Asante Art Institute In September 1990, storyteller and performance artist Deborah Asante started the African American Children’s Theatre, a community-based performing arts group. The theatre took the name Asante Children’s Theatre (ACT) soon… Read More »Asante Art Institute
David Nathaniel Baker (Dec. 21, 1931 – Mar. 29, 2016). Born in Indianapolis, David Baker was an extraordinarily accomplished American jazz composer, conductor, musician, and professor who founded the Jazz Studies program at… Read More »David Nathaniel Baker
James Franklin Baskett (Feb. 16, 1904-July 9, 1948). James Franklin Baskett was born in Indianapolis and attended Arsenal Technical High School. Though he aspired to study pharmacology, Baskett lacked the money to continue… Read More »James Franklin Baskett
Francis (Scrapper) Blackwell (Feb. 21, 1903-Oct. 7, 1962). Born in Syracuse, South Carolina, Francis (Scrapper) Blackwell arrived in Indianapolis at age three and was performing guitar professionally by his teens. In 1928, he… Read More »Francis (Scrapper) Blackwell
Leroy Carr (Mar. 27, 1905-Apr. 28, 1935). The most popular male blues musician of his day, Leroy Carr was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and arrived in Indianapolis from Louisville in 1912. As… Read More »Leroy Carr
James R. Coe (Mar. 20, 1921-Feb. 26, 2004). James R. Coe was born James R. West in Tompkinsville, Kentucky. William McKinley Coe adopted West upon marrying Coe’s mother Mary Lee Wilburn. The family… Read More »James R. Coe
Hampton Family Clarke Fielding (Deacon) Hampton (Mar 14, 1879-May 29,1951); Laura Buford Hampton (Nov. 4, 1890-May 26,1967); Aletra Hampton (October 8, 1915-November 12, 2007); Carmelita Hampton (Nov. 16, 1916-May 16,1987); Clarke (Duke)… Read More »Hampton Family
Ferguson Brothers Denver Darious (Feb.19, 1895-May 11, 1957) and Sea Harious (Dec. 22, 1899-Mar. 3. 1974). Denver Darious and Sea Harious Ferguson were African American leaders within the Jazz and entertainment scene… Read More »Ferguson Brothers
Festivals Like most large cities, Indianapolis has a sizeable number of annual festivals focused on the arts and culture, food, sports, religion, ethnic heritage, and seasonal events and celebrations. These festivals… Read More »Festivals
Robert Lee Gholson Jr. (Jan. 23, 1931-Dec. 7, 1993). A native of Aberdeen, Mississippi, Robert Lee Gholson moved with his family to Gary, Indiana, in 1938. At age nine, he was permanently blinded in… Read More »Robert Lee Gholson Jr.
