I firmly believe that white backlash against Indianapolis’ growing Black community and growing number of Black elected officials is one reason Greg Ballard won and Bart Peterson lost.
Despite Indianapolis’ striving to be a cosmopolitan, diverse city, strong strains of racist thoughts and actions bubble below the surface. The unprecedented number of African-Americans in decision-making roles in the Peterson administration stirred up the racists. Then as African-Americans began running and winning countywide elections, not just elections in Black-majority districts, those racist attitudes began to publicly surface.
Newcomers forget that the Ku Klux Klan played a pivotal role in Indianapolis’ history with the Klan directly controlling the Indianapolis Public Schools in the 1920s, creating educational racial apartheid.
We also forget that the racist John Birch Society was created nearly 50 years ago in Indianapolis.
Political campaigns here have regularly featured scurrilous anti-Black and racist rhetoric, spread by word of mouth, fliers and the occasional rogue direct mail attack.
But this year, anti-Black rhetoric and campaigning was spread in cyberspace via the Indianapolis Star’s official online comments pages and on several notorious blatantly racist and “Blacks hating Blacks” Internet blogs.
I first told you about this Internet hate in August when the most vicious blog, purportedly run by police sympathizers, posted a crude cartoon depicting Mayor Bart Peterson, Sheriff Frank Anderson and Council President Monroe Gray as apes and monkeys. The cartoon was re-posted on another noxious Web site owned by the Black-owned Indiana Minority Group.
Blacks were outraged over the racist cartoon. When I confronted him, then candidate Ballard condemned the slur, but not the blogs perpetuating the slime.
Ballard remained silent while these blogs openly pushed Ballard’s campaign by spewing forth the most vile and vicious anti-Black slurs and rhetoric against any African-American Peterson supporter.
Let me be crystal clear. I don’t believe Greg Ballard was responsible for any of these Internet hate factories or the filth they produced. But, he benefited from their hate campaign.
Now, three weeks before taking office, several of these blogs are evaporating, including the blog allegedly run by police.
Ruth Holladay, the veteran, former Indianapolis Star columnist, reports on her Web site that she believes the anti-Peterson, anti-Black, pro-police blog may have been operated or assisted by two key Ballard supporters. One is a TV commentator and low rated radio talkshow host and the other expected to hold a key position in the Ballard administration.
Both deny Holladay’s allegation, but she presents a compelling circumstantial case.
The “Blacks hating Blacks” blog run by Indiana Minority Group is trying to clean up its act, as the company’s head is also rumored to be in line for a top Ballard appointment.
The mayor-elect’s signals to the Black community have been mixed. He’s been seen concerned about the TaJanay Bailey tragedy, but he may also be about to kill two strong symbols of racial tolerance.
January’s Mayor’s Diversity Awards is in abeyance. If it continues, it probably won’t be with Ballard’s blessing. Also in doubt, Ballard’s commitment to Butler University’s diversity lecture series.
Ballard’s first opportunity to speak directly about the growing racial intolerance in Indianapolis will be on Dr. King’s Day, Jan. 21. Will Ballard speak out strongly condemning and disavowing racial intolerance in Indianapolis? Or will he remain silent, and reward those who spewed hate on the Internet with top jobs in his administration?
What I’m hearing in the streets
Heartbreaking. That’s how to describe reading hundreds of pages in TaJanay Bailey’s Department of Child Services case file, released by court order last week.
Reading the documents, I learned TaJanay’s mom, Charity Bailey, was born of a crack using mother and alcoholic father. She lived with her grandmother for years and was in and out of trouble, including spending six months in the Girls School. Charity was a high school dropout who got pregnant at 17 and couldn’t hold a job. Despite being a mom of two, Charity wasn’t on welfare. Food stamps and income from her boyfriend’s odd jobs was their only sustenance.
That boyfriend, Lawrence Green, got support from a family member, but I was stunned to see that neither Charity nor Lawrence’s family were really engaged and involved in helping two uneducated, unemployed young parents with two kids and one on the way survive.
The only good thing was a home-based counselor, Kelly Kochell who worked with TaJanay’s family for 11 months. Employed by the National Youth Advocate Program, a local service agency that provides in-home treatment programs for families experiencing difficulty, Kochell’s reports on the family’s struggles were poignant and frightening.
He and TaJanay’s court appointed guardian, strongly wanted the children placed back in foster care. They were prepared to fight for that; but the court hearing was scheduled the morning Tajanay died.
We always hear about the alleged heartlessness of caseworkers. Kelly Kochell had a heart, cared and wanted to see the best for the family. Unfortunately, time ran out.
What took the Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA) so long to go after the slumlord owners of the Phoenix Apartments? Saturday’s announcement that IHA, which supervises 13 Section 8 slums in the Phoenix, are going after the owners for lying and malfeasance, is long, long overdue.
IHA officials have known that the Phoenix has been a dump for years. They should’ve taken action years ago. Or at least in October after the Star’s expose.
A larger question is why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which subsidizes the majority of the Phoenix’s apartments, won’t take similar action against this despicable slumlord?
The sudden resignation of state Rep. Mae Dickinson from District 95 on the Eastside has set off a scramble on who will replace her in the Legislature come January. I’m hearing that outgoing City-County Councilman Lonnel “King Ro” Conley’s planning to lobby precinct committeepersons to replace Dickinson. Also in the race is UAW official John Bartlett, said to be Rep. Dickinson’s choice.
Party leaders will choose a replacement Monday.
See ‘ya next week!
Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. You can contact him at (317) 221-0915 or by e-mail at ACBROWN@AOL.COM.
