Herbert Hawkins's Legacy on Indiana Avenue

Herbert Hawkins's Legacy on Indiana Avenue comes to the Central Library on Tuesday, November 10, from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM. It's a talk that puts a spotlight on a name you might not recognize, but whose life tells a story about the city that's worth knowing.

Writer, researcher, and storyteller Michelle Dartis, Ph.D., leads the evening. She presents Herbert Hawkins as a businessman who ran a filling station and worked in the taxi industry, and who used those roles to create opportunities and support the community around him. It's a look at a life built on the ground, the kind of quiet, steady work that holds a neighborhood together.

After her presentation, the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Public Library step in to widen the lens. They'll bring in the historical context of Indiana Avenue, talking through the systemic forces that shaped the neighborhood during Hawkins' lifetime—redlining, segregation, and transportation inequities. It's a way of seeing Hawkins not just as one man, but as someone navigating a city that was being actively drawn and divided around him.

The talk is held in the Center for Black Literature and Culture, inside the Central Library at 40 East Saint Clair Street. It's part of the Spirit & Place Festival, which runs from November 5 to 15, so there's more to the city's cultural calendar that week if you're in the mood to keep going. The event is free and open to the public, running from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM on Tuesday, November 10.