Bessie Alethia Anderson Speights is believed to be the first Black student to graduate from Arsenal Tech. Author: Rich Nye Updated: 9:43 PM EDT May 14, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS The Arsenal Technical High School class of 1970 wanted to do something special for their alma mater for their 50-year reunion.
The pandemic delayed the plans until 2021, but on Saturday, the alumni remember one of Tech s groundbreaking graduates whose legacy might otherwise be forgotten.
Bessie Alethia Anderson Speights died in 1982, a widow with no children. Her obituary lists no survivors. Bessie had no grave marker at Floral Park Cemetery, despite a remarkable life that included being the first Black female graduate of Tech High School in 1916.
IPS hosting vaccine clinics to protect against childhood diseases, COVID-19
IPS is working to protect children and families from illnesses including Hepatitis B, polio, measles, mumps rubella and COVID-19.
Credit: AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
This Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015 file photo shows boxes of the measles, mumps and rubella virus vaccine (MMR) and measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine inside a freezer at a doctor s office in Northridge, Calif. Vaccinations can cause minor side effects including redness at the injection site and sometimes mild fever, but medical experts say serious complications are rare and much less dangerous than the diseases that vaccines prevent.
Apr 14, 2021 / 04:40 PM EST
Damon Karl, singer and acoustic guitarist, filled our studio with the beautiful sounds of his music filled with positive messages.
You can see the Indianapolis native performing live and in-person at GodRoxx Volume Three. It’s being held at The Spotlight Event Center, Sunday, April 18th at 3:30 P.M. and 5:30 P.M. The address is, 5060 E. 62nd Street, Indianapolis.
Tickets are on sale at their website, Godroxx.com.
Here’s more about Damon:
It was in fourth grade that Damon decided he wanted to be a singer. At age 16 he received his first guitar as a birthday present.
Photo by Ellie Beals. Call me Swankie or a Tech Titan, whichever you prefer, said Charlene Swankie, who appears beside Frances McDormand in the acclaimed new film
Nomadland.
 I said OK and launched into my first question.
But Swankie wanted to talk Titans. She started to answer my question but stopped and changed the subject. By the way, I went to Tech High School in Indianapolis. As in Arsenal Tech. It was as if she thought I had missed something when she mentioned the Tech Titans, and perhaps she was right. And then she said, I named them the Titans.
Photo by Ellie Beals. Call me Swankie or a Tech Titan, whichever you prefer, said Charlene Swankie, who appears beside Frances McDormand in the acclaimed new film
Nomadland.
 I said OK and launched into my first question.
But Swankie wanted to talk Titans. She started to answer my question but stopped and changed the subject. By the way, I went to Tech High School in Indianapolis. As in Arsenal Tech. It was as if she thought I had missed something when she mentioned the Tech Titans, and perhaps she was right. And then she said, I named them the Titans.