Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 May 2002 — Page 3

FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2002

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A3

Things fall apart: Freetown at odds with state museum CONTINUED FROM A1

Larson asks a sensitive question brewing in the community —Why isn't Freetown Village, an arts organization that educates the public about Black life in post-Civil War Indiana, a part of the new Indiana State Museum? The answer is as complicated as controversial. State Museum officials announced earlier this month that its longtime collaborator of 18 years Freetown Village would not be taking the lead role in the construction of an African-American living history exhibit as previously planned. The announcement came just two weeks before the museum’s grand opening — along with word that an advisory panel, made up of several influential Black leaders, would instead be formed to oversee the completion of a Black living history project scheduled to open later this fall. “We were just as surprised, having spent many work hours and financial resources over the course of about two years thinking we would be housed in the new facility,” said Freetown Village Executive Director Ophelia Wellington. “We were busy working right up until the very end and would have been ready come grand opening day... then they pulled this one on us.” State Museum CEO Doug Noble tells a different story. “We had been in serious contract negotiations for over a year with Freetown Village to try to include them in our new facility, but there were specific expectations we had to have in place in order for us to sign on an agreement,” said Noble. “We had major concerns about the group's fund raising efforts, its change in administration and lost

confidence in their ability to meet project requirements. The governing board of Freetown had been aware of these concerns for several months now. We had to move on because of our responsibility to our donors.” Chief among those funders is Lilly Endowment, which gave the Indiana State Museum Foundation $2.5 million specifically for the proposed living-history project. “We felt it was important that a special space be designated in the new State Museum to celebrate Indiana’s African-American experience," said Gretchen Wolfram, communications director for Lilly Endowment. “It was up to the State Museum todetermine how it would carry out that vision. I think it was a natural fit that Freetown would be involved in some way, since they had been affiliated with the museum for more than 10 years, but we did not specify or stipulate in the grant that Freetown Village had to be a part of the project or that Freetown be required to match any funds." However, with a total estimated project cost of about $5 million, with Lilly Endowment kicking in about half of that amount, museum officials did expect Freetown to raise additional funds. “They wanted us to raise additional money, and we did, but it was challenging because they were also raising money for the new museum project and that hindered our ability to obtain funding," said Wellington of Freetown. Wellington said that the museum's expectations were constantly changing and once she and staff accomplished one demand, the museum would add another task. “They also wanted to dictate

how to tell our story and our history,” she said. Noble denies the museum ever tried to “dictate" to Freetown how to best tell their story and said that the museum constantly extended deadlines that would allow the group to gather the appropriate documentation and information required for the project and the group failed to deliver. The fact the organization suffered from inner turmoil as friction surfaced between Wellington and Freetown Village’s board of directors didn't help matters. Last year, the board named arts manager Tom Alvarez as the organization’s executive director, hoping Alvarez would add greater credibility to the group, gamer fundraising dollars and handle business operations. He was later fired earlier this year for undisclosed reasons. “Yes we have had some management and fundraising problems...so has the museum, but that did not stop them from opening a new facility. We have been able to sustain a program for 20 years and we will continue to do that.” State Museum CEO Doug Noble said he has extended a counter offer for Freetown to present firstperson living history performances in the new facility, but has yet to hear from Wellington. “We are evaluating what we want our relationship to be with them," she said. In the meantime, Noble and members of the new advisory committee are moving forward on their plans to complete an exhibit that will, accurately depict the state’s African-American experience— something they hope museum patrons such as LaJeana Larson and

actions and to try to make amends. But the road to healing hasn't been easy. For awhile she felt guilt and wanted to buy back her daughters’ love. Realizing she can’t undo the past, Rucker decided to change her approach. “I started trying to spend a lot of time with them. In the beginning it was real tiring because I hadn't spent time with my kids. What do daughters and their mothers talk about? What do they do? I didn’t know, especially teen-age daughters,” she candidly expressed. There are two cliches about the number three. It’s either three strikes and you ’ re out or third time ’ s a charm. For Rucker, the latter describes her life. A week after a botched suicide attempt, Rucker found herself in a treatment program for the third and final time. That was Aug. 26, 1996. “When I come down to what’s the bottom line on why I got clean, I didn’t want to die. I did not want to die and I was. I was dying. You know using drugs and living that lifestyle is really much like making installment payments on death, and I didn’t want to die," she said. Today, Gina Rucker has found the freedom and hope she spent much of her life searching for in all the wrong places. “Well, there is freedom from the inside,” Rucker explains. “There is hope. You talk about a lady in a hotel room trying to slice

LOCAL Continued from A1 her wrist so she doesn't have to be here anymore. I have not felt like I wanted to check out because I’m hopeful, even on a bad day. It’s going to get better. I have the opportunity to have rebuilt bonds and relationships with my family. I have the opportunity to take for a long time what was the worst thing that could’ve happened to me, the worst

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others in the community can be proud of. “There is no reason to get into a big fight on why things have happened the way they have between Freetown and the State Museum." said attorney and community leader Fay Williams, who will serve on the advisory committee. “The bottom line is there is a space available in the museum and we need to do something with it that honors the Black experience."

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