Reclaiming Indianapolis's Black History from Urban Roots

Today we head back to Indianapolis with the podcast 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.

Featuring:

Claudia Polley, Urban Legacy Lands Initiative; Kaila Austin, artist and historian; Judith Thomas, Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement for the City of Indianapolis; Paula Brooks, the Environmental Justice Program Manager at the Hoosier Environment Council.

Credits:

Urban Roots:

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.

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.
 

Making Contact Credits

Episode Host: Salima Hamirani
Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
Executive Director: Jina Chung
Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
Engineer:[ Jeff Emtman](https://www.jeffemtman.com/)
Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music:

Roman- Galaxy (inspired up melody)

Will Bangs – I’m so glad you exist

 

Learn More: 

Urbanist Media