Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 December 1993 — Page 3

M' 1

i

W* r,* ''vi*r#,' , : > -ff I

•: ' 4 ■.;: - k/ /■;; •:«•'•* * >

^/WWWf»4' ' k' 1 r*’ ^

«»«wwy ---^ aL

3,

,y

• '•. ' ' , x£i. ~r

•M

B^wThi

in the

It6

*-,

100 to 300 mMents of

W4>

Throagbout the endie roate of

crowd moved ao.

Jim Atkins, i Ravenswood

***’» P«>ple trying to JH _______

get elonginthhwoHd.lt Halted Raemewood nminded everyone

Sver something stupid i

here for sale, you want to live in

itT** yelled another.

N OobKh to Africa, N taunted

over something stupid and it Black how happy they were to shouldn’t have started in the first hnveua in thmr neighborhood.

place. People can’t let bygones Now the march was over and be bygones." the residents of Ravenswood

»bygones."

As I moved closer to talk

. . t . . were returning to their homes. y* soother as some in the crowd mom to Atkins, the Sheriffs And the marchers were began to splash water on the Deputy stopped me and tok) me returning to their homes, too.

diiog through it may be best not to try and The marchers had several interview him. goals, said Adisa, one of those

. ? Sieriffs The processioa moved on. goals was to expom the racism Deputies immediately moved in Another Ravenswood and problems that exist in

and put a stop to those who were resident, a lady who did not give Ravenswood.

splashing water on the marchers, her name, said the whole dispute But residents of the m procession continued. was just an altercation between neighborhood insist they are not And so does the taunting. children. being portrayed accurately, and The resideiits of Ravenswood, "Most people didn’t realize many say it is the fruit of the

apparently in an attempt to try the family lived there, and didn’t media,

and frighten those who marched care,” she said. "It was two And members of the Marion

kids." County Sheriffs Department did

Although the scene had tbe an outstanding job of making

potential to recreate some sure everyone was safe, despite

aspects of the Civil Rights the tremendous potential for Movement of the ‘50* and ‘60a, major problems,

there was something missing. A few days after the march Brother Adisa of the Blade was over, members of the Black

Panther Militia supplied a Panther Militia said they

perspective on the dangers of currently have no plans to return

only about 30 Black people to Ravenswood. showing up for an event like this. Neither do 1.

"By not being here, they are

r^LuK^wtonu^ed

peacsnly though their

neighborhood, verbally attack

One angry man

at WXIN TV-39 reporter Adam

Shapiro and Ms cameraman. Some made threatening

comments to Wendi Thomas of

The liidkmapotls Star, as she constantly mingled with the

crowd in an effort to get a story

Members of the Black Panther opening themselves up for this

BEARD

Continued from A1

weapons, and we have seen none. We wQl protect the rightt of people to assemble and protect people in

Beard said she feels she has entered into the "Twilight Zone.” "I keep hoping I’ll wake up from a bad dream," Beard said. "These people are retaliating because they dortwant any Blacks living in their area. It’sbeen their territory for years, and they don’t want any intrusion. “It’s fumy that we can’t live where we want to,” she added. “Blacks don’t have any rights, but we can pay taxes which help to pay for lots of things in Ravenswood. ft’s really sad that this kind of thing exists today.” Deputy Chief Michari Hoak, law enforcement commander for the sheriffs department, agrees with

w»--—a OCJuu.

“What are theae people thinking about?" Hoak asked, "ft certainly paints a bad picture of the entire neighborhood. These are very unusual problems for us, because the vast majority of our population gels along so well." Beard, who wm bom and raised in the south, said she has never expencnocaanyminguicetmsDetoft. "I don’t know of any incident where a while, Mexican or other ethnic family moved into a neighborhood and was driven out," said Beard, the mother of four.‘This is an outrage and tomMody needs to pay fioff attention (O ft." According to Doug Garrison,

t- y

j

?

u

“Those people live In their own world, and have no idea what real life it all about," said Martha Beard about the white residents in Ravenswood.

apokeaperaon for the Indiana Federal

Bureau of 1

Investigation, the

investigation is rtillbeiflgoondiicted. "Of course we are all appalled and shocked by what has happened," GwrisonsikL"Weinleadtooontinue our investigation until those

apologetic attitudes when she terminated the utilities on Crittenden. “They knew who I was as soon aslwalkedinto the light company,” BeaidsaicLTguesstbey recognized me from TV. They were all very nioe and told me bow embarrassing the whole thing was to them." Beard, head dUstodian for the Indianapolis Public School System, also said her co-worken have been very supportive of her throughout her ordeal. However, the city’s Black leaders and ministers have been criticized for not showing any support. T think it’s a shame that our socalled leaders haven’tdone, or even said anything," said Hazel Stewart, a member of the IPS Board of School Commisaioners and a dose friend of Beard. "And I’m really disappointed in the Black ministers for not getting involved. It makes me wonder if it’s because Martha doesn’t have a title or money.” Stewart also described how she wh^n contorted th* sheriffs department about the situation in Ravenswood. Abcortting to Stewart, a female dispatcher for the sheriff’s

WhwH^

, ‘-'V

.

apin’-

'

1-eOO.77a.73S2

,r• '.y ■ V

’p’

*A«k tor TERRY BAILEY* ininnniiwiTii'iV tw

AVAILABLE

Tv**

W-TOP

Knobs , m-TONE

Black & White

■ r

SUP-ON

- : ill'At dr, Mcf

Gray

LOW-QTIL

Browiv Gray, Burgundy, Red, MustuaL TcMreen Green, GoMMet, Silver

Navy, Otira, Met,

SIZES 6 1/2 TO 15

SIZES Cl/2 TO I SEE

Black Nubuck

Nubuck, uckwHh

cm Certificates Available

Mon-Thur

Julia Sams

SAMS SHOES 5205 East 38* Street 546-7267

iaajn.-7pjn.

Fri-Sat f 0a.m.-8 p.m.

All Major Credit Cards Accepted

Free Parking

department was verbally abusive during a call Stewart made on Nov. 27, the same day Beard fled her home. T asked for Sheriff McAtee, but was told he wasn’t available,’’ Stewart said. “So I then asked why the Beard family was not being protected, and had to leave their home? I was told that they (whites) were not breaking the law, and that I wouldn’t want to be arrested if I weren’tbreaking the law.Ithen asked could something be done to protect Martha’s belongings if they decided to throw a bomb inride the house, as they had previously threatened to da I was told that there was a judge and a jury, and if I didn’t like what she said I could talk to my councilman. She then hung up on me.” Wesley said the incident would be investigated because if itoccurred in that manner, proper procedure was not followed. Beard said she has faith in God ] that everything is going to work out, and that He must have bigger and better plans for ber. “I realize me or my family could | have been killed,” Beard said quietly. “Me living in that house was not worth anyone dying."

Now Hoosier 96.3 WHHH's Little Sister WXLW 950AM has expanded it's 8pm - 12midnight show just for you!

Announcing the new... HITS, BLUES ftPUSTYS with MIKE MUIAMSON

HITS

from:

featuring: BLUES like:

Regina Bell Levert Christopher Williams Stephanie Mills Gerald Alston Kenny G. Vanessa Bell Armstrong

ZZ Hill Johnny Taylor Denise Lasallc Bobby Bland Jay Blackfoot

wavs*: Bobby Womack Stylistics Blue Magic The Dells The Wispcrs The Vanguards

Also special features like: Rickie “Solid Gold” Clark

Blue Room teaser Daily and the Top 950 Countdown of the top Hits, Blues and Dustys

WXLWi

Ml

I

W? %

: rt