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Director, Black Heritage Preservation Program, Indiana Landmarks
Age: 72
Hometown: Indianapolis
Family: one son, one daughter, five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, three siblings
Achievements: Eunice Trotter spent much of her career working in journalism, including buying and running The Indianapolis Recorder from 1987-1991 and becoming the first African American woman to serve as an editor for The Indianapolis Star. In 2005, she founded Mary Bateman Clark Enterprises to incorporate the history of African Americans in Indiana into mainstream U.S. history. These days, her role is to uncover, document, preserve or restore and share Indiana Black history and heritage for Indiana Landmarks. She has saved the architecturally and historically significant School 56 building from demolition; persuaded the city of Indianapolis to excavate the city’s first cemetery, Greenlawn; created a statewide Black oral history collection housed at the Indiana State Library; and created a Black historic district in the Martindale area. Trotter also has received approval for several historical markers throughout the state, and she teaches individuals how to document their family history.
Career track: After leaving journalism in 2011, Trotter became a communications specialist for American Senior Communities. She retired three years ago, but a friend told her about the creation of the Black Heritage Preservation Program at Indiana Landmarks. She met with the organization’s then-CEO, Marsh Davis, who hired her.
Influential moment: Stopping the demolition of the historic Francis W. Parker School 56 building at the intersection of Columbia Avenue and East 24th Street. “After sharing the significant history of this historically Black school with the IPS School Board, the board and superintendent understood its significance and pulled it from the demolition list,” she said. The building is currently being used for storage.
Giving back: Trotter has served on several boards, including the first board of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Project, the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame, the Indiana Debate Commission, the Indiana Avenue Advisory Committee, Metro Ministries and the leadership team of Scott United Methodist Church. She now runs an intern program for young people interested in the preservation field.
Advice for young women: “Do things you love and are passionate about. Give back to your family and to the community. Keep your priorities in order.”•
Check out more Women of Influence honorees.
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