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IHS Celebrates MLK Day with Free Admission, Special Programs and Performances
INDIANAPOLIS—Help honor the activism, leadership and volunteer work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. when the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) hosts a free day of special programs and performances on Monday, Jan. 20. The daylong celebration takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.
Throughout the event, families and friends can donate new or gently used winter clothing, pack first aid kits and write encouraging notes, to be distributed by HealthNet. The organization will also hold discussions on how to help people who are experiencing homelessness in central Indiana.
Guests can learn about civil rights prior to Dr. King’s time when Susan Hall Dotson, IHS coordinator for African American History, leads a discussion about Madam C.J. Walker’s activism. In addition, the Griot Drum Ensemble returns to the History Center to entertain audiences with its high-energy African-influenced drumming, dancing and storytelling.
Free admission provides access to IHS’s award-winning Indiana Experience, including its newest exhibit, You Are There 1915: Madam C.J. Walker, Empowering Women. For one day only, IHS will also display a traveling exhibit created in partnership with the Kennedy King Memorial Initiative. The exhibit, Local Speech, Global Reach, explores Dr. King’s legacy and the impact of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s historic speech in Indianapolis.
IHS’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration is presented by HealthNet, with support from the Charlitta and Robin Winston Family Fund for African American History. For more information, including a complete schedule of programs and performances, visit www.indianahistory.org or call (317) 232-1882.
About the Indiana Historical Society
Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been Indiana’s Storyteller™, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing the state’s history. A private, nonprofit membership organization, IHS maintains the nation’s premier research library and archives on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest and presents a unique set of visitor experiences called the Indiana Experience. IHS also provides support and assistance to local museums and historical groups; publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; produces and hosts art exhibitions, museum theater and outside performance groups; and provides youth, adult and family programs. IHS is a Smithsonian Affiliate and a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.
