{"id":638,"date":"2017-06-30T10:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T14:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/?p=638"},"modified":"2017-10-02T15:42:19","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T19:42:19","slug":"site-in-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/2017\/06\/30\/site-in-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Site in the Spotlight: A Displaced Church and an Erased History"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Dominique Harrington<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before beginning my fellowship, I sat down and researched sites of black history in Indianapolis in order to prepare for the community engagement aspect of the project.\u00a0 However, despite the size and rich history of the city, I only found three sites: The Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church<\/a>, Crispus Attucks High School<\/a>, and Indiana Avenue<\/a> & The Madame C.J. Walker Theater\u00a0 <\/a>(I will be visiting each of them over the duration of this summer).<\/p>\n

\"Bethel<\/a>
Bethel AME Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Crispus<\/a>
Crispus Attucks High School<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Madame<\/a>
Madame CJ Walker Theater<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

This embarrassing list doesn\u2019t even come close to encapsulating the impact that black folks have had on this city. What\u2019s more is that this list continues to get shorter and shorter.\u00a0 The Bethel AME Church, the first black church in Indianapolis, was actually sold <\/a>this past year and will be converted into a hotel.\u00a0 Crispus Attucks High School, Indiana\u2019s first all-black high school, is currently being evaluated by the leaders of the Indianapolis Public School system to determine whether or not the school will remain open. The black history of the city is under attack, therefore, it\u2019s my privilege to try and bring that which has been pushed out into the shadows, back into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

The Bethel AME Church of Indianapolis was built in 1869, cementing it as the oldest black church in the city.\u00a0 Since then, it served as both a religious sanctuary and a sanctuary from the rest of the city, considering the fact that black folks only made up three percent of the city in the mid-nineteenth century.\u00a0 To illustrate its significance, in the 1920\u2019s, when Indiana\u2019s Democrats were trying to get the black vote, they came to Bethel AME Church to speak<\/p>\n

Even though Bethel AME Church is closed, I began there because it was built first. So, I got in my car and plugged the address, 414 West Vermont Street<\/a>, into Google Maps at about 1 o\u2019clock, as to avoid downtown traffic.\u00a0 Although I live about a 15-20 minute drive from downtown, I\u2019m familiar with the how to navigate the area.\u00a0 However, I initially had difficulty finding the church.\u00a0 I am familiar with Military Park, which is across the street (and where the LGBTQ+ Pride Festival took place this year). I\u2019m also familiar with the Canal Street Apartments because I\u2019m familiar with the Indiana Canal<\/a>, a destination for many to walk around on a nice summer day.\u00a0 Therefore, when I was told to make a right into what seemed like more parking for these apartments, I figured that I had input the wrong address. I had the correct address, this landmark is simply tucked in a corner, with high end apartments and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) buildings\u00a0 flanking it on all sides.\u00a0 As I pulled into the cul de sac where the church rests, the first thing I saw was this sign, letters chipped, and a \u201cwelcome\u201d meant for a time and a people that are long gone.<\/p>\n

\"Obviously<\/a>
Obviously worn welcome sign, Bethel AME Church<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Beyond the signage, the church has been certainly abandoned, with boarded up walls and paper covering its windows.<\/p>\n

\"BethelAMEChurch3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BethelAMEChurch4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As I left the site, I noticed that there was a historical landmark sign visible from the street.\u00a0 Although it is a start, a sign can\u2019t encapsulate this site; this one certainly doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 This sign doesn\u2019t talk about all the church did to help black folks arriving to the city as part of the Great Migration, or how it was the hub for social justice and political organizing, or how the Indianapolis chapter of the NAACP was founded there, or even how this was the space where black folks could congregate for social and cultural events. This historic landmark of a church has been forgotten.\u00a0 Because it is tucked away, overshadowed by apartments and college buildings, no one is forced to remember.<\/p>\n

\"Bethel<\/a>
Bethel AME Historical Landmark-Side 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Bethel<\/a>
Bethel AME Historical Landmark-Side 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Memory is both visible and collective as we\u2019ve grappled with through class discussions and course readings.\u00a0 One can derive value through architecture.\u00a0 Therefore, I can infer that the city has valued gentrifying black neighborhoods for the sake of high-end apartments and \u201crevitalizing\u201d the city\u2019s downtown.\u00a0 However, revitalize for whom?\u00a0 This city\u2019s black communities have been displaced and its black history continues to be erased. Memory is visible and collective, but it is also selective.\u00a0 The Madame CJ Walker Theater is essentially the last major black historical landmark in downtown Indianapolis.\u00a0 Therefore, the city has chosen whose history is worth remembering and whose isn’t.\u00a0 This project has taught me that it\u2019s incumbent upon us all to interrogate when, why, and how, collective memories fail.\u00a0 Who do they fail? Why did they fail them?\u00a0 But most importantly, how do we change the narrative so we don\u2019t forget those that were meant to be forgotten?<\/p>\n

For more information on Indiana\u2019s black history, visit some of the Indiana Historical Society\u2019s digital collections<\/a>. Also learn\u00a0more information on historic Indianapolis<\/a> and Bethel AME Church<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lewis, Olivia. \u201cBethel AME fights to keep legacy alive\u201d Indianapolis Star, August 22, 2015.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lewis, Olivia. \u201cIndy’s oldest African-American church sold for hotel space\u201d Indianapolis Star, April 8, 2016.<\/a><\/p>\n

Stetson, Erlene. “Black Feminism in Indiana, 1893-1933.” Phylon (1960-)<\/em> 44, no. 4 (1983): 292-98. doi:10.2307\/274578.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dominique \u201cDom\u201d Harrington<\/strong> is a rising junior majoring in American Studies and minoring in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.\u00a0 She worked with the Race and Racism project for the Fall 2016 seminar, Digital Memory and the Archive. This summer, she is thrilled to continue working with this project remotely from her hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Dominique Harrington Before beginning my fellowship, I sat down and researched sites of black history in Indianapolis in order to prepare for the community engagement aspect of the project.\u00a0 However, despite the size and rich history of the city,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2990,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[64771,64768,64769],"class_list":["post-638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-as-summer-fellows-2017","tag-dominique-harrington","tag-site-visit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2990"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/memory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}