We encourage you to browse through the timeline of historical dates of major legislation passed that inspired hope for a unified and desegregated Indianapolis below. You can zoom in on the dates using the magnifying glass, and move between dates using the arrows in either side of the timeline.
Despite the legislation that has been passed aiming to end housing segregation, issues persist. People are constantly restricted in their movement on where to live in the Indianapolis community especially. While many of these court cases and laws below were seen as "landmark victories" at the time, you'll notice that none of the dates show landmarks in desegregation statistics. This is because, frankly, there hasn't been much substantial process.
Despite the legislation that has been passed aiming to end housing segregation, issues persist. People are constantly restricted in their movement on where to live in the Indianapolis community especially. While many of these court cases and laws below were seen as "landmark victories" at the time, you'll notice that none of the dates show landmarks in desegregation statistics. This is because, frankly, there hasn't been much substantial process.
Accessible Recording of Timeline:
An Unusual Circumstance
Case Study: Old Southside, Indianapolis
Just south of downtown Indianapolis, the neighborhood simply known as "Southside" was an incredibly unique neighborhood in Klan-dominated Indianapolis--it was an race-integrated neighborhood from the 1920's through the 1960's [3]. Drugstore lunch counters were not segregated in the least, and School 22 "was as black as it was white," according to a 2016 IndyStar article written by Will Higgins. A black student who moved to an all-black school later found the lack of white children quite odd. Residents interviewed for the article looked back fondly on their days there and the friendly neighbors who filled storefronts and restaurants. Susan Hyatt of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis was cited talking about how after WWII, white and Jewish residents used the GI Bill and VA housing loans to get an education and move into wealthier suburbs. Black veterans had much more difficulty accessing these programs, and were forced to stay in their old, poor neighborhood. Diversity was stifled, but not killed yet. Then, in the early 1970's, I-70 was constructed, bulldozing homes and businesses, and physically dividing the neighborhood in half. That physical barrier from crossing the neighborhood, combined with white flight, effectively formed a majority-black neighborhood that remains to this day.
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Image:
Wilkinson, Kelly. “Formerly Integrated Neighborhood .” Indy Star, 31 Oct. 2016, www.indystar.com/story/life/2016/10/31/old-indy-neighborhood-island-racial-harmony/92006442/.
Wilkinson, Kelly. “Formerly Integrated Neighborhood .” Indy Star, 31 Oct. 2016, www.indystar.com/story/life/2016/10/31/old-indy-neighborhood-island-racial-harmony/92006442/.