It was a whirlwind week hanging out at the 100th Centennial of Kappa Alpha Psi.
During our live “Afternoons with Amos” broadcasts from the Kappa Convention, NAACP National President Benjamin Jealous was dumbstruck when I told him about Mayor Greg Ballard’s snub of the country’s oldest civil rights organization.
“It certainly raises concerns,” Jealous said noting, “We’ve been in cities like (Indianapolis) for nearly a century. So if the mayor’s staff can’t find the local NAACP president, he needs to find some new staff.”
Mayor Ballard was panned by many Kappas over his insensitive greetings to delegates. Instead of extolling Kappa’s good works, or saluting Indianapolis’ Arthur Carter, who received Kappa’s highest award, the “Laurel Wreath,” Ballard talked at length about his rebuilding projects, especially Dr. King Street.
Afterwards, Kappas asked me why the mayor didn’t award a key to the city or wasn’t more welcoming of the organization and saluting its centennial.
Congressman André Carson’s local chief of staff Chris Worden got a more positive response in his salute to Kappa than Ballard.
The Kappas brought plenty of star and leadership firepower to town. The type Black Expo’s been missing for years.
Kappa’s Opening Ceremonies featured the presidents of the “Divine Nine,” the nation’s Black Greek organizations, plus Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, and the National Urban League’s Marc Morial.
Several members of Congress were here, including the legendary Congressman John Conyers.
In an exclusive interview, Conyers surprised me, saying that he actually gets along with Tea Party darling and GOP presidential candidate Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, despite their wide differences on the issues.
The country’s leading African-American media mogul, Radio One Founder and Board Chair Cathy Hughes was also here.
One of Kappa’s major charities is the legendary Piney Woods School, the historic boarding school that has shaped the lives of thousands of Black men over its 100 years. Hughes’ grandfather was headmaster of Piney Woods, and she’s working with the Kappas to raise $1 million for the famed boarding school.
In her only Indianapolis interview, on our WTLC-AM (1310) program, Hughes talked passionately about the problems in public education today.
She spoke about her work chairing the Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities. As she strives to help pressure banks and other agencies to provide the capital small minority businesses need to expand and provide jobs.
Hughes is also fervent about encouraging Christians to pray five times daily. “Many of the other of the world’s religions do this, why not Christians,” Hughes asked.
Hughes also extolled the virtues of Black media, including the value of gospel radio. It was an honor to finally meet her and I was privileged to interview one of my heroes and role models in this industry.
While Black radio and newspapers were all over the Kappa convention, mainstream media coverage was spotty. Other than an introductory story, the Star and WTHR/Channel 13 ignored the event. As did WXIN/Fox 59.
Only WRTV/Channels 6 and WISH-TV/Channel 8 aired stories about the convention, including the pilgrimage of more than 3,000 to Bloomington where the fraternity was founded 100 years ago.
Finally, I mentioned Indy’s own Arthur Carter who received Kappa’s highest award to a member. Four other Indianapolis residents were honored by Kappa. Since 1980, at each Grand Conclave, the local Kappa Chapter selects outstanding local individuals for recognition at the event. Former Mayor Bart Peterson, Federal Judge Tanya Walton Pratt, Pastor Jeffrey Johnson and I were honored. The four of us join an impressive list of outstanding individuals honored over the years including Rosa Parks, Andrew Young, Jackie Joyner-Kersey, former Mayor Bill Hudnut and many others.
We are humbled to be in such company.
With hotels, the Convention Center, downtown restaurants and nightspots packed, the Kappa Alpha Psi Convention dropped serious coin on Indy’s hospitality industry.
But during the week, I heard something distressing about that industry. I’m told three major downtown venues, the Eiteljorg and Indiana State museums and the Indiana History Center, seemingly exclude African-American caterers from the list one can choose from when holding events at these locations.
The State Museum is supported by our state tax dollars. The other two museums are non profit entities that reduce our community’s tax base. If true, these facilities’ efforts to redline Black-owned caterers from an opportunity to do business are callous, shortsighted and must be ended!
What I’m hearing in the streets
In the space of two weeks, we lost another of our African-American community’s great lions with the passing of Bishop James E. Tyson.
Bishop Tyson was instrumental in building the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World into a potential ecclesiastic force in Christianity throughout the world. The son of a coal miner, this Navy veteran served on two of our nation’s historic fighting ships during World War II.
Tyson was called to God’s ministry in 1947 and moved quickly through the ranks of the Apostolic Church, finally coming to Indianapolis to first pastor Christ Temple Apostolic, then establishing Christ Church Apostolic in 1976.
His was one of the first Black churches to move out into the township areas of Indianapolis. But his church and his faith was color blind and devoted to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples and nations.
Tyson was a quiet force in our community, involved behind the scenes on local issues. But more importantly he worked until his final days on this Earth as a minister and preacher.
Our community has lost another of the greatest generation of leaders forged in the years after World War II who helped move our community forward in so many ways.
My sincere and deepest sympathies to Bishop James Tyson’s family, the Christ Church Apostolic family and the many that loved and adored him.
Bishop James Edison Tyson surely will be missed.
See ‘ya at Black Expo and here next week.
You can e-mail comments to Amos Brown at acbrown@aol.com.
