Had it not been for my cell phone blowing up with calls and text messages last weekend, I probably would have forgotten it was Circle City Classic. Unsolicited, dozens of people voluntarily shared their Classic experiences with me in real time – and most of the feedback was not good.
As several people mentioned they looked forward to reading my column this week, I felt obligated to at least address Classic, albeit briefly.
While I did not attend the game or parade this year, I did encourage people to support Classic. As the head of a historic Black institution in the city, I want all Black enterprises to not only survive, but to thrive!
The only way that will happen is to have a solid foundation, solid leadership and solid support from the community. That goes for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, Indiana Black Expo/Circle City Classic, the Madame Walker Theatre Centre, Forest Manor Multi-Service Center, Center for Leadership Development, the Indianapolis Urban League, NAACP and the dozens of other Black businesses and organizations here in Indianapolis. The only way for any of us to thrive is if we have those three aspects: a solid foundation, leadership, and community support.
What I always stress to people – particularly those in the African-American community – is that as our businesses and organizations are greater than any one person, we must always remember the community aspect of why our respective entities exist and the important ways we must engage the public.
I’m saddened to see business-to-business divisiveness, business-to-community divisiveness, and individual-individual divisiveness. We must do better as business and community leaders, but also as a race. There is detailed data available that shows African-Americans are the most divisive racial group of all. We tend to separate more than any other group.
The sad thing: it happens not only within the prison system, but also in our neighborhoods, schools, our spiritual communities, even in our own families. Why? Why can’t we be more united? Why are we not our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper?
Those questions go deeper than I have space to address, but it’s something we must ponder. We must seek tangible solutions toward changing our behaviors as a culture. We should be able to offer a difference of opinion or believe in various perspectives without taking offense or alienating ourselves from each another. The old adage, there is strength in numbers is exceptionally true, which is why many African-Americans today are weak.
Renowned comedian and actor, Bill Cosby wrote a great book among my favorites. In Come on People, Cosby and Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint write about major issues within the Black community. Some critics accuse these authors of excessive harshness, but I agree with their approach and the direct, outspoken way the book is written. The great thing about Come on People is the authors not only use statistical data, but they also offer very insightful suggestions and success stories that can be a roadmap to success. Our community needs frank dialogue to get to the next level.
In other news, IMPD released comprehensive data that provides specific demographics relative to select high-crime areas in Indianapolis. This data is vital for many reasons, most importantly because it places some responsibility toward fighting crime back on the community. Police officers can’t do it by themselves. It’s time for the community at large to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
The thing I appreciate about the data is the hard work done. We now know what some triggers are and we know the specific areas so now various organizations can do targeted solutions without having to invest their own financial resources. It doesn’t get much more cost effective.
Another reason IMPD’s plan is noteworthy is because now the department can train its officers on effective ways to deal with a multitude of people – specifically those who suffer from mental illness.
Additionally, of late, news outlets have been flooded with stories about police officers seemingly responding to routine situations in an aggressive manner.
One recent example occurred in Hammond, Ind. when a police officer used his club to break the passenger side window after the African-American male passenger reached for a ticket. The officer then stungunned the man in front of his girlfriend, and her two children.
Use of force can be necessary for law enforcement to do their jobs effectively, but not all instances warrant use of force. A comprehensive plan such as the one Public Safety Director Troy Riggs and his team revealed is needed to properly train or retrain officers on ways to effectively, justly deal with the community.
