Loudmouth's legacy of protection
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When Loudmouth Books opened in September 2023, it continued a nearly century-old legacy of protection on the 200 block of East 16th Street.
Why it matters: The bookstore sits in a single-story brick building in Herron-Morton Place that was once listed in the "Negro Motorist Green-Book" — guides printed between 1936 and 1967 that highlighted safe businesses for Black travelers during the Jim Crow, an era of legalized segregation and racial violence.
The big picture: Fewer than 20% of the sites listed in The Green Book nationwide remain today — a fading link to the past, largely left unpreserved despite their significance in the fight for Black mobility and safety.
Flashback: Author and Indianapolis native Leah Johnson opened Loudmouth Books in response to book-banning attacks targeting the work of Black, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized authors.
- As a Green Book mainstay, the business at 212-214 E. 16th St. operated as the Jacobs Cleaners Building under owner Meyer O. Jacobs.
- Believed to be built in 1928, the building was a cleaning business until the early 1970s, followed by years of vacancy and church usage.
State of play: Last spring, the National Park Service awarded the Indiana DNR $75,000 to protect and highlight the state's Green Book site history.
Zoom in: Holly Tate, an architectural historian with Indiana DNR, told Axios nearly 200 Indiana businesses were listed in the Green Book at least once, but only about 25 of them are still standing.
- "There were approximately 115 (businesses) in Indianapolis alone, and so far we've only found about 14 or 15," Tate said, noting Loudmouth Books building is among those counted.
How it works: Cultural resource management firm Gray & Pape surveyed Green Book sites for Indiana DNR last summer to gather key data on each location, such as its historical importance, condition and current status.
- Data collected from the survey will be used to develop an interactive story map on the Indiana DNR website, allowing users to easily explore Indiana's Green Book sites alongside detailed historical context.
The fine print: Gray & Pape is also preparing multiple property documentation (MPD) as an umbrella document for Green Book sites nationwide.
- The MPD will explain the significance of the sites in the broader context of national and state history, set the framework for future preservation efforts and outline the criteria for registering Green Book properties on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Additionally, two Indiana Green Book sites will be nominated for inclusion on the National Register as part of the grant, ensuring their legacy is formally preserved.
What's next: Tate said the project, while comprehensive, recognizes the potential for missing sites, particularly as street names and addresses have changed over time.
- Residents and historians are encouraged to contribute any information they have, hoping that crowdsourced information will help uncover any missing sites.
The bottom line: By digitally preserving this history, Indiana is providing future generations with an opportunity to learn from Black travelers who navigated a dangerous era.