"African Americans, Fox Lake, and the Natural World in Indiana"
Join our monthly conversation with historians, researchers, and educators as we discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.
Our speaker will be Anthony Conley, former history instructor at Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis. His presentation will explore the intersection between African Americans and access to safe natural-world sporting and recreational spaces in 20th-century American society. Fox Lake, an outdoor resort area located in northeastern Indiana, represented African Americans’ successful quest to access these spaces in the Hoosier state. This quest developed in an atmosphere historically hostile to African Americans' presence in the state; legalized racial exclusion, Sundown-Town traditions, and episodes of lethal violence were grim reminders of these sentiments. African aquatic culture and the nature of life in the South were key motivators for the group's desire to consume outdoor recreational activities. Among the lake’s pioneering supporters were Black residents from Indianapolis and Ft. Wayne. While Fox Lake received the greatest percentage of its support from middle- and professional-class African Americans, working-class Blacks were equally successful in accessing a number of hunting, fishing, and swimming spaces in Indiana during the mid-twentieth century. This study centers Black Hoosiers’ support for Fox Lake and other natural-world spaces within the broader context of African Americans and outdoor sporting and recreational activities.
Sponsored by Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program, Indiana Humanities, IUPUI Africana Studies Program, and ASALH Joseph Taylor Branch (Association of the Study of African American Life and History).
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.
