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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Be included in 500 Race and Festival activities

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Blacks often speak of the importance of inclusion, yet when certain entities genuinely seek to include us, we don’t take advantage of the opportunities as much as we should.

Take for instance the 500 Festival and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Historically with both entities a vast majority of the patrons at their various events are Caucasian. However, over the past several years the 500 Festival and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have increased their diversity efforts tremendously in an effort to be more inclusive.

One of the first things the 500 Festival did was recruit talented African-Americans for board membership. As a matter of fact, my predecessor and a current commissioner for the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, Carolene Mays, was the first Black woman to serve on the board. Kevin Kimbrough was the first Black man, paving the way for current members Jeff Smith, operating partner with Harry & Izzy’s, and Justin Christian, president of BC Forward. Having a minority presence on the board is a great way to not only have input from a completely different pool of people, but it also helps to promote the Speedway and 500 Festival to other minorities.

In addition to its board appointments, the 500 Festival has done an exemplary job of reaching out to the minority community via various media outlets including the Recorder. This publication has partnered with the 500 Festival for quite a while and we always try to encourage minority participation. This year is no different.

One event that is a favorite of mine is Kids’ Day. It’s a great opportunity to get the entire family together for some good old-fashioned fun, as there are several activities for a variety of ages. Perhaps the best thing about Kids’ Day is that it is free. This year’s event took place Sunday and about 30,000 people attended.

The Indianapolis 500 is celebrating its centennial and there are some amazing things lined up. As we all know, Donald Trump was initially scheduled to drive the Pace Car to start the race, but amid his publicity stunt, I mean amid his brief political quest, “The Donald” sparked a lot of controversy when he made several disparaging remarks about President Obama. There was a local outcry against Trump’s tactics and when people learned he was going to drive the Pace Car, Hoosiers (and some national folks as well) publically voiced their objections. Facebook and Twitter were all abuzz. However, rather than ignore the objectors, the 500 Race officials “dumped” Trump and replaced him with racing legend A.J. Foyt.

The 500 Race officials heard the cries of the public and reacted in the most appropriate manner.

It is time for us to return the favor.

I encourage you to participate in as many 500-Mile Race and 500 Festival activities as possible. The organizations have done a great job of extending their hands to our community…it’s time for us to extend ours. We need to step outside our comfort zones and experience different things. There is nothing wrong with enhancing one’s cultural awareness.

If you missed Kids’ Day, there are still some great things for you to attend. There’s Community Day on May 25 at the Speedway and the massive downtown parade on May 28. You can also check out Willie T. Ribbs’ new team on May 27 in the Firestone Freedom 100 at the IMS featuring 21-year-old driver Chase Austin. Austin will be the first Black to start a Firestone Indy Lights race. You should remember Ribbs for being the first African-American to qualify and compete in the Indianapolis 500. That year he was part of the CART/Indy Car Championship team co-owned by Bill Cosby. Ribbs broke color barriers time and time again and was honored as the winningest African-American driver in history.

Also, be on the lookout for next year’s Princess Program. Every year the 500 Festival recruits college women from throughout the state who possess great communication skills, poise, academic performance, and community and volunteer involvement.Ā The young women who become princesses serve as ambassadors for the 500 Festival. There have been some African-American princesses in the past, but this year there were none – despite the Festival’s recruitment efforts with local Black media and at churches, universities and minority student organizations. We have to do a better job with participation. Hopefully we will see a change next year.

As you can see, there are tons of great things of interest to Blacks taking place at various 500 Festival events as well as at the Speedway. I am optimistic that more Blacks will attend some of these functions. If you don’t, you really do not have just cause to complain in the future. In an attempt to get more minority participation, the Recorder is donating a select number of tickets to some of these events. Visit IndianapolisRecorder.com or visit us on Facebook to see how you can get your complimentary tickets!

You can e-mail comments to Shannon Williams at Shannon.w@indyrecorder.com.

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