COME SEE, TASTE, CELEBRATE AND EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF HOW BLACK CUISINE ADDS FLAVOR TO AMERICA’S FAVORITE FOODS.

Join us for the 4th annual Juneteenth Foodways Festival that was inspired by an exceptional event. After the 23rd president of the United States took office in 1889, he made some important changes. He modernized the White House with the installation of electricity. He hired the first woman onto his professional administrative staff. And he fired the French chef working in the White House, and invited renowned Black caterer and chef Dolly Johnson to bring All-American cuisine to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Dolly Johnson brought to life through an reenactment in partnership with Freetown Village.

Juneteenth Foodways Festival, made possible through the generosity of Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, features an interactive food experience highlighting the hidden history of diverse Hoosiers from the 1860s-1890s from the perspective of African-Americans. It shares Black foodways contributions to American culture with a focus on Dolly Johnson, the White House Chef hired by President Harrison.

Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.

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.

“Slavery Can Have No Existence in the State of Indiana”:

Black Women, Slavery, and Unfreedom in Indiana 1787-1830

Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.

Our speaker will be Dr. Jazma Sutton, Assistant Professor of History, Miami of Ohio University.

Her presentation examines the rise of slavery and chattel servitude in Indiana during the territorial period and early statehood, emphasizing Black women’s use of the courts to sue for their freedom. At the center of this discussion is State v. Lasselle, the 1820 case in which Polly Strong, an enslaved woman, sued for her freedom and ultimately won a landmark Supreme Court ruling that slavery had no legal standing in Indiana under the 1816 Constitution. However, this legal victory did not end Black Hoosiers’ struggles for freedom, as courts and local authorities continued to permit slavery and unfreedom through legal loopholes and deference to white men’s claims over Black women’s labor.

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.

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.

Private event

Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage. Our speaker will be local historian, Leon Bates.

At the northwest corner of the intersection of East 16th Street and North Carrollton Avenue stands a story red brick building constructed in the 19th century. From 1881 to 1922, it served as Indianapolis Fire Department Station 9 – the 2nd of Indianapolis’s four Jim Crow fire stations. The history of the men who served here, and those who eventually followed them, is little known, unappreciated, tragic, triumphant, and intriguing.

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.

Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.

Our speaker will be Nichelle Hayes, Interim Executive Director, Hurston Wright Foundation.

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.

Join us at Marian University' s Department of History and Global Studies as we present captivating vignettes featuring Freetown Village residents Rev. Samuel P. Strong and Sarah Elizabeth Cuffee, along with Madam C.J. Walker exploring the theme of  "African Americans and Labor". Following the performances (30 minutes), stay for a thought-provoking panel discussion and Q & A session with Marian faculty and staff.  Don't miss this powerful celebration of history and culture! 

• February 25th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

• February 26th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

Join us at Marian University' s Department of History and Global Studies as we present captivating vignettes featuring Freetown Village residents Rev. Samuel P. Strong and Sarah Elizabeth Cuffee, along with Madam C.J. Walker exploring the theme of  "African Americans and Labor". Following the performances (30 minutes), stay for a thought-provoking panel discussion and Q & A session with Marian faculty and staff.  Don't miss this powerful celebration of history and culture! 

• February 25th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

• February 26th, 7:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m.

The Freetown Village Singers will perform at 10:00 a.m.

The Freetown Village Singers will perform for the residents of Westminster Village North.

The Freetown Village Singers will perform at 1:00 p.m., Room 438 .

The Life and Legacy of Edna Barnes Martin

Join us for our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.

Our speaker will be local historian Anthony Conley, and he will introduce us to the namesake of the Edna Martin Christian Center. Founded in 1941 in a one-room building, the EMCC is now the second largest community center in Indianapolis, and has served thousands of families and residents in the Martindale Brightwood community.

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 Black History Preservation Project of Knox County has invited the FV Singers to perform in Vincennes, IN. Join us on February 8th.

The Freetown Village Singers have been invited to SPARK Holidays on the Circle. Join us on December 15th from 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Private event.

She Has Done What She Could: The Life and Legacy of Ada Harris

Join our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage. Our presenter will be Kisha Tandy, Curator of Social History, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites.

Educator Ada Harris served the community of Norwood beyond the classroom building a legacy of community uplift and service.

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.

Stopping the Erasure of Hoosier Black Heritage

Join our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage. Our presenter will be Eunice Trotter, Director of Black Heritage Preservation Program.

Black heritage communities and their histories are being erased throughout the nation. Indiana is no exception. In this presentation, Eunice will highlight the work that Indiana Landmarks is doing to preserve the history of those communities.

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 Freetown Village Singers will perform at The Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church.