The Center for Black Literature and Culture (CBLC) at the Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) announced new programming for 2025.
On Nov. 12, Alexus Hunt, who was appointed CBLC’s manager in April 2024, discussed her vision for the center as well as a sneak peek at the new programming set to begin January 2025. The programming includes a Melanated Movie Monday series, book talks, media arts and science programming, National Poetry Month events and the annual Book Fest and Juneteenth Celebration.
“Black people are not monolithic,” Hunt said. “We are all different, we all have different experiences, but one thing’s for sure is that we do want to come into this space, and we do want to feel safe, and we do want to feel celebrated, we do want to feel honored. So that’s what this space can do.”
Black history is more than just knowing facts and information, Hunt said; it is essential to being a productive citizen and influencing change. The CBLC honors the legacy of Black history and the African Diaspora through its collection of approximately 25,000 materials — including books, CDs, magazines and newspapers, movies and research tools.
Although Hunt was still in undergrad when the CBLC was created in 2017, she said the center was a place she dreamed of being a part of. With support from the African American History Committee, the CBLC focuses on maintaining a space where Black history and culture is accessible through “windows and doors” — which Hunt said allows the community to both see themselves within the materials in the collection and openly engage with and learn from them.
READ MORE: Indiana Drama Club and Arts for Lawrence present Power Rangers musical
“I think that there is a lot of knowledge within this collection,” Hunt said. “There’s a lot of information and things that people can take that can change their worldview in our collection. It’s important that people have access to that.”
Additionally, Hunt expressed a desire to see the community engage with the space, whether through bringing in nonprofit partners or participating in new interactive programing, like with Indianapolis-based mixed-media artist and music producer Blayne McCrary — known professionally as Wavy Blayne.
Additional programming includes Melanated Movie Monday, which invites the community to join the CBLC for weekly movie screenings in February 2025. The films in the series each center Black life and joy, with a post-film discussion about positive representation, meaning and symbolism in the media, Hunt said.
“These movies, I will say, are just really inspiring,” Hunt said. “They show the range of emotion, the humanity of Black life in many different facets, and not just this surface level character who is being used, whether to be funny or to show how bad life can get. It actually shows the nuances of Black experiences and humanizes Black people. And we want our community to see that.”
Melanted Movie Monday is reminiscent of a similar series which the African American History Committee used to host. IndyPL’s DEI officer Kim Ewers told the Recorder she is excited to see Hunt’s vision for the CBLC revitalizing the series.
“The African American History Committee, we work in tandem with CBLC programs, and we support each other so we’re not pitted against each other,” Ewers said. “I’m excited to see that come back. Everybody is not a book learner, sometimes they learn visually, so I appreciate film for that, and I can’t wait to see what the movies are for the series.”
A new Media Arts and Science program in partnership with Indiana University Indianapolis will be introduced in March 2025. The following month, the CBLC will celebrate National Poetry Month with events, readings and performances highlighting the history of poetry every Tuesday.
In February and May 2025, the CBLC will host a series of book talks, where authors will engage readers and challenge them to think differently about history and share insights during community conversation.
For more information about upcoming programing, visit indypl.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
 at the Indianapolis Public Library (IndyPL) announced new programming for 2025.){kind=link}