African American Cultural Events & Live History Experiences in Indianapolis
Explore family-friendly programs, performances, and community events that preserve Black history and celebrate Indiana’s heritage.
The Sacred Center: Remembering Black Art and Artists
“Conversations in Indiana’s African American History” is a monthly gathering of voices—historians, researchers, and educators—who deepen our understanding of the African American experience in Indiana, past and present.
Our speaker will be Dr. Lasana Kasembe, an Emmy® Award-winning poet, educator, and critical Black scholar whose work examines culture, race, history, the arts, and the social context of education. He is currently an assistant professor in the IU School of Education’s Department of Urban Teacher Education and in the Africana Studies Program at IU Indianapolis.
The Sacred Center: Remembering Black Art & Black Artists: This presentation takes you on a visual journey through the work of writers, poets, visual artists, and performers from Indiana and the Midwest—revealing how their creativity helped shape culture across the nation and beyond. Discover the powerful legacy of Indiana’s unsung Black artists of the 20th century. Explore how their work connects to a long tradition of Black expressive culture and continues to serve as A.R.T.—a revolutionary tool for insight, inspiration, and change.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Freetown Village Singers @ Sassafras Tea Festival
Sassafras and Civil War Living History Festival
Come relive the 1860’s as Jennings County lived through the Civil War, Underground Railroad, and daily life in pioneer America. Freetown Village Singers will be one the featured musical guests along with re-enactments of battles, first person interpreters such as Lew Wallace, Haggerman Tripp, Oliver Morton and others, carriage rides, weaving and other crafts, music on the square, the Blue-Grey Ball, and much more.
Freetown Village Singers will perform at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Freetown Village Singers @ Crown Hill Speaker Series
The Freetown Village Singers will be featured in Crown Hill Foundation’ 2026 lineup of special events. Performing in the intimate setting of the Gothic Chapel, the Singers will bring history to life through a powerful blend of storytelling and song, preserving African American traditions through folk music and Negro spirituals. Tickets are required for this special event and are available now.
Memorial Day: A History Worth Remembering
“Conversations in Indiana’s African American History” is a monthly gathering of voices—historians, researchers, and educators—who deepen our understanding of the African American experience in Indiana, past and present. Our speaker will be local historian and veteran Leon Bates.
Memorial Day: A History Worth Remembering
Memorial Day is set aside to honor those who died in military service, but its origins are often overlooked. The holiday began as Decoration Day, a tradition started by African Americans who decorated the graves of fallen Union soldiers—long before the nation formally recognized the practice.
Indianapolis also holds a lesser‑known chapter of Civil War history. More than 5,000 Confederate soldiers were imprisoned at Camp Morton, with about 1,600 dying and being buried at Greenlawn Cemetery. Records from the National Archives reveal that 29 of those who died were of African descent, a detail rarely acknowledged.
Join us as we explore these hidden stories and reflect on the fuller history behind Memorial Day.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
‘We All Just Did Life Together’: The Forgotten Story of the Black Southside of Indianapolis
“Conversations in Indiana’s African American History” is a monthly gathering of voices—historians, researchers, and educators—who deepen our understanding of the African American experience in Indiana, past and present.
Our presenters will be Susan B. Hyatt, Professor Emerita of Anthropology at IU–Indianapolis, and Beverle Miller Kane, long‑time Southside resident and Babe Denny Navigator with the Southside US Colored Troop Coalition.
Between the early 1900s and the 1960s, Indianapolis’s near Southside was home to a rich mix of communities, including African Americans and Jewish immigrants. During a period in the city’s history more often defined by Jim Crow segregation than by integration, near‑Southside residents—Black and white—“all just did life together,” as Beverle Kane recalls.
The neighborhood was dramatically reshaped in the 1970s by the construction of I‑70, and again in the early 2000s with the building of Lucas Oil Stadium. Join us as we explore the stories of these residents, their once‑vibrant neighborhood, and the project that reunited them after 50 years to share their memories.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
The History and Legacy of Roberts Settlement
“Conversations in Indiana’s African American History” is a monthly gathering of voices—historians, researchers, and educators—who deepen our understanding of the African American experience in Indiana, past and present.
The History and Legacy of Roberts Settlement
Our presenter will be Bryan Glover, Vice President and Board Chair of Roberts Settlement — a historic community founded in 1835 in northern Hamilton County (Indiana) by free people of color seeking freedom, opportunity, and self‑determination.
From the Coastal Plain of North Carolina to the fields of present‑day Hamilton County, this pioneering Black community has endured, adapted, and thrived for nearly two centuries. Their story is one of faith, resilience, and an unwavering pursuit of liberty.
Today, descendants continue to preserve this remarkable heritage and celebrate the enduring bonds that have connected generations.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Freetown Village Singers - Sunday Vibes Concert
If you missed them last year, now’s your chance. The Freetown Village Singers are returning as featured performers in the Carmel Clay Public Library’s Sunday Vibes Concert Series.
This event is free and open to the public. Reserve your spot now.
The Garveyite Movement in Indianapolis (1919 - 1940)
“Conversations in Indiana’s African American History” is a monthly gathering of voices—historians, researchers, and educators—who deepen our understanding of the African American experience in Indiana, past and present.
Our presenter will be Eunice Trotter, Director of Indiana Landmark’s Black Heritage Preservation Program.
From 1919 through the 1940s, Indianapolis hosted two divisions of Marcus Garvey’s United Negro Improvement Association, part of the largest mass self‑determination movement of African Americans in history. Featuring some of the city’s most influential leaders, the organization thrived before ultimately fading, leaving behind a powerful legacy and lessons from its demise.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Crown Hill Black History Month Celebration
We’re proud to announce that the 2026 recipient of the Congresswoman Julia M. Carson Community Award is Ophelia Wellington, Founding Director of Freetown Village.
Join us on 2/15/26 as we recognize her remarkable contributions and celebrate her lasting impact on our community.
The Congresswoman Julia M. Carson Community Award is presented each year during Crown Hill Cemetery’s Black History Month celebration to recognize individuals who exemplify outstanding service to the community, especially in support of women and minorities. The award celebrates the legacy of the late Congresswoman Julia Carson, a fierce advocate for working‑class Americans whose impact continues to inspire.
Better Together: Celebrating US
Sponsored by WFYI and Indiana Humanities, the Freetown Village Singers will be a featured partner at Better Together: Celebrating US, a family-friendly celebration exploring what it means to belong, participate, and build community—together.
Performance times: 11:15 a.m. and 12: 15 p.m.
SPARK! Holidays on the Circle
The Freetown Village Singers have been invited to SPARK Holidays on the Circle. Join us on December 20th from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Freetown Village Singers @ Winterlights 2025
Celebrate the holidays at Winterlights presented by Bank of America and enjoy festive carols by the Freetown Village Singers at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m. Walk through over 1.5 million sparkling lights in The Garden, see the dazzling Landscape of Light, and warm up with cocoa and cookies. Create unforgettable memories with music, tradition, and holiday magic at Indianapolis’s Winterlights.
Freetown Village Singers @ Winterlights 2025
Enjoy the sounds of the season as the Freetown Village Singers perform holiday carols during Winterlights at Newfields at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m. Stroll through over 1.5 million sparkling lights, watch dazzling displays like Landscape of Light, and savor holiday treats including hot cocoa and cookies. Celebrate tradition, community, and music at Indianapolis’s premier holiday event.
Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas! (Matinee Show)
The year is 1870 and the residents are getting ready to celebrate Christmas...or are they?
🎄 Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas – A Holiday Journey to 1870 🎄
Step into the heart of history and the warmth of the season! Join us for Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas, a spirited theatrical experience that transports you to the year 1870, where the townsfolk of Freetown Village are preparing for a Christmas like no other. - or are they?
As the holiday grows in popularity, tensions rise between tradition and the new wave of commercial influence. Will the Christmas planning committee find unity in time to save the celebration? Or will the spirit of the season be lost to disagreement?
Join us (in 2025!) for our annual holiday journey back in time and help the townspeople decide how “Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas”!
Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas!
The year is 1870 and the residents are getting ready to celebrate Christmas...or are they?
🎄 Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas – A Holiday Journey to 1870 🎄
Step into the heart of history and the warmth of the season! Join us for Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas, a spirited theatrical experience that transports you to the year 1870, where the townsfolk of Freetown Village are preparing for a Christmas like no other. - or are they?
As the holiday grows in popularity, tensions rise between tradition and the new wave of commercial influence. Will the Christmas planning committee find unity in time to save the celebration? Or will the spirit of the season be lost to disagreement?
Join us (in 2025!) for our annual holiday journey back in time and help the townspeople decide how “Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas”!
Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas! (Matinee Show)
The year is 1870 and the residents are getting ready to celebrate Christmas...or are they?
🎄 Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas – A Holiday Journey to 1870 🎄
Step into the heart of history and the warmth of the season! Join us for Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas, a spirited theatrical experience that transports you to the year 1870, where the townsfolk of Freetown Village are preparing for a Christmas like no other. - or are they?
As the holiday grows in popularity, tensions rise between tradition and the new wave of commercial influence. Will the Christmas planning committee find unity in time to save the celebration? Or will the spirit of the season be lost to disagreement?
Join us (in 2025!) for our annual holiday journey back in time and help the townspeople decide how “Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas”!
2025 Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas
Freetown Village Celebrates Christmas promises to inspire as it explores the significance of family and cultural traditions during this holiday season. Set in the 1870s in an African American community, the play celebrates the richness of community, the spirit of giving, and the preservation of family traditions.
Freetown Village Singers @ Winterlights 2025
Experience the magic of Winterlights at Newfields with holiday carols performed by the Freetown Village Singers at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m. Surrounded by over 1.5 million sparkling lights, enjoy festive traditions, dancing displays, and sweet treats like cocoa and cookies. Celebrate the season with music, community, and the wonder of Indianapolis’s favorite holiday event.
Conversations in Indiana's African American History - November 2025
Join Freetown Village for Conversations in Indiana’s African American History, a free monthly lecture series highlighting stories of resilience, culture, and change. This session features presenters Kisha Tandy and Zola Lamothe, who share insights into Indiana’s African American heritage. Registration required. Attend in person at Indiana Landmarks or join via livestream.
POSTPONED - Conversations in Indiana's African American History - October 2025
Join Freetown Village for Conversations in Indiana’s African American History, a monthly lecture series exploring law, activism, and resilience. Historian Evan Casey presents “A Tapestry of Hate and Hope,” examining legal battles, acts of resistance, and triumphs that shaped Indiana’s identity. Free event with registration required. Attend in person at Indiana Landmarks or watch the livestream.
Indy Story Slam - October 2025 (in collaboration with Storytelling Arts of Indiana)
A fun night for storytellers of every skill level, designed as an after-work event to relax and unwind. Virtual or in person.
Spirit of Freedom 2025
Freetown Village is one of the many partners for the 27th Annual “Spirit of Freedom,” a celebration of the many thousands of African Americans who fought during the Civil War. These U.S.C.T. (United States Colored Troops) represented one-tenth of the Union Army, a little-known fact of our Civil War history.
During this highly educational event, up to 800 fifth and sixth grade Indianapolis Public School students will rotate between three stages at the American Legion Mall as Civil War reenactors share first-person accounts from their character’s experiences and stories of other important African Americans who had a major impact upon the outcome of the Civil War.
FV ‘residents’ Rev. Strong (who will also serve as Master of Ceremonies) and Sarah Elizabeth Brown Cuffee, a freeborn lady, and seamstress will be featured reenactors. Additional reenactors include Sgt. Andrew Smith of the 55th Mass. Colored Volunteers; Dr. Richard Gatling, Inventor of the Gatling Gun, who will be performing Gatling Gun firing demonstrations; Harriet Tubman, UGRR Agent & Army Spy; President Abraham Lincoln, Civil War President who brought an end to slavery; and Pvt. Stephen King, 28th Indiana Colored Infantry Drummer.
“Spirit of Freedom” is event is FREE and open to the public.
Directions: American Legion Mall, 700 N Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Please bring a blanket or folding chair to sit on, and a picnic lunch if desired. “Spirit of Freedom” will be canceled in the event of rain.
MORE INFO & RSVP: contact Pat Payne, paynep@myips.org.
Rev. Strong listening to reenactor President Lincoln speak to students.
Crown Hill Homeschool Day
Crown Hill Foundation is pleased to host their annual Homeschool Day on Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, from 10 AM-2 PM. Students will discover, explore, and experience Crown Hill through various educational stations led by our staff, volunteers, and community partners. Students will interact with The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, Indiana Landmarks, Indiana Historical Society, DNR’s Department of Forestry’s interactive “Woods on Wheels,” our popular “Heritage” historical tours, Civil War surgery reenactments, monarch butterfly activities in our Pollinators’ Garden, climbing arborists, and SO MUCH MORE. It is an opportunity to capture students’ imaginations, inspiring them to continue being life-long learners.
Freetown Village Singers: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.
Reverend Strong: 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m.
Conversations in Indiana's African American History - September 2025
Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.
Our presenter, Renee Thomas, will provide a historical overview of the remarkable African American experience at Purdue University. The presentation will introduce you to notable alumni and cultural landmarks on campus from 1894 - 2021.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Indy Story Slam - September 2025 (in collaboration with Storytelling Arts of Indiana)
A fun night for storytellers of every skill level, designed as an after-work event to relax and unwind. Virtual or in person.
Freetown Village Singers @ Citizens Energy Community Day
Freetown Village Singers will perform at the Citizens Energy Community Resource Day. 10:30 a.m.
2020 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202.
Work of Their Own @ Basile Theater
"Work of Their Own" follows three African American workers—a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and Madam C.J. Walker—as they navigate labor, dignity, and self-determination in Reconstruction and early 20th-century America. A powerful story of freedom, faith, and forging a future.
Step into a powerful journey through time in Work of Their Own, a thought-provoking
performance exploring the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction and the early
20th century. Through the voices of a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and the legendary
Madam C.J. Walker, this original production highlights the resilience, dignity, and
entrepreneurial spirit of Black laborers navigating newfound freedom and forging their own
paths in a changing America. Blending history, storytelling, and live performance, Work of
Their Own invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of work, agency, and legacy.
Conversations in Indiana's African American History - August 2025
Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.
Our presenters, Drs. Michelle Daniel Jones and Elizabeth Nelson will discuss the Indiana Women's Prison History Project, a group of currently and formerly incarcerated scholars who research and publish original histories of gender, race, and incarceration in Indiana. Daniel Jones and Nelson will explore the process of doing history inside the Indiana Women's Prison that led to the publication of their co-edited volume, Who Would Believe a Prisoner?: Indiana Women's Carceral Institutions, 1848-1920 (The New Press, 2023).
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Indy Story Slam -August 2025 (in collaboration with Storytelling Arts of Indiana)
A fun night for storytellers of every skill level, designed as an after-work event to relax and unwind. Virtual or in person.
Work of Their Own @ Basile Theater
"Work of Their Own" follows three African American workers—a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and Madam C.J. Walker—as they navigate labor, dignity, and self-determination in Reconstruction and early 20th-century America. A powerful story of freedom, faith, and forging a future.
Step into a powerful journey through time in Work of Their Own, a thought-provoking
performance exploring the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction and the early
20th century. Through the voices of a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and the legendary
Madam C.J. Walker, this original production highlights the resilience, dignity, and
entrepreneurial spirit of Black laborers navigating newfound freedom and forging their own
paths in a changing America. Blending history, storytelling, and live performance, Work of
Their Own invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of work, agency, and legacy.
Work of Their Own @ Basile Theater
"Work of Their Own" follows three African American workers—a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and Madam C.J. Walker—as they navigate labor, dignity, and self-determination in Reconstruction and early 20th-century America. A powerful story of freedom, faith, and forging a future.
Step into a powerful journey through time in Work of Their Own, a thought-provoking
performance exploring the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction and the early
20th century. Through the voices of a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and the legendary
Madam C.J. Walker, this original production highlights the resilience, dignity, and
entrepreneurial spirit of Black laborers navigating newfound freedom and forging their own
paths in a changing America. Blending history, storytelling, and live performance, Work of
Their Own invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of work, agency, and legacy.
Conversations in Indiana's African American History - July 2025
“No Strings Attached: Philanthropy, Black Women, and Institution Building in the City of Indianapolis".
Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.
Our speakers will be Joseph Tucker Edmonds, PhD and Kim Williams-Pulfer, PhD. Their presentation will explore the history of Black women philanthropists in Indianapolis and how they developed a model of ‘trust-based’ philanthropy to build and control key Black cultural institutions in the city of Indianapolis. This overview of Black philanthropic creativity and ingenuity throughout the twentieth century will provide important insights to contemporary cultural institutions as they assess their autonomy and sustainability.
Event is free but registration is required. Click here to reserve your ticket.
In Person: Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Indiana Landmarks, 1201 N. Central Avenue, Indianapolis, IN and talk begins at 6:00 p.m.
Online: Livestream will begin at 6:00 p.m.
Indy Story Slam - July 2025 (in collaboration with Storytelling Arts of Indiana)
A fun night for storytellers of every skill level, designed as an after-work event to relax and unwind. Virtual or in person.