Speaker: Kisha Tandy
Inspired by a scrapbook, Kisha Tandy will shed light on the ways in which Black people flourished in Indianapolis despite the influence of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s.
Our Speaker is Curator of Social History at the Indiana State Museum, Scholar, Indianapolis Foundation, 1993-1997, Minority Achievement scholar, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, 1996-1997, Zora Neale Hurstson-Mari Evans scholar, Indiana University Purdue University School Liberal Arts, 1997—2000.
Sponsored by Alison Brown
Program: Rooted in Resilience: Black Life in Indiana During the Klan Era Speaker: Kisha Tandy, MLS, Curator of Social History, Indiana State Museum
Introduced By: Allison Brown
Attendance: NESC: 116; Zoom: 32
Guest(s): Ginny Hay3w-Bennett, Sue Fohey, Craig Spaid, Deandra Craig, Celest Williams, Greg Fisher
Scribe: Benny Ko
Editor: Bill Elliott
Talk’s Zoom recording found at: https://www.scientechclubvideos.org/zoom/11032025.mp4
The height of the Ku Klux Klan's influence spans from 1921 to 1929, coinciding with the opening of a Klan's office in the city. At the time, the city's population was approximately 82% White and 18% Black.
Within a brief time, the Klan had recruited an estimated quarter of a million members, mainly White male Protestants. Their main goal was to gain political power and influence, to intimidate and suppress minority groups such as Catholics, immigrants, Jews, and African Americans. At its height, the Klan's membership included politicians, clergy, law-enforcement officers, mayors, and even the then-governor was alleged to be a member. The leader of this Klan movement was its Grand Dragon, a man named DC Stevenson. He preached temperance, family values, and honorable deeds, but he lived exactly the opposite of what he preached. His crime against a young woman named Madge Oberholzer brought about his eventual downfall and along with him, the KKK movement and its era in Indiana. In March 2025, Ms. Oberholzer was raped and battered on a train
by DC Stevenson while in route to Chicago. She eventually died a slow and painful death from her infected wounds but managed to leave a testimony of the assault against her.
Stevenson was tried for murder after her death and was convicted. Among the witnesses were two Black men who testified against Stevenson. Prior to this, Black people were not considered qualified to be witnesses. The Indianapolis Times won a Pulitzer Prize for covering the story.
Despite the Klan's excesses that left a negative impact and blemish on Indiana history, the Black community was thriving during the same period. A Black sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho, was established in Irvington, where Butler University was formerly located. The sorority building was only a short walk from the villain DC Stevenson's house, offering a counter-narrative to the Klans.
Historical documents, such as a scrapbook left behind by one of the Stout sisters, testified to the vibrant lives and cultural events in the Black community, along with its ongoing struggle for civil rights. Both sisters, Anna and Francis, were lifelong educators and resolute members of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Francis was a founder of the graduate chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. There was a Black newspaper published, the Indianapolis Ledger, and a Black directory containing information on Black businesses. The Black community founded its own car race when the Indy 500 excluded Black drivers. It had its favorite resort, Fox Lake. The Senate Avenue YMCA was a favorite community gathering places for all sorts of events. Then there is the Walker Theater, which opened in 1927. Soon after, other entertainment venues sprang up along Indiana Avenue.
All of these testify to the strength and resiliency of the Black community of Indianapolis despite a strong headwind during the Klan era, and it is a chapter of Black Indiana history that deserves admiration and remembrance.
The history segments aired on American History TV (AHTV) on C-SPAN3. https://www.c-span.org/program/american-history-tv/african-american-history-in-indianapolis/537327
Kisha Tandy
