Leaders and legacies: The rich history of those buried at Greenlawn Cemetery

In a nearly forgotten area along the banks of the White River in downtown Indianapolis lay buried gems of the past. These gems are the human remains of notable leaders who lived extraordinary lives, including the first Black landowner in Indiana — who is a woman, Muhammad Ali’s great-great grandfather, the first Black Grand Master Mason of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, a jazz musician, a doctor, the man who inspired Harriett Beecher Stowe’s UNCLE TOM’S CABIN, a Civil War hero*, barbers, and other significant leaders of the Black community in the early to mid-1800s. Many of those buried were born enslaved, then freed, and were quite accomplished in their lifetimes. Greenlawn Cemetery opened in 1821 and closed to new burials in 1890, when, according to city records, the cemetery was full. Many of the inhabitants of Greenlawn Cemetery lived along Indiana Avenue, which served as the cradle for economic and social prosperity for African Americans from the late 1700s until the Indianapolis city council razed their affluent neighborhood for a new highway system, thanks to the passage of the 1956 Federal-Aid Highway Act during the Eisenhower administration. Not only was Indiana Avenue a business hub, but it...