Robert Chester will present his “Black History and Indianapolis” lecture Feb. 27 at Franklin College.
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In the coming weeks, local residents will have the opportunity to comb through a mobile museum containing more than 1,000 artifacts of Black culture.
They can learn about Indianapolis’ Black heritage, and hear from an award-winning poet and playwright on the power of spoken word.
Franklin College has planned a full slate of presentations, lectures and activities in celebration of Black History Month. The events, which are all free and open to the public, will kick off Monday with the arrival of the Black History Month 101 Mobile Museum at the college.
The exhibit features more than 1,000 artifacts of Black history, ranging from the trans-Atlantic slave trade to hip-hop culture. Founded by Khalid el-Hakim and curated by Kavon Shah, the museum will make Franklin College its only Indiana stop during a cross-country tour. The display will be up from noon to 5 p.m. Monday at the Branigin Room of the Napolitan Student Center, according to a Franklin College news release.
Maegan Pollonais, who directs the college’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion, said she heard about the museum from people she knew at Ferris State University and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, where the museum had stopped before. Pollonais contacted Shah, who agreed to bring the museum to Franklin College, she said.
“He will give a talk at noon about the different artifacts and will talk about the things he brought,” Pollonais said. “He has pictures of shackles from chains during slavery and has a Michael Jackson original album cover. He has newspapers and letters (from the Civil Rights movement).”
For residents interested in the contribution of Black people here in central Indiana, Franklin College welcomes historian Robert Chester for a lecture titled “Black History and Indianapolis.” The presentation will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 27 in the Branigin Room.
Chester curates the Crispus Attucks Museum, located on the campus of Crispus Attucks High School, which was the first all-Black high school in Indiana, according to the release. Pollonais took about 20 students to the museum in January through her “Unlocking Black Excellence” class, which she taught as part of the college’s immersive term, she said.
“(Chester) had so much information on Black history and the things that happened in Indianapolis. Sometimes we don’t even know Black history in our backyard,” Pollonais said. “We felt we wanted to bring him to campus because there’s so much rich history here.”
The final event hosted by the college is a lecture from award-winning writer, poet and playwright Angela Jackson-Brown, which will take place 6 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Johnson Atrium of the Napolitan Student Center.
The lecture, titled “The Power of the Spoken Word, a Black History Month Celebration,” is part of the college’s Carlson-Stauffer Visiting Writers Series. Jackson-Brown authored “Drinking from a Bitter Cup,” “House Repairs,” “The Light Always Breaks” and “When Stars Rain Down.” Last fall, she joined Indiana University’s creative writing program as an associate professor in Bloomington, according to the release.
“To celebrate Black history, I thought it would be great to bring her,” Pollonais said. “Her work talks about themes regarding the Black experience and I thought it would be a perfect collaboration.”
