The History of African Americans in Indiana. African Americans have a long and rich history in the state of Indiana. The first report of African Americans living in what is now Indiana dates back to 1746, when a report on French settlements noted that forty white men and five black slaves lived in Vincennes, on the Wabash River. During the French and English occupations, the French who lived in the area continued to keep slaves. The United States Congress passed the Ordinance of 1787 to govern the new Western Territory, which prohibited slavery and involuntary servitude in the Northwest Territory. This ordinance was a major step forward for African Americans living in Indiana. In 1957, Indiana announced plans to build an interstate highway through the center of the Indiana Avenue neighborhoods in Indianapolis.
The effects of the Constitution of 1816 and the Indiana Supreme Court rulings in favor of blacks in the following decades slowly eliminated slavery and indentured servitude in Indiana.