If you look at the walls of the Central Library, you’ll see the names of 83 notable scientists, philosophers and writers engraved in the gray plaster. Kurt Vonnegut, Dr. Seuss, Aristotle and Walt Whitman.
The first set of names that were engraved in 1917 all belonged to white authors, and only five of them were women.
The lack of diversity has been on the mind of Michael Twyman, a library donor, for 25 years.
“I kept sharing with the library staff that that needed to change. There are ways we need to honor and recognize the fuller breadth of diversity both of authors and writers that are more representative of the larger global world,” Twyman told Mirror Indy.
In 2021, the Central Authors Project was created with Twyman’s help to spotlight writers of color who were left out. In its first phase, the names of 10 Black American authors, such as W.E.B. Dubois and Toni Morrison, were engraved outside of the Central Library’s Center for Black Literature and Culture.
On April 22, the library and the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation memorialized 12 more authors in the Atrium. The authors are Chinua Achebe, Gloria Anzaldúa, Matsuo Bashō, Gwendolyn Brooks, Ralph Ellison, Mahatma Gandhi, Gabriel Garcia Márquez, Nikki Giovanni, Alex Haley, bell hooks, Audre Lorde and N. Scott Momaday.
Their names are displayed in big black letters, designed by RLR Associates, on three large wood panels.
The library invited the community to be a part of the nomination process. Roberta Jaggers, president of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, said a committee then selected the authors, making sure to account for gender identity, cultural identity and nationality.
High school students share and read from the authors
The event where the new authors’ names were unveiled also included 17 students from an AP Literature class at Herron-Riverside High School, who read passages from each author.
Reilynn Garrett, 18 and a senior, said she loves all things literature — especially books and poetry. The aspiring journalist chose to read from an Esquire magazine article, “What I’ve Learned: Gabriel Garcia Márquez.”
“I knew that when I read what he said about writing – ‘it felt like levitating’ — that’s how I feel whenever I write. I feel like I’m taking a piece of my soul and putting it on paper,” Garrett said.
Azriel Hargro, a senior, said the event helped him learn about inclusion and equality, which he said can be used to motivate the Black community and other people of color to spread their ideas across the world. He read from Gandhi’s weekly newspaper “Young India.”
“His words really had an impact on the movement he was a part of, being nonviolent and just using the power of the pen to move people in a way violence never could,” Hargro said.
Yahir Arredondo, 18, read a passage in English and Spanish from the book “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza” by Gloria Anzaldúa. He said he learned to be proud of himself as he struggles with his own identity.
“She resonated with me because I’m really pale, so it’s hard for me to accept that I’m a Mexican American. That’s something I need to be proud of and that’s something this passage taught me,” he said.
What’s next for the project
Authors who are memorialized in the library must be deceased – criteria that hasn’t changed since the first engravings in 1917. Giovanni wasn’t originally selected, but was added a couple months later, after her death in December 2024.
Twyman is unsure of how many more phases the Central Authors Project will have. He said he hopes the initiative can help make the library feel more welcoming and inclusive.
“Representation matters,” Twyman said. “We want people to feel that they belong here. One of the ways we can help is for them to see themselves in a name that they can attach to a story and lived experience.”
Mirror Indy reporter Mesgana Waiss covers arts and culture. Contact her at 317-667-2643 or mesgana.waiss@mirrorindy.org.
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