Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis’ first library for Black residents reopens through school librarian’s leadership
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters
Maurice Broaddus was a writer by trade and became a middle school librarian by accident.
The award-winning Afrofuturist and sci-fi author once filled in at The Oaks Academy middle school, where he was also a teacher, for the librarian going on maternity leave. The librarian never came back.
“Six, seven years later I’m still covering her maternity leave,” he joked.
But what started as mere chance has become an opportunity to mentor young writers, support artists of color, and restore a historic Indianapolis library that was the first in the city established specifically for Black residents.
“It’s been a lesson in collaboration, a lesson in building relationships, a lesson in dreaming alongside our neighbors,” said Broaddus, who is Black. “Ultimately, what does it look like to restore a space and then it be true to its purpose?”
Broaddus led the project to reopen the Paul Laurence Dunbar Library, established within the now-closed John Hope School No. 26 in 1922, to students at The Oaks Academy Middle School, a private Christian school in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood. The library originally existed to serve Black residents in a de facto segregated part of the city. Its restoration after nearly 30 years of disuse will give Oaks students their own library collection, Broaddus said, while memorializing its place in Indianapolis history.
“We are honoring the past, but we’re doing present work,” he said.
The restored library opened last week on the first day of school at The Oaks. Many shelves are still empty — Broaddus is waiting on a major 1,000-book order — but he’s started curating three special collections on the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and Afrofuturism.
As parents and new students walked through the building for middle school orientation last Tuesday, they lingered around the library. They saw shelves of rich, dark wood, an ornamental copper ceiling, and a working fireplace.
“It looks like a Harry Potter film in here, you know?” one parent said to her child.
“As well it should,” Broaddus said.
The team behind the project worked to pay homage to the original decor and accents of the space, he said. The library stopped operating in 1997, when John Hope School No. 26 of Indianapolis Public Schools shut down.
The Oaks Academy acquired the building in 2015, according to the school website, and currently has around 270 students in grades 6-8.
Before this year, students relied on the Indianapolis Public Library shared interlibrary system and requested books online that were delivered by Broaddus. They can continue to use that system, but now they also have an internal collection to browse.
In addition to aesthetics, Broaddus wants to honor the legacy of the space by ensuring it benefits the community, not just private school students. He said that’s why he established the Mari Evans Residency for Artists and Authors of Color.
The residency, named for the acclaimed Black poet, writer, and Indianapolis resident Mari Evans, will bring in a renowned author for two weeks to meet with students as well as hold a public-facing event, like a lecture.
The public event is important to Broaddus, who cares about earning the neighborhood’s trust. He said some of the themes of the residency grew out of community feedback.
“If I’m over here operating like, ‘Oh, I know what we should do,’ I’m operating no differently than, frankly, any of the white institutions, just with a Black face in front of it,” he said. “I’m literally no more than a colonizer with brown skin at that point.”
During orientation, the students were intrigued with how the restored library space will be used.
Eighth-grader Lazarus Manley said he likes the idea of going to the library after a long day.
“It just feels really cozy to be in, and I’m really excited to use it,” Manley said.
Haley Miller is a summer reporting intern covering education in the Indianapolis area. Contact Haley at hmiller@chalkbeat.org.
Trump repeals landmark EPA climate endangerment finding
President Trump’s repeal of the endangerment finding eliminates the legal basis for regulations that target air pollution from greenhouse gases.
Indianapolis and the surrounding metropolitan area failed a number of critical air pollution measures in the American Lung Association’s latest State of the Air report.
The ALA’s annual nationwide report published each spring gives the Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie metro area an “F” in smog and soot pollution. The report analyzes emissions data over a three-year period from 2022 to 2024.
Smog is ground-level ozone pollution and soot is particulate matter. The two comprise two of the six commonly found air pollutants in the United States according to the EPA.
Both pollutants form in part when coal-fired power plants and diesel engines burn fossil fuels. Smog and soot can cause premature death and other serious health hazards such as heart attacks, strokes, preterm births, asthma and cognitive decline, according to the ALA.
The lung health report ranks the central Indiana metro area in a number of categories with the region performing poorly in most. Indianapolis-Carmel-Muncie ranked the 11th most polluted area for year-round particle pollution and 14th for short-term particle pollution.
Indiana children at risk from air pollution
And the rest of the state fares little better.
More than 670,000 Hoosier children breath unhealthy levels of air pollution, the report says.
This year’s report focus on the risk to youth that polluted air can pose. Small lungs are particularly vulnerable, said Tiffany Nichols, ALA director of advocacy.
“Infants, children and teens have lungs that are still developing, which makes them more susceptible to the impacts of unhealthy air,” Nichols said.
To prevent today’s youth from developing diseases related to polluted air, the American Lung Association has been asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stop rolling back clean air rules put in place by previous administrations. The Indiana chapter has also asked state lawmakers to take steps to protect air quality.
Nichols grew up on the northwest side of Indy where the neighborhoods had been demolished to build I-65. Nearby trees were torn down to make way for the highway that would bring cars and trucks emitting harmful exhaust.
“So, then you have these areas that are essentially like a pocket of unhealthy air, and then those neighborhoods also had a lot of factories,” Nichols said. “That exacerbated health conditions in many of those communities that are oftentimes less fortunate already.”
Data centers and rollbacks
While air pollutants have existed for centuries, the rise of data centers poses a new threat. State and local lawmakers, Nichols said, should also pay attention to these new potential sources of pollution both in Indiana and across the country.
“We’re asking that those companies that are interested in putting data centers in communities work with the local community,” Nichols said. “Since data centers have the potential to be another source of pollution we also ask that they use renewable, zero-ignition energy sources.”
The ALA report also urges the U.S. EPA to recommit to protecting people’s health from harmful air pollution.
This year, the EPA has gone on what Administrator Lee Zeldin has characterized as a deregulation campaign that environmental advocates in Indiana have charged will lead to “death by 1,000 cuts.”
The current EPA, the American Lung Association report says, has “retreated from its public health foundation by rolling back clean air protections.”
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk or BlueSky @karlstartswithk.bsky.social.
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Eagle Food & Beer Hall, a Southern-inspired restaurant at 310 Massachusetts Ave. in Indianapolis, is preparing for a Kentucky Derby party on May 2 and promoting a catering deal alongside its signature menu items.
The restaurant is known for its all-natural, brined and hand-dredged fried chicken, comfort-food sides, craft beer selection, scratch-made cocktails, and a blues-inspired atmosphere. It is part of Cincinnati-based Thunderdome Restaurant Group, which operates nine concepts across more than 50 locations nationwide.
Ricky Tindell, regional managing partner for Thunderdome Restaurant Group, highlighted the restaurant’s catering services and upcoming events. He said catering orders range from small gatherings to large events.
“We do a lot of catering. We do it anywhere from six people all the way up to 400,” Tindell said. He added that customers can take advantage of a promotion offering a $25 rebate on orders of $250 or more through July 4, 2026.
Tindell also described the preparation of The Eagle’s fried chicken, which is brined in-house for 24 to 36 hours, double-dredged, and pressure-fried. He said the restaurant uses a proprietary seasoning blend.
He also discussed the Mac and Cheese Burnt Ends Bowl, a popular menu item made with a five-cheese sauce, cavatappi pasta, pork burnt ends, lemon thyme ranch, crispy onions, and chives. Tindell said the dish developed from customer preferences and repeated add-ons to the restaurant’s mac and cheese.
He said the burnt ends are slow-roasted for two hours, deep-fried, and tossed in a Texas-style barbecue sauce. Portions are designed to be shareable for two to three people.
Tindell said the restaurant’s appeal in Indianapolis comes from its Southern comfort food offerings.
“It’s Southern comfort food. So people get that feeling,” Tindell said. “That’s why The Eagle is one of the top four or five reasons people recommend when asked where to eat in Indianapolis.”
He added that he personally craves the chicken if he goes a week without it.
The Kentucky Derby party is scheduled for May 2 from 11 a.m. to midnight and will feature contests, prizes, and giveaways, including a “Win the Eagle for a Year” promotion offering a $50 monthly gift card for 12 months.
The catering promotion, offering a $25 rebate on orders of $250 or more, is available through July 4, 2026.. For more information, visit eaglerestaurant.com/locations.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat representing Indianapolis, has announced her candidacy for a bid to run for mayor of Indianapolis in 2027.
Hunley, who had previously teased a mayoral run, has scheduled a launch event for May 8 as her official kickoff her campaign to lead the city, said her campaign website. The Assistant Minority Leader in the Senate announced in January that she would not seek another term in the Indiana Senate, to which she was elected in 2022.
Hunley’s website says, “Indianapolis is my city. Our city. As someone who knows this city, someone who has served this community as a public school teacher leading our children and supporting families, I am committed to the future of the people of Indianapolis.
“Indianapolis is the economic driver and a key cultural hub for our state. Our city boasts creative entrepreneurs and long-standing local businesses, vibrant neighborhoods and corporate headquarters, community-centered nonprofits and public schools. I aim to champion a better quality of life by listening to and working alongside the people, businesses and neighborhoods that make up our great city.”
Mayor Joe Hogsett has not disclosed if he’s seeking a fourth four-year term.
City-County Council Member Vop Osili in January announced his campaign for the Democratic nomination.
In the same month, Pike Township Trustee Annette Johnson announced her intention to seek the Democratic nomination to run for mayor. She’s running this year to continue in the trustee’s job, which she has held since 2019.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, who had been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for mayor, announced in January he would seek another four-year term this year for his current job. However, he did not rule out running for the Democratic bid for mayor in 2027.
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