Speakers at the Young Black Males Matter event Feb. 25 at the Indiana Statehouse talked about a bill that would lower the age children can be tried as adults for certain crimes.
They talked about the disparate impacts of minor marijuana possession charges on African Americans.
The names change and the bills get different numbers, but they talked about a lot of the same issues that, had this been the 20th Young Black Males Matter event rather than just the fifth, would’ve been brought up decades ago.
The Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males held the event for boys ages 12-18. The event was partly meant to teach young Black males how they can advocate for themselves and their community.
But before that can happen, according to the commission’s executive director, James Garrett Jr., young Black males need to feel they really do matter and can make a difference.
“They don’t feel their voice is being heard,” Garrett said, “so why should they be engaged? We’re trying to change that paradigm to get them to understand they need to be engaged because they do matter.”
Alex Burton, president of the Evansville City Council, told the young men things are happening around them whether they’ve given their input or not. Not being engaged, he said, means those things are happening to them, not for them.
Jadon Watkins, a senior at Pike High School, said he thinks it’s important to advocate for yourself and others, but he also said he doesn’t like to be involved in “negative” stuff.
“Young Black males in this generation are going through a lot of things and troubles, just get caught up in a lot of stuff,” said Watkins, who was at his first Young Black Males Matter event.
Still, he said, many of the challenges aren’t changing.
Kenneth Allen, chairman of the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, pointed out the commission was created by the state in 1993 to help address the problems Black males face in criminal justice, education, employment, health and social factors.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “some of the same things we were dealing with in 1993, we’re still dealing with in 2020.”
Young Black males now have a little bit of an advantage compared to before because of advances in technology that make it easier to spread awareness of issues and contact legislators, Allen said, and maybe that’s a start in the process of making sure they feel their voices matter.
“Today is for you,” he told the young men. “The building we’re in belongs to you. This is, in fact, your Statehouse.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
Kenneth Allen, chairman of the Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males, speaks to students at the fifth annual Young Black Males Matter event Feb. 25 at the Indiana Statehouse. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick)
