As we seek to save and celebrate places significant to the state’s Black history, we first need to identify the history.
Imagine reading a book with chapters torn out. Or watching a movie that’s missing scenes. Or trying to describe a family when you’ve not met all of its members.Like the story ofMary was a slave who was brought to Indiana from Kentucky in 1814 and given her freedom … sort of. Although no longer a slave, she was immediately forced into indentured servitude, first with Benjamin J. Harrison, then with Gen. Washington Johnston, one of the most influential men in the state.
The difference between that model and Mary’s servitude is that hers was not voluntary. In a practice that allowed whites to get around rules prohibiting slavery, Blacks often were forced to sign indenture contracts they could not read, binding them to decades of work without pay. Refusing to sign likely meant being returned to slavery in the South.
Fortunately, abolitionist attorney Amory Kinney was willing to fight Mary’s indenture. While the suit he filed, Mary Clark, a woman of color v. General W. Johnston, lost in the Knox County Circuit Court, Kinney successfully appealed the decision before the Indiana Supreme Court in 1821, creating a precedent that others were able to use to effectively put an end to indentured servitude in Indiana.
As a result of Mary’s contributions, a historical marker now stands in her honor at the Knox County Courthouse in Vincennes, a fitting acknowledgment of a remarkable story that’s even more remarkable to me because, as I discovered several years ago, Mary was my great-great-great-grandmother. But her story isn’t just a part of my family’s story; it’s a part of Indiana’s story, a story that is not complete without her. In 2020, I published the book “Black in Indiana” to fill in that gap.
I am aware that, by knowing Mary Bateman Clark’s story and its connection to my family, I’m an exception among Black Hoosiers. Many don’t know their roots and, if they do, the history doesn’t go much beyond their grandparents. I have become increasingly aware of this challenge since I joined Indiana Landmarks last year to lead the organization’s Black Heritage Preservation Program. To do that, we need help.
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