Police brutality, a lack of education and positive role models are just a few of the issues Black males face today. The Indiana Commission on the Social Status of Black Males (ICSSBM) is looking to discover solutions to solve these concerns at their upcoming conference Oct. 13 from 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m. at the Indiana Government Center South.
The conference will include panels and discussions on policies that impact Black men, how the City of Indianapolis developed their citywide Black male initiative models and strategies for educating Black males on racial disparity in the Indiana criminal justice system among other topics. Kevin Powell, one of the most acclaimed political, cultural, literary and hip-hop voices in the country, will give the keynote address. The theme for ICSSBM’s 15th conference is, “Black Males Matter.”
Eddie Melton, ICSSBM chairman, said the conference will be a statewide gathering with the purpose of bringing community leaders together to discuss strategies to support the lives of Black males across Indiana.
“One of the things I wanted to make sure we did involved establishing a strategic plan, and we did that. The second task was to revisit our annual conference, because we haven’t had one since 2008,” said Melton, who was appointed to the commission in 2012 and elected chairman in 2014.
The conference is geared toward all people who interact with or are interested in improving the lives of Black men. Youth from around the state, including those who attended the commission’s March event, Black Male Youth Day at the Statehouse, are also welcome to attend. Youth who attend will be asked their opinion on ways the commission can assist them on a local level, while adults will identify policy recommendations on state and local levels. The commission will supply those ideas to the Indiana legislature before the next session.
“We’re becoming more strategic on our convening,” Melton said. “We’re going to release a report at the conference where we’ve asked various departments within the state of Indiana to release data on Black males. This includes the Department of Education, the Department of Health, the Department of Correction and others.”
Powell, conference keynote speaker and New Jersey native, was raised by a single mother in extreme poverty but managed to go to college through the state’s educational opportunity fund and go on to author 12 books. Powell said he is honored to serve as the keynote speaker and will focus on holistic development.
“It’s an opportunity to showcase where we are in the community and country, to discuss some of the ways we can redefine Black masculinity. And while there are certainly things we should address as far as racism is concerned, we also have other issues to discuss,” Powell told the Indianapolis Recorder. “It’s going to be a holistic conversation, because if you’re going to have a discussion on manhood, it has to be the full perspective. You can’t say Black males are an endangered species. That is tired and a disservice to people like my mother, who had an eighth grade education, was on welfare and raised me alone. How can we talk about Black males but not ignore the fact there’s a whole community out there of sisters that need to be engaged as well?”
Some of the featured speakers will include:
Michael Twyman of the Your Life Matters initiative; Roderick Wheeler; City of Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson; Sen. Greg Taylor; Rep. Vernon Smith; Willis Bright of Bright Visions Consulting; Patricia Roe of USA FUNDS and Indianapolis Metropolitan Chief of Police, Rick Hite.
James Garrett, ICSSBM executive director, released a statement saying, “The importance of Black Males Matter is extremely relevant today. Frederick Douglass once said, ‘Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, where ignorance prevails, and where any one class is made to feel that society is an organized conspiracy to oppress, rob and degrade them, neither persons nor property will be safe.’ Today Black males are experiencing much of what Mr. Douglass spoke of. The Black Males Matter conference seeks to engage community leaders, elected and appointed officials to share initiatives and offer recommendations to uplift and benefit Black males.”
Powell’s 12th book, The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy’s Journey into Manhood, is set to release Oct. 27. He will reference many points in his address that also appear in his upcoming book, such as spirituality, political and social engagement, financial literacy and consciousness.
“We need to find out what is the spiritual foundation of our lives and what we believe in, whatever that may be, because it all goes back to love,” said Powell, who mentioned he didn’t have one male role model during his first 18 years of life. “When I was younger, in age and maturity, I used to think Dr. King and other leaders who spoke about love were corny, but today I know they were absolutely right. If you don’t have love in your heart, you aren’t going to win. Bullets have self-hatred in them. What do you do to help other people in your community on a consistent basis?”
In addition to the conference, an evening reception will take place Oct. 12 at The Columbia Club beginning at 5:30 p.m. for those looking to network with other attendees and state leaders.
For more information, or to register for the conference, visit ICSSBMconference.eventbrite.com.
