Faburn DeFrantz

Faburn DeFrantz (February 9, 1885 – September 24, 1964) was an executive secretary of the Senate Avenue YMCA from 1916 to 1951. He is noted to have been a staunch advocate for desegregation.

Life Faburn DeFrantz was born to Samella and Alonzo DeFrantz as the seventh child out of thirteen, according to his memoir.

In his memoir, Faburn recalls that when he was a child, he had often snuck into his local, segregated YMCA in Topeka where the other white boys played basketball with him. However, one day, he was thrown out after being caught by a staff member. From this experience, he says in his memoir, DeFrantz wanted to lead his own YMCA where "nobody would yell at a boy or knock him around— no matter his color or race."

Monster Meetings hosted a wide range of audiences of different races, including Black men and white men, and even Black women and white women. The Citizen's Committee of One Hundred, which arose from Monster Meetings, focused on reporting about the status of key African American issues such as desegregation. DeFrantz's role in these committees served to bolster community engagement within local politics. In 1949, he helped write the Anti-Hate bill which directly contributed to desegregations of public schools of Indiana. He is noted to have been a key figure in the desegregation of Indiana University as well as various other Indiana-based organizations and associations.

He was also a trustee in the Flanner House, Howard University, and Madam C. J. Walker Company. In 1952, DeFrantz retired from his position as the executive secretary of the Senate Avenue YMCA.

Death Faburn DeFrantz died in September 1964 in Indianapolis, Indiana.