I’m humbled this space – “Just Tellin’ It” – has been a part of over one-sixth of the Indianapolis Recorder’s 120 year legacy.
This column begins its 22nd year reminding all that it adheres to one of the basic principles of the Black press; being an advocate for the Black community. Being, as filmmaker Stanley Nelson depicted, “Soldiers Without Swords.”
So, let’s start year 22!
Chase Bank finally spoke to Indianapolis’ African-American community in the aftermath of the community outcry that ensued when I broke the story that Chase was closing branches here in Indianapolis/Marion County.
When the Chase crisis broke, with a listener heads-up on our WTLC-AM1310 “Afternoons with Amos” program July 6, I made repeated attempts to have Chase tell their story directly to our community.
Unfortunately, Chase’s Chicago-based public relations folks treated my repeated requests with studied disdain. Making me feel Chase didn’t give a damn about communicating with Black media and Black people.
Fortunately, Chase’s local, Indiana-based leadership took a different view.
Led by Chase/Indiana President Al Smith, a veteran Indianapolis banker and longtime community servant/leader. Smith persuaded Chase higher-ups to not close their Meadows branch. Smith knew first hand the progress the Meadows and neighborhood groups were making. Knew the area was undergoing a renaissance of schools, apartments and development.
Smith also knew the importance of Chase communicating with our community.
Fortunately, Smith’s bosses on Wall Street listened.
Smith and three other top Chase/Indiana executive appeared on “Afternoons with Amos” last Tuesday and explained the branch closings were because of “reduced transactions” by Chase customers who performed more bank transactions online and on smartphones, rather than visiting a branch.
Smith and Chase were honest in answering community fears, insisting crime and robberies weren’t the determining factor for any of the four Chase branches that have closed this year in Indy.
Black pastors, publicly and privately, had expressed their concerns and horror stories to me about Chase not giving smaller churches and ministries fair treatment.
In the hour-long interview, Chase’s Smith talked about the business they do with area churches called in bankers’ terminology “Book of House of Worship.”
Smith said, “We have a large book of business. It’s always been very substantial.” Smith said churches were economically impacted during the Great Recession like other businesses.
Smith said Chase wants to have personal interactions with their customers. Whether they are individuals or churches.
Big companies like Chase, which uses national ads to communicate with consumers, need to not ignore local advice, input and local relationships.
Much of what Chase execs talked about in the interview would be great messages for our Black community to hear; but Chase doesn’t run ads in Black newspapers and other local Black media.
And their PR folks haven’t a clue or understanding of Black media power.
Kudos to Smith and Chase Indiana’s local folks for reaching out. Hope that lesson is learned by Indianapolis other financial institutions.
What I’m Hearing in the Streets
During my Chase interview, Al Smith broke the news that a grocery store, Save-A-Lot, is coming to the Meadows neighborhood after a near 20-year absence.
Regarding groceries in the Meadows and inner city, I heard from two former officials of Steve Goldsmith’s mayoralty last week. They answered community speculation and rumor that severe theft is why Cub Foods left the Meadows in the late 1990s.
Not true, the former Goldsmith officials said. Cub Foods failed because of the size of the store, some 75,000 square feet was too big for the neighborhood to support. They said the average Cub store averaged $32 per visit; compared to $16 per visit to Cubs/Meadows.
A store with smaller square footage, like the 16,000 in the new Meadows Save-A-Lot will make more sense.
Those spreading the canard that theft did in Cub are uninformed and flatly wrong!
Glenda Ritz made the right decision to focus on Indiana’s education policy and forgo running for governor.
Ritz has tried to turn back some of these now proven insane educational changes. And for that opposition, the Republican political establishment egged on by Republican and Democratic radical school reformists who’ve fought Ritz every step of the way.
The continuing fallout over the push by education reformers to radically change public education in Indiana has led to teachers fleeing the profession in our.
Those radical reformers have turned the ISTEP test into a mockery. The news that ISTEP results won’t be known until December, because of incompetence by test maker CTB/McGraw Hill just another example of reforms’ failures.
Ritz’s decision last Friday to focus on her job and re-election insures we’ll have an open public plebiscite on these radical education changes that are making Hoosier public education getting worse – not better.
As Ritz leaves the Democratic race to face Gov. Mike Pence, someone new is looking to run – Tom Sugar – Evan Bayh’s former Senate campaign manager and chief of staff.
When I heard the news, I was skeptical about Sugar (and Bayh’s) motives. Sugar works for an education think tank called Complete College America, which has pushed some of those radical education reforms that’s unsettled our state.
He’s also pushing a plan to end gerrymandering of Indiana legislative districts, which might be a good thing.
I look forward to hearing why Sugar would be a better and more successful governor candidate against than John Gregg or Sen. Karen Tallinan against Pence.
Something to keep in mind about GOP presidential frontrunner boorish billionaire Donald Trump. In that GOP debate last week, Trump declared his disdain for political correctness. Trump’s ugly attacks on Fox News superstar Megyn Kelly remind me of his attacks on President Barack Obama’s birth origin.
Which makes Blacks wonder, if Trump publicly says mean things about Mexicans and women, what does he say behind closed doors about Blacks?
And if he says them, he must mean them?
See ‘ya next week!
