Conversations in Indiana’s African American History: “‘Slavery Can Have No Existence in the State of Indiana’: Black Women, Slavery, and Unfreedom in Indiana, 1787–1830”

Event Details

In 2025, Freetown Village presents monthly conversations with historians, researchers, and educators to discuss topics related to Indiana’s Black heritage.

May’s program features Dr. Jazma Sutton, assistant professor of history at Miami University in Ohio. Sutton will discuss State v. Lasselle, the 1820 Indiana Supreme Court case in which Polly Strong, an enslaved woman, sued for her freedom. Strong ultimately won the case, with the state supreme court ruling that slavery had no legal standing in Indiana under the 1816 constitution. However, Sutton will explain how this legal victory did not end Black Hoosiers’ struggles for freedom, as courts and local authorities continued to permit slavery and unfreedom through legal loopholes and deference to white men’s claims over Black women’s labor.

The event, which includes a question-and-answer session, will be presented both in person and online via Zoom. Registration is required for both in-person and online attendance. Click on the RSVP link above to register for both the in-person and online options.

For more information, visit Freetown Village’s website at www.freetown.org, email info@freetownvillage.org or call 317.631.1870.

This program received support from an Indiana Humanities Action Grant.