Black Indy Part 2: Reclaiming Indianapolis' Black History

Urban Roots

In the 1950s and 1960s, Ms. Jean Spears was a young mother and burgeoning preservationist. She saved antiques from houses about to be demolished; she bought a home in a white slum and renovated it; later on, she did the same with a historic home in the black neighborhood near Indiana Avenue. In the eighties, she and some neighbors started digging into this black neighborhood’s history, uncovering the names of Black doctors, civic leaders, and other professionals who had lived there, many of whom had worked for Madam C.J. Walker. She helped rename the neighborhood to Ransom Place, in honor of Freeman Ransom, Madam Walker's prodigious lawyer. And in 1991, they succeeded in getting the Ransom Place Historic District included in the National Register of Historic Places.

Thanks in no small part to the connection to Madam C.J. Walker, Jean Spears was able to save this pocket of Black history, in an area that — as we explained last episode — the city of Indianapolis had almost erased from memory. But black Indy history is about more than Madam Walker, and other stories and places in the city need protection, too. In this episode, we’ll introduce you to three Black women who are carrying on what Ms. Jean Spears started — safeguarding these little-known stories of the past and guiding Indianapolis toward a brighter future.

Our Guests: We talk with Claudia Polley of the Urban Legacy Lands Initiative; Kaila Austin, an artist and historian (who also shared her oral history with Flinora Frazier with us); Judith Thomas, the Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Indianapolis; and Paula Brooks, the Environmental Justice Program Manager at the Hoosier Environment Council.

Our Sponsors: This episode, the first of a two-part series on Black Indy, was made possible by a grant from Indiana Humanities. We need help for future projects so please consider donating to Urbanist Media on PayPal, Venmo, or Patreon!

Credits: Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk / Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch / Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music/Composer: Adaam James Levin-Areddy.

About Us: Urban Roots unearths little-known stories from urban history, especially histories of women and people of color that are in danger of being forgotten. Our mission is to elevate underrepresented voices and help preserve the places significant to them.

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