span data-contrast="auto">agents across the country, Walker ran a successful </span><span data-contrast="auto">line of </span><span data-contrast="auto">cosmetic and </span><span data-contrast="auto">hair care products that not only promoted hair growth, but hair </span><span data-contrast="auto">and skin </span><span data-contrast="auto">beautification as well</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">Her agents made sales and educated customers on the importance of hygiene and presenting oneself in a </span><span data-contrast="auto">clean </span><span data-contrast="auto">and </span><span data-contrast="auto">proper </span><span data-contrast="auto">manner.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">8]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> In 1916, her agents organized into the National Beauty Culturist and Benevolent Association of Madame C.J. Walker Agents</span><span data-contrast="auto">, </span><span data-contrast="auto">later </span><span data-contrast="auto">known as</span><span data-contrast="auto"> the Madam C.J. Walker Hair Culturists Union of America</span><span data-contrast="auto">, holding annual conventions</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">9]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">Walker encouraged her sales agents to give back to improve society, </span><span data-contrast="auto">giving</span><span data-contrast="auto"> rewards to the sales agents </span><span data-contrast="auto">who made the largest philanthropic contributions in their African American communities. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">Walker</span><span data-contrast="auto"> was </span><span data-contrast="auto">an active philanthropist and social activist in </span><span data-contrast="auto">Indianapolis. </span><span data-contrast="auto">In all areas of her life, she strove for and demanded</span><span data-contrast="auto"> equal rights,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> including</span><span data-contrast="auto"> filing suit against</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">the</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Isis Theater </span><span data-contrast="auto">for charging a higher admission rate (25 cents vs. 15 cents) </span><span data-contrast="auto">for African American patrons</span><span data-contrast="auto">. She</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">protested </span><span data-contrast="auto">segregation within the military during World War I</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and advocated for an African American army officer training camp</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">10]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Madam Walker </span><span data-contrast="auto">donated </span><span data-contrast="auto">to multiple </span><span data-contrast="auto">African American </span><span data-contrast="auto">charities</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and community organizations</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in Indianapolis </span><span data-contrast="auto">such as the Senate Avenue YMCA,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> the Bethel AME Church, Flanner House, and Alpha Home. </span><span data-contrast="auto">On a nationwide level, she contributed to campaigns to stop </span><span data-contrast="auto">lynching</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and supported the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which was newly- formed in 1909.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">11]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">Throughout her life, Madam C.J. Walker worked tirelessly to create a better life for herself</span><span data-contrast="auto">,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> her family</span><span data-contrast="auto">, an</span><span data-contrast="auto">d her African American community in a segregated Indianapolis</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">The</span><span data-contrast="auto"> hard work</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and hardship</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">took its toll</span><span data-contrast="auto">, and she</span><span data-contrast="auto"> developed </span><span data-contrast="auto">health issues</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in her </span><span data-contrast="auto">late </span><span data-contrast="auto">forties</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">12]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">In</span><span data-contrast="auto"> April 1919, </span><span data-contrast="auto">she </span><span data-contrast="auto">passed away on May 25, 1919 at the age of 51.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">13]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">At the time of her death, she was worth an estimated $600,000 (over $6 million in 2020 dollars), and was considered the wealthiest African American woman in America.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">14]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">She is often lauded as the “America’s first self-made female millionaire."[15]<br /></span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">The legacy of Madam C.J. Walker </span><span data-contrast="auto">is exemplified</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">in the</span><span data-contrast="auto"> personal</span><span data-contrast="auto"> pride</span><span data-contrast="auto">, entrepreneurship, and </span><span data-contrast="auto">sense of </span><span data-contrast="auto">civic </span><span data-contrast="auto">responsibility</span><span data-contrast="auto"> that her products, business, and personal life instilled in</span><span data-contrast="auto"> African American</span><span data-contrast="auto">s, especially</span><span data-contrast="auto"> African American</span><span data-contrast="auto"> women</span><span data-contrast="auto">,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> throughout the country</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">After Walker’s death, her daughter took over the </span><span data-contrast="auto">Walker Manufacturing Company</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and in 1927, moved the factory and headquarters to the newly built Walker Building</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in Indianapolis. The building included</span><span data-contrast="auto"> a ballroom, theater, hair salon, </span><span data-contrast="auto">other</span><span data-contrast="auto"> public</span><span data-contrast="auto"> spaces</span><span data-contrast="auto">,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">and became an African American community cultural center.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">16]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> The Walker Building</span><span data-contrast="auto">, </span><span data-contrast="auto">and the surroundi</span><span data-contrast="auto">ng Indiana Avenue </span><span data-contrast="auto">neighborhood,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> became a hub for the</span><span data-contrast="auto"> African American arts, culture, and jazz scene in </span><span data-contrast="auto">segregated Indianapolis through the 1960s.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">A tangible reminder of her legacy,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">The</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Madame C.J.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Walker Building </span><span data-contrast="auto">was listed in</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">the </span><span data-contrast="auto">National Register for Historic Places in 198</span><span data-contrast="auto">0 and was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1991</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">17]</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> </span></p>
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<span>[1] </span><span>Moore, Wilma, Alan Rowe, Lyndsey Blair, Rebecca Pattillo, and Maire Gurevitz. </span><span>“</span><span>Madam C.J. Walker Papers Addition, 1911</span><span>-</span><span>2005 (Bulk1950s</span><span>-</span><span>80s).</span><span>”</span><span>Indiana Historical Society. December 2017. Accessed March 12, 2020.<br /></span><span>[2] </span><span>Ibid.<br /></span><span>[3] </span><span>Latham Jr., Charles. “Madam C.J. Walker & Company.” </span><span>Traces</span><span>1989, Vol. 1, No.3, pp. 29.<br />[</span><span>4] </span><span>Michals, Debra. Madam C.J. Walker. National Women’s History Museum, 2015. Accessed March 12, 2020. <br /></span><span>[5] </span><span>Moore, Wilma, Alan Rowe, Lyndsey Blair, Rebecca Pattillo, and Maire Gurevitz. <br /></span><span>[6] </span><span>Mo</span><span>ore, Wilma, Alan Rowe, Lyndsey Blair, Rebecca Pattillo, and Maire Gurevitz. <br /></span><span>[7] </span><span>Ibid.<br />[8] Latham Jr., Charles. pp. 29.<br />[9] Ibid, 30-31.<br />[10] Ibid, 31.<br />[11] Latson, Jennifer “How America’s First Self-Made Female Millionaire Built Her Fortune”, accessed March 15, 2020.<br />[12] Latham Jr., Charles.pp. 32. <br />[13] Ibid.<br />[14] “Madam C.J. Walker”. The Philanthropy Hall of Fame. Philanthropy Roundtable, accessed March 13, 2020.<br />[15] Latson, Jennifer.<br />[16] Latham Jr., Charles. pp. 32.<br />[17] National Register of Historic Places, Madame C.J. Walker Building, accessed March 13, 2020.<br /><br /></span>
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Studen Authors: Robin Johnson and Sydney Schlock
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
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Madam C.J. Walker, attributed to Scurlock Studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Madam_CJ_Walker_face_circa_1914.jpg
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<a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/62762a1d-b804-482f-84c0-e4d5929dad2c?branding=NRHP" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Register of Historic Places</a>
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Charles Gordone
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<p><span data-contrast="auto">Charles Gordone was born on October 12, 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio. </span><span data-contrast="auto">Born Charles Edward Fleming, he took the </span><span data-contrast="auto">sur</span><span data-contrast="auto">name </span><span data-contrast="auto">Gordon</span><span data-contrast="auto"> when his mother remarried. </span><span data-contrast="auto">When he was two years old,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> he and his family moved to his mother’s hometown of Elkhart, Indiana.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> As an African American growing up in Indiana in the 1930s, Gordon experienced discrimination both because of his race (white children would not associate with him) and</span><span data-contrast="auto"> due to</span><span data-contrast="auto"> cultural norms (</span><span data-contrast="auto">other </span><span data-contrast="auto">African Americans shunned the family because they lived on the “white” side of Elkhart).[</span><span data-contrast="auto">1]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> He</span><span data-contrast="auto"> graduate</span><span data-contrast="auto">d</span><span data-contrast="auto"> from Elkhart High School in 1941</span><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">I</span><span data-contrast="auto">n 1942, Gordon joined the U.S. </span><span data-contrast="auto">Air Force</span><span data-contrast="auto"> after spending a semester at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[</span><span data-contrast="auto">2]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> After two years of service, Gordon returned to</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Los Angeles</span><span data-contrast="auto"> to study music and drama.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> It was there that he first experienced racial discrimination in the performing arts as “I </span><span data-contrast="auto">was </span><span data-contrast="auto">always cast in subservient or stereotypical roles.”[</span><span data-contrast="auto">3]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">These experiences with</span><span data-contrast="auto"> racial</span><span data-contrast="auto"> discrimination in Elk</span><span data-contrast="auto">h</span><span data-contrast="auto">art and Los Angeles would influence the rest of his career as he worked for civil rights in the performing arts</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and theatre industries</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-contrast="auto">After graduating from California State University, he relocated to New York City to pursue an acting career. </span><span data-contrast="auto">It was then that he added an “e” to his surname</span><span data-contrast="auto">, to become Gordone,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> to avoid confusion with another </span><span data-contrast="auto">actor </span><span data-contrast="auto">with the same name.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">4]</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">In the 1950s and 1960s, Gordone became a director in addition to acting. He directed productions such <em>Rebels and Bugs (1958), Peer Gynt (1959), Faust (1959), Tobacco Road (1960), </em>and <em>Detective Story (1960)</em>.[5] From 1961 to 1966, he performed in the play <em>The Blacks: A Clown Show</em>, directed by Jean Genet, with </span><span data-contrast="auto">other </span><span data-contrast="auto">talented</span><span data-contrast="auto"> African American</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">actors such as </span><span data-contrast="auto">James Earl Jones, Maya Angelou, and Cecily Tyson.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">6]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> It was this play, according to Gordon</span><span data-contrast="auto">e</span><span data-contrast="auto">, that changed his life</span><span data-contrast="auto">. The</span><span data-contrast="auto"> play’s theme of African Americans waging war against the white power structure and becoming the oppressor instead of the oppressed enabled Gordone, in his own words, to acknowledge the “hatred and fear I had inside me about being black”</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">7]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">He</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">founded a theatre in Queens, New York and in 1962, he founded the Committee for the Employment of Negroes. This organization helped increase </span><span data-contrast="auto">career opportunities in theatre for</span><span data-contrast="auto"> African Americans. </span><span data-contrast="auto">He </span><span data-contrast="auto">organized </span><span data-contrast="auto">protest</span><span data-contrast="auto">s against</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Broadway theaters</span><span data-contrast="auto"> to provide</span><span data-contrast="auto"> better opportunities for young African American actors.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">8]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">He </span><span data-contrast="auto">was </span><span data-contrast="auto">also involved in a committee for the Congress on Racial Equality. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Gordone to the Commission on Civil Disorders. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">Inspired by his personal experiences, he wrote what would become his </span><span data-contrast="auto">most famous play, </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">No Place to be Somebody</span></i><span data-contrast="auto">.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> It opened in May of 1969 at the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theatre.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">9]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">Set in the Civil Rights-era, t</span><span data-contrast="auto">he play highlights racial and cultural pressures in context of the characters</span><span data-contrast="auto">’</span><span data-contrast="auto"> ambitions and limitations because of their race.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">10] </span><span data-contrast="auto">The play would go </span><span data-contrast="auto">on to win a Pulitzer Prize for D</span><span data-contrast="auto">rama, </span><span data-contrast="auto">making</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">the play the first off-Broadway production to win</span><span data-contrast="auto"> a Pultizer</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and making </span><span data-contrast="auto">Gordone the</span><span data-contrast="auto"> first African American to win </span><span data-contrast="auto">a Pulitzer for drama</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">11]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">Gordone continue</span><span data-contrast="auto">d</span><span data-contrast="auto"> his </span><span data-contrast="auto">civil rights activism</span><span data-contrast="auto"> throughout the </span><span data-contrast="auto">rest of his career.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> In 1981, he helped form The American Stage, </span><span data-contrast="auto">a theatre production company </span><span data-contrast="auto">with the purpose of casting minorities into non-traditional rules, such as</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">starring</span><span data-contrast="auto"> two Mexican-American actors as George and Lenny</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">Of Mice and Men</span></i><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">12]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto"> In 198</span><span data-contrast="auto">7</span><span data-contrast="auto">, he </span><span data-contrast="auto">began teaching theatre and theatre history </span><span data-contrast="auto">at Texas A&M University</span><span data-contrast="auto">, advancing racial diversity through theatre at the predominantly white campus</span><span data-contrast="auto">. He passed away </span><span data-contrast="auto">in</span><span data-contrast="auto">1995 at the age of 70 in College Station, Texas. <br /></span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> <br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">In 2009, t</span><span data-contrast="auto">he Indiana </span><span data-contrast="auto">Historical Bureau erected a marker in front of </span><span data-contrast="auto">Gordeon’s</span><span data-contrast="auto"> hometown </span><span data-contrast="auto">Elkhart Public Library to highlight</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and honor</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">his </span><span data-contrast="auto">achievements and contributions to civil rights and theatre.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">13]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":720,"335559740":480}"> </span></p>
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<span>[1] </span><span>Taylor, John. "Charles Gordone: Finding His Place To Be Somebody." The Indiana History Blog. October 20, </span><span>2017. Accessed April 12, 2019. <br /></span><span>[2] </span><span>Tolly, Victor. "Charles Gordone (1925</span><span>-</span><span>1995) • BlackPast." BlackPast. December 07, </span><span>2007. Accessed April 12, </span><span>2019. <br /></span><span>[3] </span><span>Taylor, John. <br /></span><span>[4] </span><span>"Charles Gordone, Actor, Playwright, Pursued Multi</span><span>-</span><span>racial Theater and Racial</span><span>Unity." African American Registry. </span><span>Accessed April 12, 2019. <br />[5] "Gordone, Charles." Notable Black American Men, Book II. Encyclopedia.com.(April 12, 2019). <br />[6] African American Registry. <br />[7] Taylor, John.<br />[8] Ibid.<br />[9] Tolly, Victor. <br />[10] Taylor, John.<br />[11] Tolly, Victor.<br />[12] Taylor, John.<br />[13] "Charles Gordone." Indiana Historical Bureau: Charles Gordone. Accessed April 12, 2019. <br /></span>
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Student Authors: Robin Johnson and Sarah Smith
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
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<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/4332.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a></div>
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PHOTO & VIDEO:
Pulitzer Prizes, attributed to Daniel Chester French, Public domain, via Wikimedia commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pulitzer_Prizes_(medal).png
1900-1940s
1950s-present
Elkart County
Elkhart
Entrepreneurship
Indiana Historical Bureau Marker
Theater
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/2614eca6adfee88e232ee460c9ef3aea.jpg
25b976936844d10cedac36701fe25ead
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Title
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Samuel Plato
Description
An account of the resource
<p><span data-contrast="auto">Samuel Plato was an African American architect that lived</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and worked</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in Marion, Indiana between 190</span><span data-contrast="auto">2</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and 1921. He was born in Alabama in 1882 when Jim Crow laws legalized segregation and</span><span data-contrast="auto"> often</span><span data-contrast="auto"> incited</span><span data-contrast="auto"> racial violence. </span><span data-contrast="auto">He</span><span data-contrast="auto"> broke </span><span data-contrast="auto">racial barriers by</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">graduating from</span><span data-contrast="auto"> State University Normal School in Louisville</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">in 1902.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">1]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> He was a member of Phi Beta Sigma, an African American fraternity. He then completed a program in architecture with International Correspondence Schools.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">2]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559740":480}"> <br /> <br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">Plato moved to Marion</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in 1902 to work as an architect, at a time when the Ku Klux Klan recorded around half a million of members in Indiana</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">3]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> He quickly found support from</span><span data-contrast="auto"> wealthy Marion</span><span data-contrast="auto"> business owners John Schaumleffel and </span><span data-contrast="auto">J. </span><span data-contrast="auto">Wood</span><span data-contrast="auto">row</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Wilson.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">4] </span>Plato<span data-contrast="auto"> worked</span><span data-contrast="auto"> to open up building trade unions</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Marion to </span><span data-contrast="auto">African American </span><span data-contrast="auto">workers, </span><span data-contrast="auto">who were previously excluded from the unions</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">5]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">Plato</span><span data-contrast="auto"> was the first African American</span><span data-contrast="auto"> architect</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">to acquire a </span><span data-contrast="auto">government </span><span data-contrast="auto">contract to build a post office</span><span data-contrast="auto">, and during </span><span data-contrast="auto">his career, he would build </span><span data-contrast="auto">38 post offices across the country</span><span data-contrast="auto">.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">6]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> He promoted social progress in a white-dominated field by hiring both black and white workers on his projects</span><span data-contrast="auto">, creating training and jobs for African Americans.</span><span data-contrast="auto">[</span><span data-contrast="auto">7]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">His most notable work</span><span data-contrast="auto">s in Indiana</span><span data-contrast="auto"> included the J. Woodrow Wilson House, </span><span data-contrast="auto">completed </span><span data-contrast="auto">in 1922. This 15-room mansion, located in Marion, was built for business owner J. Woodrow Wilson. It </span><span data-contrast="auto">has also been</span><span data-contrast="auto"> known as the Hostess House and the Wilson-Vaughan House.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">8]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">Plato designed the</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Second Baptist Church in Bloomington</span><span data-contrast="auto"> which</span><span data-contrast="auto"> opened in 1913 and was “the first church built of stone by African Americans in Indiana.”[</span><span data-contrast="auto">9]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">He also designed the</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Swallow-Robin dormitory at Taylor University in Upland. This building was </span><span data-contrast="auto">slated for demolition</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in 1986 until it was found that Plato was the architect.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">10]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">His</span><span data-contrast="auto"> success </span><span data-contrast="auto">as </span><span data-contrast="auto">an architect and </span><span data-contrast="auto">his </span><span data-contrast="auto">f</span><span data-contrast="auto">ight for equality in the business sector brought him fame</span><span data-contrast="auto"> throughout Indiana.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> I</span><span data-contrast="auto">n August 1913, the </span><span data-contrast="auto">Indianapolis </span><span data-contrast="auto">African American newspaper </span><span data-contrast="auto">from Indianapolis</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">The Freeman </span></i><span data-contrast="auto">described Plato as a “colored man engaged in business (…), a contractor, who has built some of the finest houses in Marion.”[</span><span data-contrast="auto">11]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":708,"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">In the early 1920s, Plato returned to Louisville, Kentucky to continue his architectural career. While there, Plato built the Temple AME Zion Church[</span><span data-contrast="auto">12]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and the Virginia Avenue Colored School[</span><span data-contrast="auto">13]</span><span data-contrast="auto">, both on the National Register for Historic Places.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">During World War</span><span data-contrast="auto"> II</span><span data-contrast="auto">, Plato moved back to Alabama.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">14]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> During this time, he was one of the few black contractors to build federal housing projects.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">15]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> His work was acknowledged and rewarded by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in 1943 while she was on an inspection tour of </span><span data-contrast="auto">federal dormitories for war </span><span data-contrast="auto">workers in Washington, D.C.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">16]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Plato revolutionized the architecture field </span><span data-contrast="auto">by helping to </span><span data-contrast="auto">end racial discrimination</span><span data-contrast="auto"> in architecture and the building trades</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":708,"335559740":480}"> <br /><br /></span><span data-contrast="auto">His projects changed the face of Marion</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and Indiana</span><span data-contrast="auto">. </span><i><span data-contrast="auto">The Freeman, </span></i><span data-contrast="auto">declared</span><span data-contrast="auto">, “There is no more successful contractor in Grant County, yes, I dare say Indiana, than Mr. Plato.”[</span><span data-contrast="auto">17]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Two of his Indiana buildings, the Wilson-Vaughan home in Marion[</span><span data-contrast="auto">18]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> and Second Baptist Church in Bloomington[</span><span data-contrast="auto">19]</span><span data-contrast="auto"> are on the National Register of Historic Places.</span><span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-contrast="auto">He is honored with an Indiana Historical Bureau marker in Marion that emphasizes his work sec</span><span data-contrast="auto">uring equal rights for African American workers in the building t</span><span data-contrast="auto">rades.[</span><span data-contrast="auto">20]</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559731":708,"335559740":480}"> </span></p>
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Student Authors: Emma Guichon and Robin Johnson
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
Relation
A related resource
<a href="https://www.hostesshouse.org/our-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">J. Woodrow Wilson House</a><br /><a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/95001108" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a><a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/95001108">National Register of Historic Places: Second Baptist Church</a><br /><a href="https://www.in.gov/history/markers/4184.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indiana Historical Bureau: Historical Marker</a><br /><a href=" https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/80001596 " target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Register of Historic Places: Temple Zion AME Church</a>
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<span>[1] </span><span>“Plato, Samuel M.,” in</span><span>Encyclopedia of Louisville</span><span>, edited by John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of </span><span>Kentucky, 2001), </span><span>P.</span><span>708<br /></span><span>[2] </span><span>Bogert, Pen. “Samuel M. Plato: Building a Dream.” The Filson Historical Society. Accessed February 26, 2020.</span><span><br /></span><span>[3] </span><span>Jon Charles Smith,</span><span>The Architecture of Samuel M. Plato: The Marion Years, Grant County Projects, 1902</span><span>-</span><span>1921. </span><span>P.13<br /></span><span>[4] </span><span>Kielisch, Erik (March 4, 2005), "Plato's Influence Remains on </span><span>Campus: Works of Swallow Robin's Architect </span><span>Comes to the Archives",</span><span>The Echo: The Taylor University's School Newspaper</span><span>, Upland, IN, p.1 <br />[</span><span>5] </span><span>Bogert, Pen. <br /></span><span>[6] </span><span>Ibid. <br />[</span><span>7] </span><span>”Samuel Plato.” Indiana Historical Bureau. Accessed February 27, 2020.<br />[8] Hostess House. “Our Story.” Accessed February 26, 2020. <br />[9] "Our History." Second Baptist Church. Accessed February 27, 2020. <br />[10] Duke, Serena, Rachel Elwood, and David Kaspar. ”Finding Plato.” Taylor: A Magazine for Taylor University Alumni and Friends (Summer 2004). Taylor University. P.24.<br />[11] “Samuel M. Plato,”The Freeman (Indianapolis, Indiana), 9 August 1913<br />[12] Broadway Temple AME Zion Church. National Register for Historic Places. National Park Service. Accessed February 27, 2020. <br />[13] Virginia Avenue Colored School. National Register for Historic Places. National Park Service. Accessed February 27, 2020. <br />[14] Bogert, Pen. “Samuel M. Plato: Building a Dream.” The Filson Historical Society. Accessed February 26, 2020. <br />[15] “Plato, Samuel M.,” inEncyclopedia of Louisville, edited by John E. Kleber (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2001)<br />[16] ”First Lady inspects war worker’s homes.” Library of Congress. Accessed February 27, 2020. <br />[17] “Samuel M. Plato,”The Freeman (Indianapolis, Indiana), August 9, 1913<br />[18] J. Woodrow Wilson House. National Register for Historic Places, National Park Service. Accessed February 26, 2020. <br />[19] Second Baptist Church. National Register for Historic Places, National Park Service. Accessed February 27, 2020. <br />[20] ”Samuel Plato.” Indiana Historical Bureau. Accessed February 27, 2020. <br /></span>
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PHOTO & VIDEO:
J. Woodrow Wilson House, attributed to Nyttend, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J._Woodrow_Wilson_House.jpg
1900-1940s
Architecture
Bloomington
Entrepreneurship
Grant County
Indiana Historical Bureau Marker
Marion (City)
National Register of Historic Places
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/6284da5901c44ad0cfec8859380d20eb.jpg
083df12d03aae268ac78c542dab480f8
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
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Places
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Madam Walker Theatre Center
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The Walker Theatre is a part of the Madam C.J. Walker Building constructed in 1927 at 617 Indiana Avenue in Indianapolis.<span>[1]</span> The building opened to fanfare on December 26, 1927, with presentations of the feature film <em>The Magic Flame</em> and performances of a Chicago-based dance ensemble set to an orchestra both showing at various times throughout the week for 25 to 40 cents.<span>[2]</span> The Walker Theatre was regularly advertised and reviewed in the black newspaper, <em>Indianapolis Recorder</em>, promoting its “Vaudeville and First-Run Pictures.”<span>[3]</span> The theatre joined a vibrant culture of African American entertainment along Indiana Avenue, known for its dance halls, taverns, and jazz clubs.<span>[4]</span></p>
<p>The Walker Theatre was named after Madam C.J. Walker, a successful African American entrepreneur who developed a revolutionary line of beauty and hygiene products for African American women. Her profits from the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company made her one of the wealthiest people in the nation, but Walker’s recognition as the first black female millionaire in the United States is a myth; her estate was worth approximately $600,000 at the time of her death in 1919.<span>[5]</span> Nevertheless, Walker used her success and wealth to advocate for African American rights and improve the lives of black women in her community. As her business expanded, it began to outgrow its original Indianapolis headquarters, and Madam Walker started planning the Walker Building, constructed after her death.<span>[6]</span></p>
<p>The building, designed by the premier Indianapolis architectural firm Rubush and Hunter, held a new factory and office space for the Walker Company, as well as a casino, drugstore, coffee shop, and additional offices for rent.<span>[7]</span> The Walker Theatre was a special project of Madam Walker’s, intended as a place of entertainment for the local African American community.<span>[8]</span> The movie theater was a particularly notable addition to the building, as Madam Walker herself had experienced discrimination in Indianapolis movie theaters.<span>[9]</span> In 1915, she sued the Central Amusement Company, which owned the Isis Theatre in Indianapolis, for its discriminatory pricing; African American patrons were required to pay an extra 15 cents for admission.<span>[10]</span> Soon after its opening, the Madam CJ Walker Theatre Center developed into a lasting cultural cornerstone on historic Indiana Avenue.</p>
<p>The Walker Building was constructed by the William P. Jungclaus Company.<span>[11]</span> It was lavishly built in the style of the Art Deco movement, popular during the 1920s. The Walker Building is significant because it is decorated heavily with African elements, using terra cotta accents of African, Moorish, and Egyptian symbols.<span>[12]</span> Sphinxes, Yoruba masks, shields and spears are found throughout the building, especially in the extravagant ballroom and theater, marking the building as a source of racial pride for African Americans, something Madam Walker strove to create in all of her endeavors.<span>[13]</span></p>
<p>The Madame C.J. Walker building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[14] From 1979-1988, the Madame Walker Urban Life Center, the not-for-profit organization that owns the building, oversaw extensive renovations to the Madam C.J. Walker Building, including the Walker Theatre.[15] The renovated site is now known as the Madam Walker Legacy Center. In 2018, the Madam Walker Legacy Center partnered with Indiana University and began another round of renovations of the building, funded by a 15 million dollar Lilly Endowment Grant.[16] This partnership will not only ensure the continuation of the Walker Theatre as a cultural landmark, but also equip the Madam Walker Legacy Center with the resources and means to revitalize the heritage of Indiana Avenue. As Stephanie Nixon, the former chair of the board of the Madam Walker Legacy Center, stated, “It is truly the start of a new day for the Walker.”[17]</p>
<p></p>
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[1] U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Walker, Madame C.J. Building, (Indiana 1986), page 1. <br />[2] “Grand Opening!” Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), Dec. 24, 1927. <br />[3] “Walker Theatre: Indianapolis’ Newest and Most Beautiful Amusement Edifice,” Indianapolis Recorder (Indianapolis, IN), Jan. 7, 1928. <br />[4] Emma Lou Thornbrough, Indiana Blacks in the Twentieth Century, ed. Lana Ruegamer, (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000): 31. <br />[5] A’Lelia Bundles, On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, (New York, NY: Scribner, 2001): 277. <br />[6] U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Walker, Madame C.J. Building, (Indiana 1986), page 10. <br />[7] Ibid., 4.; Charles Latham, Jr., “Madam C.J. Walker & Company,” Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History 1, no. 3 (1989): 34. <br />[8] U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Walker, Madame C.J. Building, (Indiana 1986), page 10. <br />[9] Bundles, On Her Own Ground, 161. <br />[10] Wilma L. Gibbs and Jill Landis, “Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919) Papers, 1910-1980. Indiana Historical Society. August 13, 1993. Bundles, On Her Own Ground, 161. <br />[11] U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Walker, Madame C.J. Building, (Indiana 1986), page 4. <br />[12] Ibid., 3-4. <br />[13] Ibid., 1-2.; Charles Latham, Jr., “Madam C.J. Walker & Company,” Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History 1, no. 3 (1989): 31. <br />[14] U.S. Department of Interior, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Walker, Madame C.J. Building, (Indiana 1986). <br />[15] Wilma Gibbs, “Madame Walker Urban Life Center,” in The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, ed. David J. Bodenhamer, Robert G. Barrows, and David G. Vanderstel (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1994), 953. <br />[16] “Madam Walker Legacy Center,” Madam Walker Legacy Center, accessed November 26, 2019, Amber Denney, “Madam Walker Theatre Center and IU Begin Partnership to Continue Rich Legacy of Madam C.J. Walker,” Indiana University, January 18, 2018, <br />[17] Ibid.
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Student Authors: Allison Hunt and JB Bilbrey
Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson
Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
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PHOTO & VIDEO:
Walker Theatre Indy, attributed to Jonathunder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WalkerTheatreIndy.jpg
Relation
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<a href="https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/62762a1d-b804-482f-84c0-e4d5929dad2c?branding=NRHP" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Register of Historic Places</a>
1900-40s
1927-2019
1950s-present
Entertainment
Entrepreneurship
Indianapolis
Marion County
National Register of Historic Places
Women
-
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/d73eddb60bb5b12e68dbcf9f623fd31c.jpg
55a873541b4e26158990f1219b06a326
https://digitalresearch.bsu.edu/digitalcivilrightsmuseum/files/original/33fe1aa4ce6f527be8157d2b00c87ebf.jpg
33e9d0fc46caaf8578fdeef31da87189
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Places
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Lockefield Gardens
Description
An account of the resource
The Public Works Administration (PWA) proposed to improve living conditions for African Americans in 1934, and the Housing Division administrators “named the city [Indianapolis] as recipient of a slum-clearance public housing project.”[1] The Lockefield Garden Apartments, also known as Lockefield Gardens, were “one of the first group of peace time projects, initiated, funded, and supervised by the Federal Government as part of the recovery programs of the New Deal.”[2] The project also involved considerable local initiative as the first public housing project in Indianapolis.[3] The Lockefield Garden Apartments were built between 1935 and 1938.[4] Bounded by Indiana Avenue, Locke, Blake and North Streets, the 24 buildings, and 748 apartment units required the clearing of 22 acres of land. The apartments replaced “more than 350 unsightly and unsafe structures” that originally were on the site.[5] The apartments were located in a traditional African American neighborhood known for its black-owned businesses and jazz clubs, and were built specifically for low income African Americans.[6] <br /><br />The goals of the Lockefield Garden Apartments project were to demolish substandard housing and make new public housing available, while providing jobs in the construction industry.[7] Groundbreaking for Lockefield Gardens occurred on July 31, 1935. The complex was designed “to maintain the spirit and vitality of its constituent African American community while offering a modern, modestly priced place to live.”[8] Lockefield Gardens cost “approximately $3 million, or $899 per room, which was less than the national average.”[9] <br /><br />The buildings were finished by the summer of 1937. However, construction problems delayed occupancy of the buildings by half a year. By the spring of 1938, the construction issues were resolved and residents began to move in as individual buildings were certified. “Lockefield was a model of thoughtful design, providing plenty of light and air, open spaces for recreation, and stores and shops to serve its residents.”[10] <br /><br />In 1964, the federal government transferred the property to the City of Indianapolis with a deed stipulation that Lockefield Gardens would be used for public housing until 2004 or would revert to the federal government.[11] As the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s progressed, “residential segregation waned.”[12] Indianapolis city officials made the claim that “Lockefield Gardens had declined in quality, and other housing options for low-income residents existed.”[13] The city proposed demolishing the housing project using federal funds to expand campus housing for Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) in the 1970s. The apartments officially closed in 1976, and several of the buildings were demolished in the early 1980s, replaced by IUPUI campus housing. Seven original buildings were rehabilitated and brought up to modern living standards, and 11 new buildings were designed. The apartment complex is still known as Lockefield Gardens.[14] <br /><br />In 1983, the Lockefield Garden Apartments was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structures of the original Lockefield Garden Apartments that still stand today are located on Blake Street.
Source
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<p>[1] Drenovsky, Rachel L. "A Community within a Community: Indianapolis's Lockefield Gardens." <em>Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History.<br /></em>[2] "Lockefield Gardens Apartments--Indianapolis: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary." National Parks Service.<br />[3] Barrows, Robert G. "The Local Origins of a New Deal Housing Project: The Case of Lockefield Gardens in Indianapolis." <em>Indiana Magazine of History.<br /></em>[4] Historic District: Lockefield Gardens." Indy.gov. Accessed April 10, 2019.<br />[5] Drenovsky, Rachel L. "A Community within a Community: Indianapolis's Lockefield Gardens." <em>Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History<br /></em><span>[6]</span>"Historic District: Lockefield Gardens." Indy.gov. Accessed April 10, 2019.<br />[7] Ibid.<br />[8] “106 Success Story: New Deal Public Housing Gets New Life.” Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Washington, D.C., n.d.<br />[9] Ibid.<br />[10] Staff, WFIU. "Lockfield Gardens." Moment of Indiana History - Indiana Public Media. February 14, 2005.<br />[11] “106 Success Story: New Deal Public Housing Gets New Life.” Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Washington, D.C., n.d.<br /><span>[12]</span> Jaynes, Gerald D. Encyclopedia of African American Society, Volume 2. Sage Publications. 2005.<br />[13] “106 Success Story: New Deal Public Housing Gets New Life.” Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. Washington, D.C., n.d.<br /><span>[14]</span> "Lockefield Gardens Apartments--Indianapolis: A Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary." National Parks Service.</p>
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Student Authors: Caitlin Maloney and Robin Johnson <br />Faculty/Staff Editors: Dr. Ronald V. Morris, Dr. Kevin C. Nolan, and Christine Thompson<br />Graduate Assistant Researchers: Carrie Vachon and JB Bilbrey
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PHOTO & VIDEO<br />Lockefield Garden Apartments Buildings 18 and 16, attributed to Nyttend, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lockefield_Garden_Apartments_buildings_18_and_16.jpg<br /><br />Lockefield Gardens- central mall looking northwest, 1983, attributed to Ray Hartill, National Park Service, for the Historic American Buildings Survey, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lockefield_Gardens_-_central_mall_looking_northwest,_1983.jpg
Relation
A related resource
<a href="https://catalog.archives.gov/id/132003952" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Register of Historic Places</a>
1900-40s
1934-1976
1950s-present
Entrepreneurship
Housing
Indianapolis
Marion County
National Register of Historic Places