On the eve of Black History Month, I’ve been reflecting on my small contributions to that history and what I owe to those who carved a path for me.
In August, I’ll celebrate 20 years as an Indianapolis Recorder columnist. I’m not the longest tenured columnist in the Recorder’s 119 years. But I’m honored to play a small part in continuing this newspaper’s great history and legacy in Indianapolis’ Black history.
In April, I begin 40 years in Indianapolis Black radio/media; the longest continuous tenure, to date, in Indy history. Everyday, I’m mindful and humbled to those who opened the door and blazed the trail for me. And I’m mindful of my responsibility to continue the legacy those pioneers began.
Now to explain this column’s headline.
Next Thursday, our WTLC-AM (1310) “Afternoons with Amos” program celebrates 10 years on the air. In that decade our program aired and exposed lots of issues.
I’m proud to say that we raised the issue of offender re-entry long before it became fashionable. I’m proud of the many shows we’ve done on a variety of education issues. I’m proud of programs that explained and taught listeners and the community how to stand up for their rights.
“Afternoons with Amos” accomplished a lot of broadcasting firsts. First radio program to broadcast live from the Legislature (something that started its 11th year this session).
We aired live broadcasts from all types of schools, inside courtrooms, the Juvenile Center, local and state prisons, museums, Black owned businesses, major conventions visiting Indy.
We aired our show live from a sheriff’s patrol car, a working IndyGo bus, campaign rallies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, even a homeless shelter.
That’s a lot in 2,531 shows.
Usually radio and TV shows celebrate milestone anniversaries with fun and games, a cake, clips of past highlights and the mayor stopping by to proclaim a day in one’s honor. Of course, given Mayor Greg Ballard’s phobia against Black media, I knew an “Afternoons with Amos” day was verboten.
But, I had a sense that with the ennui in our Black community; a feeling things aren’t going well for Blacks, that our leadership has somehow failed, I felt our anniversary could be a catalyst for some serious community conversations.
So, instead of celebrating the past decade, I’m commemorating this 10th anniversary with a frank discussion of the critical issues facing Indianapolis’ 300,000 strong African-American community.
On Feb. 6, from 1 to 3 p.m., African-American leaders from business, education, church, Black institutions – elders and younger – some well known and not so known – will come together in an on-air conversation.
They’ll weigh in on four critical issues facing Indianapolis’ African-American community:
Improving educational outcomes.
Reducing poverty/strengthening families.
Reducing crime/violence among youth and young adults.
Increasing employment/including breaking glass ceilings holding back Black upward mobility in the workplace.
The next day, Feb. 7, through phone calls, emails and text messages, the community will react to what the panel of leaders had to say about these four critical issues our community faces.
Please join me Feb. 6 and 7 from 1 to 3 p.m. on WTLC-AM (1310) “The Light” for a 10th anniversary that could start to get things done in Indianapolis.
What I’m hearing
in the streets
I’m deeply disturbed that Deputy Mayor for Education Jason Kloth and Mayor Greg Ballard’s Charter School Office approved a charter run by a seemingly right-wing outfit out of a Dallas Texas suburb called Responsive Education Solutions (ResponsiveEd).
This month, ResponsiveEd was blasted by online magazine Slate in an article charging it with running schools promoting creationism as science.
The Slate article also showed ResponsiveEd’s curriculum belittled minority cultures, for example describing the Philippines as a “pagan” culture.
ResponsiveEd’s curriculum decried the New Deal and Democratic presidents, took rightwing positions on numerous educational topics.
When I read ResponsiveEd’s application with the city to open a “Founders Academy Charter” this August, I became even more disturbed. Their application indicates the school would be targeting Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
But when I reviewed a “suggested” student reading list for their students I discovered only three books that speak to African-American history or culture. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Up From Slavery (Booker T. Washington’s autobiography) and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.
Though the reading list contains classic literature written by whites, there’s no classic writing by African-Americans like Richard Wright, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou or Henry Louis Gates. Worse, no texts written by Hispanics dealing with Hispanic history, heritage or culture.
After the Indianapolis Business Journal brought this story to light last week, the mayor’s charter school office said they were “reviewing” ResponsiveEd’s curriculum.
Kloth and his office flatly refused to respond to an interview request to explain the sloppy oversight of ResponsiveEd’s curriculum.
Meanwhile, ResponsiveEd spokesman Grif Griffin responded to an interview request with a canned statement from ResponsiveEd CEO Chuck Cook that addressed the creationism mess, but said nothing about diversity.
Griffin said ResponsiveEd wouldn’t comment publicly, but we talked off the record. I warned Griffin that ResponsiveEd’s silence on the issue of diversity in their curriculum and the reports of ResponsiveEd’s right-wing proclivities would pose serious problems for a public school serving large numbers of Black children.
In a week when the Indianapolis Public Schools shifted from an anti-charter stance to a more collaborative position toward charters, it’s disturbing that Mayor Ballard’s Charter Schools Office, which previously performed strict scrutiny of charter operators, seemingly allowed an insensitive, politically motivated operator to open a school that could indoctrinate Black children with a whitewashed curriculum.
See ‘ya next week.
Email comments to acbrown@aol.com.
