Madam Walker & the Rise & Fall of Indiana Avenue from Urban Roots

Making Contact

Madam C.J. Walker was a brilliant entrepreneur who built a haircare empire and became the first African American woman millionaire. You might have heard about her, but not many people know that her headquarters used to be located in Indianapolis, along a once vibrant Black corridor called Indiana Avenue, a place that today is known for parking lots, high-speed traffic, and uninspiring university buildings.

Why do so few people know this story? Because, over decades, government planners and private developers slowly and systematically erased Indiana Avenue's history. Luckily, however, some Black Hoosiers are working to uncover, and reclaim, what almost disappeared without a trace. In this episode, we tell their, and the Avenue’s, story.

Featuring:

A’Lelia Bundles: Journalist and Madam C.J. Walker biographer; Susan Hall Dotson of the Indiana Historical Society; Claudia Polley of the Urban Legacy Lands Initiative; Wildstyle Paschall, artist and community advocate; Devon Ginn of the Walker Legacy Center; and centenarian/Indiana Avenue author, Mr. Thomas Hart Ridley.

Credits:

Urban Roots Credits:

Urban Roots dives deep into little known stories from urban history, unearthing histories of women and people of color that are in danger of being forgotten.

• Hosts and Executive Producers: Deqah Hussein-Wetzel and Vanessa Maria Quirk.
• Editor and Executive Producer: Connor Lynch
• Mixer: Andrew Callaway. Music
• Composer: [Adaam James Levin-Areddy.](https://www.ajla.me/)

Making Contact Credits

• Episode Host: Salima Hamirani
• Producers: Anita Johnson, Salima Hamirani, Amy Gastelum, and Lucy Kang
• Executive Director: Jina Chung
• Editor: Adwoa Gyimah-Brempong
• Engineer:Jeff Emtman
• Digital Media Marketing: Lissa Deonarain

Music Credits

• Tephra- anemoia
• Ben von Wildenhaus - Week Twenty-five

Learn More:

Urbanist Media

Making Contact is an award-winning, nationally syndicated radio show and podcast featuring narrative storytelling and thought-provoking interviews. We cover the most urgent issues of our time and the people on the ground building a more just world.