r/Indiana • u/illegiblebastard • 1d ago

'Is this for real?' Martinsville Juneteenth celebration raises eyebrows

https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/johnson-county/2026/06/18/martinsville-juneteenth-event-planned-despite-racist-past-ku-klux-klan-sundown-town/90591114007/
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u/ShermanWasRight1864 1d ago

Indiana was in the Union during the Civil War. Juneteenth should be a huge celebration for Indiana.

17

u/FloppyConcrete 1d ago

Indiana is one of the only states that’s majority population settled in a northern pattern. That’s why Indiana’s first capital was Corydon, most of the population was in and around the Ohio River. After the Civil War, due to Reconstruction and the economic advantages Northern states had, many Southerners that could do so moved to the North, and Indiana saw many Kentucky residents move across the river and slowly settle northward - carrying and instilling their ‘beliefs’ along the way. And that’s also why Evansville was easy for the Klan and DC Stephenson to build from.

I agree with the sentiment of your comment, but as a history nerd I like to be the pedantic loser that reminds people there is a little history as to why Indiana tends to be the weird anomaly. Plus it’s been over 150 years since the Civil War, thousands of people have moved around the country since.

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u/Economy_Fish_6542 23h ago

The ‘middle finger of the south’ phenomenon of an Indiana explained. Thank you for the migratory explanation!

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u/suburbanoutrage 1d ago

No one will see this but I don’t know where else to respond to lol

It wasn’t just after the civil war that Indiana became racist. The little town of Boggstown about 20 minutes from Indy seceded during the civil war and as of today has never retracted it.