Annual Legacy Fest Block Party highlights Madam C.J. Walker, Black music month

INDIANAPOLIS — On Saturday, dozens of Hoosiers gathered at the Madam Walker Legacy Center for the third annual Legacy Fest Block Party.

The two-day free celebration honored the legacy of Madam Walker and Black music month.

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“Three-years-ago, the vision was to preserve the history, preserve the culture,” Mariah Ivy, Programs Outreach Manager for the Madam Walker Legacy Center, said.

The event was held just days after the expansion of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail connecting the center on Indiana Avenue to 10 ^th Street.

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The block party was a chance to highlight and celebrate the Black community in Indianapolis.

“The event today, I believe, is important for the entire city of Indianapolis because not only does it tell a specific story, it tells so many of our stories,” Ivy said.

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The event featured artists, musicians, food trucks and a vendor village. It highlighted local Black owned businesses, such as of HBH Professional, who sells hair care products.

A’Bryanna Williams, founder of HBH Professional , looks to Madam C.J. Walker as inspiration.

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“It’s super important for me to be here because this is my aspiration,” Williams said. “Like she started from nothing and became amazing, started off with a dream for her people and something that she believed in and that’s what we’re doing.”

More than a dozen vendors set up shop in front of the center on Indiana Avenue. Attendees could also get a tour of the expanded Cultural Trail.

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For more information on the Madam Walker Legacy Center, click here .