Return to: Back in the Day - Indiana's Black History

An evening of discovery

BY CARMELA THOMAS

Published: May 24, 2000

Re-enactment troupe revisits 1870, revealing lives of black residents five years after slavery.

Washington Street was the city's only paved thoroughfare. Carriages and streetcars were modes of travel.

And newly freed slaves were going to school, buying land and working -- the men, primarily as barbers, coachmen, teamsters, blacksmiths and carpenters; the women, primarily as cooks and washwomen .

That was Indianapolis, 1870.

For those who have wondered what life was like for the city's black population during that era, Freetown Village is ready with a living-history lesson. The historical re-enactment group started its annual series, "An Evening Dinner with Freetown Village," May 13 at Scottish Rite Cathedral Downtown.

Freetown's mission is to educate the public about black lives and culture in post-Civil War Indiana through the living- history performances. The organization also collects and preserves artifacts, and prepares exhibits for other programs. It is sponsored in part by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and produced in cooperation with the Tourism Division of the Indiana Department of Commerce.

The dinners feature living-history lessons by a troupe of actors who depict the lives of free blacks in the year 1870 -- five years after the 13th Amendment outlawed slavery.

Always in character, dressed in clothing of the period, the actors interact with audience members, using dialect. They play parlor games and sing songs from the era.

It was a time of material poverty, but cultural and spiritual richness born of their African heritage abounded, says Freetown executive director Ophelia Wellington.

"The half-million Africans surviving passage across the Atlantic to America brought virtually no personal possessions with them," she says. "However, they did bring a rich cultural heritage."

That wealth is apparent in the organized dinners -- which are part theater, part interactive classroom.

The actors are composite characters of the approximately 3,000 black men, women and children counted in the 1870 Indianapolis census.

About 40 percent of the black population then lived in areas called Bucktown, Sleigho and East Indianapolis.

Freetown members use 19th-century newspapers to research the characters and make them authentic. Authenticity rules the evening -- which starts with greetings and small talk.

A literacy question

At a recent dinner, as guests arrive and fill out name tags, Freetown schoolteacher Matilda Addison asks them if they know how to write.

"Have you had your letterin'?" she asks. "If you haven't, I can help you," says the teacher (portrayed by Wellington).

"After all, some blacks are going to segregated schools 200 days a year now," she says, adding that there were black lawyers during this time who helped former slaves with real-estate deals and their "free papers."

"Did you come by horse and buggy or did you walk?" asks town gossip and vegetable seller Guinea Blue .

Blue, portrayed on this night by Jonathan Thompson, is an endearing character who injects humor into the evening with his dialect, boisterous personality and tales of town goings-on.

He speaks about the different medical treatments back then , saying some doctors believed in treating patients with a leech that sucks the illness out of people.

But he swears by Mother Endura , one of the town's "root" women.

"Mother Endura don't believe in no doctors. . . .She's sweet on Guinea Blue. . . . When Ize git sick, she rubbed goose-grease on mah chest, and the followin' mornin' I was kickin' and a-screamin' back with my mule shoutin', 'Vegta buuuuuuuls, git yer vegta buuuuuuuls,' " Blue says, followed by a hearty "He-he-he-he. . ."

Meet the residents

Once everyone is seated, the dinner-party hosts introduce themselves to their guests.

Isaiah Cuffee, a barber, purchased the land on the west side of Indianapolis near the canal and called it Freetown. A former slave, he was the first African-American to settle there.

His wife, Sarah Elizabeth, portrayed during the recent dinner by 33-year-old Michelle Mimms, is the town seamstress.

The evening's menu includes foods the people would have eaten that year. It's simple, delicious fare: vegetable soup, fried pork chops, snap beans, potatoes, spoon bread, pound cake, minted iced tea and coffee.

The Rev. Samuel Strong, portrayed on this occasion by actor Timothy Reed, offers a blessing before the townspeople sit at tables to socialize with guests.

"There were a lot of women fighting for the 15th Amendment -- Susan B. Anthony and others," says schoolteacher Addison to some of the guests, giving them a flavor of the time, as they dine. "We raised money and did everything we could. We thought we would get the right to vote. . . . There were parades and a big to-do just recently."

Guests express surprise that a fun-filled day with a picnic typically was held at a cemetery.

Many participants were caught off-guard when they were asked to give impromptu performances of tall tales, to complete limericks and to sing.

Addison is just as surprised that some of her women guests have careers and wear "britches."

Started in '75

Wellington says Freetown Village performances have become quite popular since they started in 1975 as a one-character show. More than 1,000 performances have been produced since. And the troupe itself has grown, touring Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Ohio.

The performance/dinners started in 1989.

Wellington speculates about the reason for the popularity of the dinners and its characters:

"We live in a time when it takes tragedy to bring families together," she says. "Families don't take much time to do things together. Many are caught up in electronic devices. This is a fun family night where they learn history and enjoy each other's company in a creative way."

Community feeling

It's also an event that individuals can come to alone and enjoy the community atmosphere, she adds.

Butler University graduate Jennifer Mercho , 23, a participant at a recent dinner, says she has studied history in college and enjoyed finding out more about local history.

Participating in the songs and parlor games brought the lessons to life, she says.

"I've always been interested in African-American studies," Mercho says. "I liked what happened tonight because it was a spiritual event, especially when we sang songs.

"And that was realistic -- because that's what they needed to survive back then."

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