Even though they speak for the business community, the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has been a major institution that has kept lines of communications open between the business community and Indianapolis’ African-American community.
After moving here in 1975, I saw first-hand then Chamber of Commerce President Carl Dortch, along with chamber stalwarts like Tom Binford communicating with and working together with Black leaders Dr. Frank Lloyd, Rev. Andrew Brown, Dr. Lehman Adams, Dr. George Rawls and others to keep the lines of communication between our communities open.
Dortch’s successor Tom King and King’s successor Roland Dorson kept the chamber involved and engaged with our African-American community. Chamber programs like the Lacy Leadership Series encouraged dialogue between up and coming Black and white leaders.
The chamber was the key institution that worked with our Black community on business, education and police abuse of power issues. That didn’t mean the chamber and Black leadership always saw eye to eye. There were differences then and now. But the leadership of the business community and our Black community had a decades long tradition of communicating and working together.
Then several months ago, something unusual happened. Dorson suddenly left as chamber president amid hush-hush circumstances rivaling a Jason Bourne movie.
There is no whiff of impropriety in Dorson’s leaving, but I’m fearful his leaving was because of a chamber power struggle between those who want an Indianapolis of cooperation and inclusion and those who want an Indianapolis where a white elite dictates to the rest of us.
My fears and concerns are heightened by the chamber choosing as their new president Scott Miller, the head of the city’s economic development agency Develop Indy.
It doesn’t help my confidence level that Indiana Black Expo Board Chairman John Thompson headed the committee that picked Miller. Let’s just say Expo’s board decisions haven’t instilled confidence in recent months.
Before heading the city’s economic development efforts three years ago, Miller ran the landscaping firm Mainscape for nine years.
Usually, a press release touting an appointment to a major Indianapolis institution like the chamber would be full of details about the new appointee’s education, work experience, even family life.
But the chamber’s release on Miller is so skimpy you’d think he came from the Planet Krypton.
It also doesn’t help ease my concerns that chamber officials tried to keep Miller from the media.
With a major appointment like this, Miller would’ve made the media interview rounds – the Star, IBJ, the TV stations, WIBC, Inside Indiana Business, even me. But chamber officials didn’t want Miller to speak with media until December.
But pushback from me, and I suspect others, is leading the chamber to arrange a news conference soon.
Among my concerns about Miller are his stewardship of Develop Indy, an agency that despite the thousands of jobs the Ballard administration boasts of bringing to town, African-Americans get left out of those opportunities.
Last month I blasted Miller’s agency on its lack of inclusion of information on its website about Indianapolis’ racial diversity. Nothing about the size and qualities of America’s 13th largest African-American community. Not even the use of the word “diversity.” I also condemned his top staffer’s dismissive and pejorative attitude towards Black media.
Now, the person who seemingly created a culture and an agency dismissive of African-Americans now heads the Chamber of Commerce of the county’s 11th largest city.
Miller and the chamber’s top leaders need to quickly meet with Black leaders to confirm or allay our concerns.
What I’m hearing
in the streets
In last Saturday’s debate co-sponsored by the Indianapolis Recorder, its obvious Mayor Greg Ballard has no clue about the depth and extent of African-American unemployment.
Here’s what the mayor said in response to Recorder reporter Brandon Perry’s question about Indianapolis’ obscenely high Black unemployment rate.
Said Ballard, “We have a lot of programs that are going on in the city of Indianapolis. We have the health careers initiative, the prioritize youth employment services, Jobs for American (sic) graduates, Youth Build Indy, Youth Works Indy. And we also have CDBG (community development block grant) funds going to seven different community centers to help those sorts of difficult populations. We’ve been prioritizing through Employ Indy to get to these difficult populations. And we’ll continue to do that going forward.”
Every one of the programs the mayor outlined deals with high school students, dropouts or those aged 15 to 24. Obviously, the mayor and his minions think Black unemployment is youth centered.
But the facts are that just 26.6 percent of the city’s Black unemployed are persons under 25. The bulk of the Black unemployed (73.4 percent) are over 25. And none of the mayor’s programs deals with that critical age group.
We’ll see what he, and Libertarian Chris Bowen and Democrat Melina Kennedy have to say about this issue in Friday’s debate on our WTLC-AM (1310) “Afternoons with Amos.”
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Indiana’s state joke – Secretary of State Charlie White – issued a press release urging 2012 presidential candidates to obey Indiana law when they start their petition process. Somehow getting election law advice from White, who held office representing a district where he didn’t live, is the classic case of pot calling the kettle black.
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At the NAACP Life Membership Dinner, Health and Hospital Corp. head Matt Gutwein announced that the new Wishard Hospital’s main operating room will be named after Dr. George Rawls. That is a great tribute to a great physician and community servant.
See ‘ya next week.
You can email comments to Amos Brown at acbrown@aol.com.
