"Speak the Truth to the People" Art and Cultural History in Indianapolis

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Abstract

This proposed roundtable aims to engage with the histories of 3 Black artists and one arts education entity that represents a localized exploration of Black arts by highlighting the context and history of iconic Black artists from the state of Indiana. This roundtable will focus on how these purveyors of Black art in Indiana, and notably its capital city of Indianapolis, impacted the Black experience nationally through their virtuosity. These narratives will be conveyed through the profiles of poets Mari Evans and Etheridge Knight, Jazz Guitarist Wes Montgomery, and the music education provided for Black children and adults at the McArthur Conservatory (1946-1963). Engaging with the centrality of culture and the capacity for the arts to convey messages of hope, pride, and resistance in a state that practiced de facto segregation, these figures embody an unrivaled legacy.
Nichelle M. Hayes, President of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, charter member of the Joseph Taylor Branch of ASALH in Indianapolis, and CEO of Hayes Consulting will provide a stirring history of the poetics and activism of Mari Evans.
Susan Hall Dotson, Curator of African American Collections at the Indiana Historical Society, and member of the Joseph Taylor Branch of ASALH will discuss the McArthur Conservatory, which operated from 1946-1963 in the heart of Indianapolis’s Black community.
Dr. Leslie K. Etienne, Assistant Professor in Africana Studies, and member of the Joseph Taylor Branch of ASALH will discuss the world-renowned Indianapolis-born Jazz Guitarist Wes Montgomery who is widely recognized as a jazz icon.
Kisha Tandy, Curator of Social History at the Indiana State Museum, will share the history of Etheridge Knight, a poet known for his contributions to the Black Arts Movement who explored emancipatory themes in his poetry.

Sub Unit

• 109th ASALH Annual Conference

Chair

• Leslie Etienne, Indiana University - Indianapolis/Joseph Taylor Branch

Presenters

• Kisha Tandy, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites

• Nichelle M. Hayes, ASALH Joseph Taylor Branch, Indianapolis

• Susan Hall Dotson, Indiana Historical Society