Freetown Village is one of the many partners for the 27th Annual “Spirit of Freedom,” a celebration of the many thousands of African Americans who fought during the Civil War. These U.S.C.T. (United States Colored Troops) represented one-tenth of the Union Army, a little-known fact of our Civil War history.

During this highly educational event, up to 800 fifth and sixth grade Indianapolis Public School students will rotate between three stages at the American Legion Mall as Civil War reenactors share first-person accounts from their character’s experiences and stories of other important African Americans who had a major impact upon the outcome of the Civil War.

FV ‘residents’ Rev. Strong (who will also serve as Master of Ceremonies) and Sarah Elizabeth Brown Cuffee, a freeborn lady, and seamstress will be featured reenactors. Additional reenactors include Sgt. Andrew Smith of the 55th Mass. Colored Volunteers; Dr. Richard Gatling, Inventor of the Gatling Gun, who will be performing Gatling Gun firing demonstrations; Harriet Tubman, UGRR Agent & Army Spy; President Abraham Lincoln, Civil War President who brought an end to slavery; and Pvt. Stephen King, 28th Indiana Colored Infantry Drummer.

“Spirit of Freedom” is event is FREE and open to the public.

Directions: American Legion Mall, 700 N Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Please bring a blanket or folding chair to sit on, and a picnic lunch if desired. “Spirit of Freedom” will be canceled in the event of rain.

MORE INFO & RSVP: contact Pat Payne, paynep@myips.org.

Crown Hill Foundation is pleased to host their annual Homeschool Day on Wednesday, September 24th, 2025, from 10 AM-2 PM. Students will discover, explore, and experience Crown Hill through various educational stations led by our staff, volunteers, and community partners. Students will interact with The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, Indiana Landmarks, Indiana Historical Society, DNR’s Department of Forestry’s interactive “Woods on Wheels,” our popular “Heritage” historical tours, Civil War surgery reenactments, monarch butterfly activities in our Pollinators’ Garden, climbing arborists, and SO MUCH MORE. It is an opportunity to capture students’ imaginations, inspiring them to continue being life-long learners.

• Freetown Village Singers: 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

• Reverend Strong: 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m.

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

Our presenter, Renee Thomas, will provide a historical overview of the remarkable African American experience at Purdue University. The presentation will introduce you to notable alumni and cultural landmarks on campus from 1894 - 2021.

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.

Freetown Village Singers will perform at the Citizens Energy Community Resource Day. 10:30 a.m.

2020 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202.

"Work of Their Own" follows three African American workers—a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and Madam C.J. Walker—as they navigate labor, dignity, and self-determination in Reconstruction and early 20th-century America. A powerful story of freedom, faith, and forging a future.

Step into a powerful journey through time in Work of Their Own, a thought-provoking
performance exploring the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction and the early
20th century. Through the voices of a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and the legendary
Madam C.J. Walker, this original production highlights the resilience, dignity, and
entrepreneurial spirit of Black laborers navigating newfound freedom and forging their own
paths in a changing America. Blending history, storytelling, and live performance, Work of
Their Own invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of work, agency, and legacy.

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

Our presenters, Drs. Michelle Daniel Jones and Elizabeth Nelson will discuss the Indiana Women's Prison History Project, a group of currently and formerly incarcerated scholars who research and publish original histories of gender, race, and incarceration in Indiana. Daniel Jones and Nelson will explore the process of doing history inside the Indiana Women's Prison that led to the publication of their co-edited volume, Who Would Believe a Prisoner?: Indiana Women's Carceral Institutions, 1848-1920 (The New Press, 2023).

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.

"Work of Their Own" follows three African American workers—a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and Madam C.J. Walker—as they navigate labor, dignity, and self-determination in Reconstruction and early 20th-century America. A powerful story of freedom, faith, and forging a future.

Step into a powerful journey through time in Work of Their Own, a thought-provoking
performance exploring the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction and the early
20th century. Through the voices of a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and the legendary
Madam C.J. Walker, this original production highlights the resilience, dignity, and
entrepreneurial spirit of Black laborers navigating newfound freedom and forging their own
paths in a changing America. Blending history, storytelling, and live performance, Work of
Their Own invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of work, agency, and legacy.

"Work of Their Own" follows three African American workers—a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and Madam C.J. Walker—as they navigate labor, dignity, and self-determination in Reconstruction and early 20th-century America. A powerful story of freedom, faith, and forging a future.

Step into a powerful journey through time in Work of Their Own, a thought-provoking
performance exploring the lives of African Americans during Reconstruction and the early
20th century. Through the voices of a seamstress, a carpenter-preacher, and the legendary
Madam C.J. Walker, this original production highlights the resilience, dignity, and
entrepreneurial spirit of Black laborers navigating newfound freedom and forging their own
paths in a changing America. Blending history, storytelling, and live performance, Work of
Their Own invites audiences to reflect on the meaning of work, agency, and legacy.

“No Strings Attached: Philanthropy, Black Women, and Institution Building in the City of Indianapolis".

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

Our speakers will be Joseph Tucker Edmonds, PhD and Kim Williams-Pulfer, PhD. Their presentation will explore the history of Black women philanthropists in Indianapolis and how they developed a model of ‘trust-based’ philanthropy to build and control key Black cultural institutions in the city of Indianapolis. This overview of Black philanthropic creativity and ingenuity throughout the twentieth century will provide important insights to contemporary cultural institutions as they assess their autonomy and sustainability.

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.

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.