Mile Square in Indianapolis in Marion County, Indiana — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

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Senate Avenue YMCA

Photographed by J. J. Prats, October 20, 2018

1. Stump of the Senate Avenue YMCA Marker

Inscription. African-American leaders formed the Young Men’s Prayer Band in 1900. It became a branch of the city YMCA by 1910. Black and white leaders helped raise funds for a new building here, which opened as the Senate Avenue YMCA in 1913. Booker T. Washington dedicated the building and Faburn DeFrantz led it from 1916-1951. It became one of the largest black YMCAs in the U.S.

The Senate Avenue YMCA became a center of community life, social activism, and education for African Americans. For decades, it sponsored “Monster Meetings” with national leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr., W.E.B. Du Bois, George Washington Carver, and Eleanor Roosevelt. The Indianapolis YMCA integrated in 1950. The Senate Avenue YMCA moved to Fall Creek in 1959.

Erected 2016 by Indiana Historical Bureau and YMCA of Greater Indianapolis. (Marker Number 49.2016.2.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Charity & Public Work • Civil Rights • Education. In addition, it is included in the Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. series lists. A significant historical year for this entry is 1900.

Location. Marker is missing. It was located near 39°

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46.429′ N, 86° 9.83′ W. Marker was in Indianapolis, Indiana, in Marion County. It was in Mile Square. It was at the intersection of West Michigan Street and North Senate Avenue, on the right when traveling east on West Michigan Street. It was at the pedestrian entrance to the parking lot. Touch for map. Marker was at or near this postal address: 420 N Senate Ave, Indianapolis IN 46202, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker was in Central Indiana.

It was also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it was in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: The Emelie Building (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (about 600 feet away); Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library (approx. 0.2 miles away); Indiana Avenue (approx. 0.2 miles away); James Overall (approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); USS Indianapolis CA-35 (approx. ¼ mile away); Greek Orthodox Church (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Greek Orthodox Church (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Indianapolis.

Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This is the Historic Ransom Place marker that has additional information about this YMCA as well as the YWCA.

Also see . . . Monster Meetings at the Senate Avenue YMCA. Excerpt: In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. himself, made an appearance on the YMCA Monster

Dedication of the Senate Avenue Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA) in Indianapolis, 1913. image. Click for full size.

Original photograph in the Madam C. J. Walker Collection, Indiana Historical Society

2. Dedication of the Senate Avenue Young Men’s Christian Association(YMCA) in Indianapolis, 1913.

This photograph is reproduced on the Historic Ransom Place marker in Ransom Place Pocket Park half a mile northwest off Indiana Avenue.
Caption: One of the largest segregated YMCAs in the country, the organization was central in the political education for many who lived in this community, particularly through its nationally known “Monster Meetings.” From left to right, George Knox, publisher of The Freeman (Indianapolis); Madam C. J. Walker, entrepreneur; Booker T. Washington, president of Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University); Alexander Manning, editor of the Colored World; Charles H. Bullock, Secretary, Louisville YMCA; and Thomas Taylor, Senate Avenue YMCA Secretary. Back Row: Freeman B. Ransom, attorney for the Walker Company and Dr. Joseph H. Ward.

Meeting roster with a speech entitled “Remaining Awake through a Revolution.” Due to intense interest in King’s lecture, organizers moved the event to Cadle Tabernacle, which could accommodate a larger audience. In one of his first public appearances since he suffered a brutal attack at a book signing that year, the Baptist minister maintained his message of nonviolence, urging the use of love in the face of violence. He proclaimed: “A new age of justice is challenging us to love our oppressors . . . We must not assume this new freedom with attitudes of bitterness and recrimination, for, if we do, the new age will be nothing but a duplicate of the old one . . . A new world is being born, and the old world will die. We must be prepared for the new world to come. Segregation is nothing but slavery covered up with certain niceties and complexities. If our democracy is to live, segregation must die . . . Use love. Love is a sure winner. Remember that as Christians we are working with God. If we do it the way God wants us to do it, we will be able to sing with pride, ‘My Country ‘tis of thee’ for Freedom must ring from every mountainside.” (Submitted on December 30, 2018.)

Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 30, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 500 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 30, 2018, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.