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INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025 A5Land a warehouse job, and the Whitestown Connector will take you there for free. Find a list of the companies hiring %u2013 and the bus schedule %u2013 at WorkforceConnector.com.Free Whitestown Connector bus will get you to the job.for the renovation. Athletic Coordinator and Dean of Students Devon Caldwell-Valdez (or %u2018Mr. CV%u2019 to his scholars) explained that the old weight room, with its 100-pound dumbbells and outdated machines, was a barrier to student participation.%u201cWe have a lot of kids that are intimidated by the weight room,%u201d Caldwell-Valdez said. %u201cSo, at 4 o%u2019clock, they walk out of the building, they go and do who knows what with who knows who. I think this upgrade might build some excitement and some confidence for some kids to get in the weight room and actually do some after-school activities.%u201dCaldwell-Valdez, who attended Northwest as a student and has lived in the neighborhood since he was in first grade, said the investment holds deep personal significance.%u201cSeeing community partners investing in my neighborhood, in my kids, in my school, it means a lot, especially since it is long overdue,%u201d Caldwell-Valdez told the Indianapolis Recorder. %u201cI walked into the weightroom as a freshman in 2009 and we had the same things. So, at this point now, it%u2019s kind of exciting.%u201dFor associate teacher and girls%u2019 basketball coach Anissa Butler, the new facility is a tool that will benefit students far beyond athletics. Her teams haven%u2019t had consistent access to a functional weight room in nearly six years.%u201cIt means a lot to me and the students are super excited,%u201d Butler said. %u201cI think it%u2019ll help tremendously, not even just on the court, I think it will help them in the classroom as well %u2026 when they%u2019re more fit and more healthier, they just do better.%u201dShe also anticipates positive ripple effects throughout the community. %u201cThey%u2019ll go tell friends, they%u2019ll go tell family members and they%u2019ll be more excited to get to the weight room outside of Northwest,%u201d Butler said. %u201cThey%u2019re going to want to work out instead of getting into mischief.%u201dThe project aligns with Elevance Health%u2019s focus on %u201cwhole health,%u201d which emphasizes the connection between physical, mental and social well-being. Elevance Health Chief Growth Officer Anita Allemand said investing in youth fitness is critical for building lifelong healthy habits.%u201cWe believe in whole health, and it starts really early with kids, helping them understand how to stay active, how to stay fit,%u201d Allemand said. %u201cEspecially in middle school, when kids aren%u2019t really sure about how to really be involved, we felt like this investment was going to be really critical for just lifelong behaviors.%u201dAllemand noted that an active lifestyle provides benefits that extend into all aspects of a student%u2019s life. %u201cIt gives you the confidence, it gives you the ability to clarify and clear your head,%u201d Allemand said. %u201cThis is a way to just put all that aside and be both fit as well as confident.%u201dThe renovation at Northwest Middle School marks the fourth Indianapolis school fitness space upgraded by Elevance Health in connection with the Elevance Health Women%u2019s Fort Myers Tipoff, a collegiate basketball tournament that celebrates the impact of women in sports.Founder and President of Impact Fitness Foundation Chris Welsh, another community partner, delivered a powerful message as the ribbon fell to the hardwood, ushering in a new age of fitness at Northwest.%u201cAs important as this is for the kids, it is important for the teachers and coaches as well,%u201d Welsh said. %u201c(Everyone) needs a space that motivates them and gets them fired up.%u201dHowever, no one may be more excited than Alaya, stating: %u201cMy favorite part about the weight room is that everything is new and we can finally go in there and do stuff.%u201dContact Multi-Media & Senior Sports Reporter Noral Parham at 317-762-7846. Follow him on social media @HorsemenSportsMedia.By STACY M. BROWNNNPAThe passing of Assata Shakur has left a deep void in those who saw her as more than a revolutionary. She was a mother, poet, and symbol of liberation whose life embodied struggle and sacrifice. On Black Press USA%u2019s%u00a0Let It Be Known morning news show, journalist and commentator%u00a0Thandisizwe Chimurenga%u00a0spoke about Shakur%u2019s death and her legacy. %u201cMy heart literally skipped a beat,%u201d Chimurenga said. %u201cI have known Assata%u2019s daughter and husband for over 30 years. I immediately called to see if it was true. I was so saddened when he said that it was true.%u201dBorn JoAnne Byron and once known as JoAnne Chesimard, Shakur became a leading member of the Black Panther Party and the Black Liberation Army. She was targeted by the%u00a0FBI%u2019s COINTELPRO program, convicted under disputed circumstances in 1977, and sentenced to life in prison. In 1979, she escaped and was granted asylum in Cuba, where she remained until her death. %u201cI purposefully refrained from going into journalism mode,%u201d Chimurenga said. %u201cThe only question I asked was had she been ill. He said, %u2018Yes, she had been ill.%u2019 My heart was broken for them because losing a parent, losing your mother, you are never prepared for that. And I was heartbroken for me, being, as Assata says, an African woman in America, that she was no longer physically here with us.%u201dFor Chimurenga, Shakur%u2019s exile carried both sorrow and triumph. %u201cI liked knowing that she was physically walking around free in Cuba, away from the clutches of the U.S. government,%u201d Chimurenga said. %u201cI was absolutely saddened that I had never taken myself down to Cuba and tried to find her and interview her as a journalist. But at the same time, I was rejoicing in the fact that for close to 50 years, she remained free of the United States criminal injustice system.%u201d Her words shaped generations of activists. %u201cIt is our duty to fight for our freedom,%u201d Shakur famously stated. %u201cWe must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.%u201d That declaration became a chant during protests in Ferguson and in the Black Lives Matter movement.%u201cShe was our warrior queen mother, our sister comrade, our mama,%u201d Chimurenga said. %u201cShe fought for us. She sacrificed for us. And her autobiography, infused with poetry, showed us the beauty of a woman the state called a terrorist. She was a beautiful soul who often said we must be weapons of mass construction, creating more beauty in the world because the people running it are destroying it.%u201d Reactions to her passing showed the divide in the nation. %u201cAmerica is a white supremacist nation,%u201d Chimurenga said. %u201cIt was not founded for us. We were brought here to enrich other people. If we did not believe it before, everything Trump is doing right now is in perfect lockstep with white supremacist principles. And that is how he was able to be reelected twice.%u201d Chimurenga said Shakur%u2019s memory will always remain tied to her devotion to her people. %u201cLove. Love of Black people. Sacrifice, commitment, and beauty,%u201d she remarked. %u201cThat is who she was.%u201dStacy M. Brown is the Black Press USA senior national correspondent.ASSATA SHAKUR REMEMBERED: A voice of struggle, a legacy of loveA reward poster announcing the federal bounty for the capture of convicted killer Joanne Chesimard, who used the name Assata Shakur, seen in West Trenton, N.J. on Monday, May 2, 2005. (Photo/AP File)CENTER%u00a8Continued from A1