Circle City Classic Circle City Classic is a weekend celebration of African American achievements, culminating in an annual football match between two Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Patterned after the Bayou Classic… Read More »Circle City Classic
Crawford v. Marion Co. Election Board A 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld a 2005 Indiana law requiring all voters casting an in-person ballot to show a government-issued photo identification in order… Read More »Crawford v. Marion Co. Election Board
Municipal Election of 1925 Beginning with the May primary race for mayor in the Republican Party, the city elections of 1925 were dominated by the presence of the Ku Klux Klan. In May 1925,… Read More »Municipal Election of 1925
Election Riot of 1876 In the early evening of May 3, 1876, the day of a special election for city councilmen, a disturbance broke out following a rumor that would-be African American voters, overwhelmingly… Read More »Election Riot of 1876
John Freeman Fugitive Slave Case The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, part of the Compromise of 1850, amended the 1793 Fugitive Slave Law by giving the federal government sole jurisdiction over cases of fugitive enslaved… Read More »John Freeman Fugitive Slave Case
Gold And Glory Sweepstakes African American drivers and mechanics held the Gold and Glory Sweepstakes, an annual auto race, on the one-mile dirt track at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, typically on the July 4th… Read More »Gold And Glory Sweepstakes
Indianapolis 500-Mile Race Long known simply as the “500,” the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race has been conducted continuously at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since its inception in 1911, except for 1917-1918 and 1942-1945 when the… Read More »Indianapolis 500-Mile Race
Lynching of John Tucker John Tucker became a victim of racially motivated violence in front of a crowd of almost 100 onlookers on West Washington Street after attending Independence Day festivities. He died from… Read More »Lynching of John Tucker
Lynching of William Keemer William Keemer, the first Black man in Indiana lynched after the Civil War during Reconstruction, was born to James H. Keemer and Sarah Floods Riley Keemer in 1849. The elder… Read More »Lynching of William Keemer
Meet The Artists Indianapolis Public Library artist-in-residence Anthony Radford put together the first Meet the Artists showcase in 1988. The event showcases the work of some of Indianapolis’s top African American visual artists… Read More »Meet The Artists
