INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An event Thursday night digs into difficult issues in Indiana’s past…and how we view it.

Eunice Trotter is the director of the Black Heritage Program at Indiana Landmarks.

Trotter will deliver a talk at Indiana Landmarks called “Stopping the Erasure of Hoosier Black Heritage.”

The free event is part of the monthly Freetown Village series, “Conversations in Indiana African American History and Culture.”

Everyone is welcome at the event, which Trotter says will cover the history of African Americans in Indiana and in Indianapolis and how and why much of their history and heritage is being lost.

“It’s being lost as a result of institutional demolition of various black communities, because, you know, we were in a segregated community at one time. It also will talk about the ways that we are stopping that erasure,” Trotter told News 8 Daybreak anchor Scott Sander.

One of the iconic examples of this erasure is Indiana Avenue in Indianapolis. But Trotter says there are other areas that don’t reflect the Black history and culture that once existed there.

“Eagle Creek was home to a black settlement. It was the location of the Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist church. It no longer exists. The Martindale area, which is now known as the Martindale-Brightwood area, an area that was African American back in the 1800s. There’s areas around downtown Indianapolis, and in downtown Indianapolis, that have significant Black history. Nobody knows about it. So we’re going to talk about some of that history tonight.”

Trotter’s talk at the Indiana Landmarks Center, 1201 Central Ave. in Indianapolis, runs from 6 – 7:30 p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before the start of the event.

Click here to learn more about the event and get tickets.