Sadness.
That is what I felt all last weekend during Summer Celebration – complete sadness for what the event and more broadly, Indiana Black Expo has become. Although the existence of what is now, IBE has something to do with the ever-decreasing attendance at Summer Celebration and Circle City Classic as well as the community’s distain for the organization’s leadership, those are mere contributing factors to the real root of the problem.
At its core, Indiana Black Expo is ill. The organization is infested with disease and we are watching it die a slow death.
That makes me sad.
I hesitated to even write about Summer Celebration – mostly because I am irritated with the powers that be and their ridiculous head-in-the-sand way of thinking. I am tired of people (including myself, sponsors, IBE volunteers and other media personalities) offering insight and possible solutions to people who either don’t care, or are too selfish and entitled to notice. At some point, actions have to trump talk and IBE leadership, including its board have failed to act on anything of substance the community suggests. I am not sure why, but Expo refuses to look at the man, or woman in the mirror.
Sure, they can inflate numbers and say attendance at the exhibition halls were up, but the reality is quite the opposite. It was obvious to anyone who participated in the festivities that attendance was way down. I think that’s the part that frustrates the community the most – our intelligence is insulted in a way that is blatantly disrespectful. It’s like the community can look at a tree during the height of summer and see that the leaves are green, but Expo folks swear the leaves are pink. Are the masses to really believe what we see are pink leaves growing on trees? That is ludicrous and so are the games and untruths that IBE plays with the public.
Indeed, IBE is ill.
It is sad to reflect on what IBE was and what the organization represented at its formation and in the decades that followed. Indiana Black Expo was the premiere Black expo; the largest and the best in the country. But more important than being the biggest and the best, Indiana Black Expo emitted a love and fondness for the community that made everyone feel special. IBE’s founders and subsequent presidents had an affinity and respect for its community, sponsors and partners — even when those entities offered constructive criticisms that could potentially enhance the organization. IBE of yesteryear was a true, authentic and effective community entity.
IBE has lost the soul that permeated through the community and the beings of each employee who lived its mission, purpose and commitment. IBE is lost. That too, saddens me. You can be broke down, poor and even suffering, yet still be OK when you are authentically you. But when you lose who you really are and what you truly represent, then you become a shell. A soulless shell that simply exists. It’s sad to reflect on IBE’s nostalgia of yesteryear, yet experience the internally empty shell it has become.
Expo is just like a sick or addicted family member who you love deeply, yet they refuse to seek treatment. You can’t do it for them…they have to want it for themselves. We can no longer do it for Expo, they have to be willing to address the sickness and then treat the disease in an effort to improve the organization’s overall health and sustainability.
Despite the “severing of ties” Expo decided to implement with the Recorder or even some disrespectful and unnecessary hoops they tried to put us through before Summer Celebration, it was still important for my staff and I to support Summer Celebration. We covered events, attended festivities and purchased a booth in the exhibition hall because 1. We respect and believe in the original purpose of Summer Celebration 2. As a community entity, we wanted to be available to the community and 3. The Recorder also wanted to set a positive example of how even when entities disagree, we can still be supportive and work together for the common good.
During Summer Celebration I attended the Corporate Luncheon, which is always one of my favorite events. This year was no different, though I was disappointed that Expo officials did not acknowledge the 10-year death of Rev. Charles Williams. Since the late leader was so instrumental in the organization’s success on the corporate and community levels, he should have been honored — if at no other time than when they announced this year’s Rev. Charles Williams Award recipient. That was a significantly missed opportunity for Expo. Also, announcing the recognition of gospel great, Al “The Bishop” Hobbs as the Trailblazer Award recipient only days before the luncheon seemed like a rushed, disingenuous afterthought considering other honorees were announced weeks in advance.
On a positive note, IMPD officers were not only in full force throughout the weekend, but through my observations, they were also very courteous and respectful. Oftentimes police officers get a lot of heat for being rude and overly-aggressive, which is certainly true for some officers. However, throughout the course of the weekend, I personally witnessed and asked others about their experience with IMPD and all the feedback was positive. Kudos to IMPD!
