Leon Jett Memorial Lecture
Schedule
Sat Feb 21 2026 at 01:00 pm to 03:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
500 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN, United States, Indiana 46204 | Indianapolis, IN
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Join us for this year’s Leon Jett Memorial Lecture, honoring the legacy of Leon Jett, the Eiteljorg Museum’s public programs manager from 1999 to 2007. Leon’s passion for inclusive programming ensured that every visitor to the museum could see themselves reflected in its art, exhibitions, and events. This annual lecture continues his mission by spotlighting the often-overlooked stories of historical and contemporary African Americans in the West.This year, we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Timothy E. Nelson, a historian, author, professor, and artist. Providing the most in-depth research on Blackdom to date, he reframes the history, focusing on the economic and social ambitions of Afro-Frontierists (Black pioneers). Dr. Nelson is digitally applying his theory of colonization within the digital frontier through various art forms, including academic books, trade books, screenplays, painting, photography, and videography. https://afrofrontier.com/
Many believed that Blackdom was simply abandoned. However, new evidence shows that the scheme to build generational wealth continued to exist throughout the twentieth century in other forms. During Blackdom’s boomtimes, in December 1919, Blackdom Oil Company shifted town business from a regenerative agricultural community to a more extractive model. Nelson has uncovered new primary source materials that suggest for Blackdom a newly discovered third decade. This story has never been fully told or contextualized until now.
Reoriented to Mexico’s “northern frontier,” one observes Black ministers, Black military personnel, and Black freemasons who colonized as part of the transmogrification of Indigenous spaces into the American West. Nelson’s concept of the Afro-Frontier evokes a “Turnerian West,” but it is also fruitfully understood as a Weberian “Borderland.” Its history highlights a brief period and space that nurtured Black cowboy culture. While Blackdom’s civic presence was not lengthy, its significance—and that of the Afro-Frontier—is an important window in the history of Afrotopias, Black Consciousness, and the notion of an American West.
A book signing will immediately follow the talk and this discussion is included with the price of admission. All Indiana college, university and trade school students receive FREE admission with their school ID.
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Where is it happening?
500 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN, United States, Indiana 46204Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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