Black Heritage Preservation Program

Preserving and sustaining landmarks that embody Indiana’s Black history, and telling the story of places that no longer remain.

Pride of Place

Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program expands the work of the organization’s African American Landmarks Committee, established in 1992 to help identify, save, and celebrate historic African American sites in around the state.

The Black Heritage Preservation Program bolsters efforts to recognize Black heritage by identifying places that should be listed in the National Register of Historic Places and seeking to expand the definition of those eligible for designation to include places where little or no physical evidence remains.

Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program is funded by a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., and generous commitments from private donors and the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund.

Meet the program’s director Eunice Trotter. Have a Black heritage site you’re concerned about? Email Trotter at etrotter@indianalandmarks.org or call 317-639-4534.

Scholarships & Internships

As part of its outreach, Indiana Landmarks’ Black Heritage Preservation Program offers scholarship and internship opportunities focused on educating future leaders in the preservation field.

Black Heritage Preservation Program scholarship and internship opportunities are open to Indiana-resident students attending or planning to attend an accredited college or university. Applicants must be a graduating high school senior, undergraduate, graduate student, or post-graduate who identifies as Black or African American.

Black Heritage Preservation Program Scholarship

Indiana-resident students can apply for a $10,000 scholarship to cover education-related expenses at an accredited college or university. Qualified expenses include tuition, books, room and board, and technology. Two scholarships will be awarded for the 2025-26 school year. Applications for 2025 are currently closed.

Black Heritage Preservation Program Internships

Two full-time paid internship positions are available for summer 2025. Interns will be paid $22.50/hour for a 37.5-hour work week for 11 weeks, with work expected to take place between May and August. Eligible applicants include graduating high school seniors, undergraduate and graduate students. Post-graduates dedicated to pursuing preservation careers are also eligible. Applications for 2025 are currently closed.

Black Heritage Preservation Program Grants

The Black Heritage Preservation Program offers grants ranging from $500 to $40,000 for restoration and preservation of sites important to Black heritage in Indiana. The program also offers grants ranging from $250 to $10,000 for interpretive projects that document and bring public attention to heritage and history that is no longer evidenced by physical sites. To learn more, review the applications guidelines and grant FAQs. When you’re ready to apply, you can download the Black Heritage Preservation Program grant application form.

Indiana Landmarks also partners with the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF) to make grants through the Standiford H. Cox Fund and the Dovie Stewart Cox & Chester A. Cox Sr. Memorial Fund, grant programs supporting the preservation, operation, and maintenance of historic Black sites across the state. Learn more about these funds by contacting Indiana Landmarks at coxfunds@indianalandmarks.org.

LEARN MORE

Read about the people that created Indiana’s significant Black landmarks, sites undergoing restoration, and endangered places. Discover the stories.

Past Events

February 1, 2024
What Really Happened on Indiana Avenue? A Story Untold

A’Lelia Bundles, journalist, historian, and great-great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker, moderates a panel discussion on Indianapolis’s Indiana Avenue with guests Charles Blair, formerly with Lilly Endowment; Ken Morgan, first executive director of Madam Walker Urban Life Center (1981) and former president of Business Opportunities Systems; Jim Morris, vice chairman of Pacers Sports & Entertainment and former president of Lilly Endowment; Joe Slash, former deputy mayor of Indianapolis and former president of the Indianapolis Urban League; and Fay Williams, lawyer and civic leader.

November 29, 2022
The Forward-Thinking Legacy of St. Rita Catholic Church

Caleb Legg, parishioner and historian of Saint Rita Catholic Church in Indianapolis, shares the church’s cultural heritage and breath-taking Mid-Century Modern architecture in an illustrated talk at Indiana Landmarks Center. Since it was established in 1919 as the first parish in Indianapolis to welcome Black Catholics, Saint Rita Catholic Church in the city’s Martindale area has maintained a forward-thinking reputation. Today, the congregation continues to emphasize community service; at the same time its members are working to make sure the house of worship remains a vital gathering place.