The former Booker T. Washington School, which educated students of color for more than 75 years in Franklin. The community center at Palmer Park sits on the site of the school, and was renamed the Booker T. Washington Community Center in May.
Submitted photo
Titans of history surround Franklin’s Booker T. Washington Community Center.
Visitors to the center can learn about George Marion Robinson, a prominent vocalist who performed for the President of the United States and Queen of England.
They can discover the contributions of Ethel Harnett, a former teacher and principal who was honored with her own Ethel Harnett Day by the City of Franklin, and Hattie Fossett-Caine, a businesswoman who as the first African-American to integrate Franklin Community High School and Franklin College.
The community center stands at the site where these, and generations of Black students, started their education at the Booker T. Washington School. Though the school building they attended is no longer standing, it remains one of the most important areas in Franklin for the Black community.
Its impact is what led a team of Leadership Johnson County participants, along with Franklin Parks and Recreation, to honor its role in history by changing its name.
“I would have never imagined that our project would have had such impact, not only on individuals, but also the community. That fact has been quite meaningful for me personally,” said Doug Gray, a pastor and organizer of the project. “It’s meaningful to me that people in the community have learned a bit of the impact that the Booker T. Washington School had both locally and nationally … because of the wonderful jewels — the people — it produced.”
The team’s efforts were not only appreciated and celebrated by the Johnson County community, but have now been recognized by historians around the state. The rededication project has been given the Outstanding Collaborative Project Award by the Indiana Historical Society, which goes to exceptional projects by a historical or heritage organization with multiple partners.
“This group of Leadership Johnson County folks got together and said, ‘Here are our interests.’ Then to have that group take that interest area and say that here was something that really needed to happen in this community, renaming this community center,” said Tamara Hemmerlein, director of local history services for the Indiana Historical Society.
The idea to rename the community center in honor of Booker T. Washington was born in the fall of 2020, among members of Leadership Johnson County. The community program prepares area residents for leadership roles, with a new class of participants going through the rigorous curriculum each year.
At the start of the program, participants break off into small groups, with each team required to envision and enact a project that would benefit the community.
The team united around an idea to help increase diversity and recognize history in the county.
Douglas Gray, a pastor and member of the group, suggested honoring the history of the Booker T. Washington School. He used to be a pastor at Second Baptist Church in Franklin, a congregation that meets just down the street from Palmer Park. That church, plus another in Bethel AME Church, united with the Booker T. Washington School to form the nexus of the Black community in Franklin.
They called it the DREAM project — Diversity in Recreation for Education, Alliance and Motivation.
For team member Shadi Lilly, the goal of the project struck a chord with her personally.
“I myself have been discriminated against. I was often bullied for being an immigrant. I was always the kid at school that had the ‘weird name’ or the kid that came from a ‘bad’ country,” she said. “Even to this day, after becoming a mother to two amazing children, I am still reminded of that little girl who got made fun of when my own children have come home from school to ask me if I came from a bad country.”
By changing the community center’s name and spotlighting the history of the Booker T. Washington School, it allows people of all backgrounds to better understand its importance.
“Maybe there will be a young girl who walks through that story walk who needs to see a celebration of those in the minority,” Lilly said. “Our community has a center that shows a history in which we can all see ourselves in one way or another. So maybe even a little girl who was made fun of for having a ‘weird’ name will celebrate diversity and stand taller knowing she will be valued for being different.”
To get the project started, the team approached Franklin Parks about renaming the community center. They outlined their idea to restore the former name of the site, as well as add educational components to help others understand the importance of it.
New signage would help identify the community center with its new name. A walking trail with placards tells the stories of the important figures who shaped Franklin and went to the Booker T. Washington School. Students at Whiteland Community High School constructed the display cases for the trail.
The renamed community center was unveiled during a celebration earlier this year.
Since that time, team members and others within the community have felt the impact of the decision.
“Just last Sunday I had the opportunity to preach at (Second Baptist Church) down the street from the community center,” Gray said. “During the testimonial portion of the service, a couple of the older members of the church got up to say how proud and pleased they were that the center’s name has returned to what it was once known as.”
The project has drawn widespread attention, particularly from the Indiana Historical Society. Each year, the organization awards its Founders Day honorees — individuals and groups who have raised awareness and appreciation of Indiana’s history on local, regional and statewide levels.
“It helps us go outside our doors and see what’s happening outside the Indiana History Center,” Hemmerlein said. “It’s a way to honor the good work that organizations and individuals are doing around the state.”
Fourteen awards were given this year, in categories such as the Caleb Mills Indiana History Teacher of the Year, Dorothy Riker Hoosier Historian Award and Centennial Business Awards, which recognizes businesses that have been in operation for a century or longer.
In the Outstanding Collaborative Project Award, the historical society looked at how groups worked together to change their communities through history. One of the biggest things that the deciding committee is watching for is impact — something the DREAM project demonstrated fully.
“It was really important to the committee to recognize the really deep thought that went into the project. And then reading letters of support and documents that came with the nomination, seeing that this was impactful. It got to that core of advancing the cause of history and making people more aware of history,” Hemmerlein said.
For the members of the DREAM team, being recognized with the award is a humbling testament to the power of the Leadership Johnson County program, and an opportunity to keep the importance of the Booker T. Washington School in the public eye.
“It helps to continue to spread the message of what this school stood for; it brings more light to the project, and allows more people to learn about the Booker T Washington School and its history,” said Nicole Otte, a member of the team. “It is humbling to know that our (Leadership Johnson County) colleagues thought our project was worth nominating for an award like this. We just wanted to make a difference in our community, as most LJC projects do.”
