Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 19 August 1999 — Page 6

The Muncie Times, Augsut 19, 1999, page 6

FBI, from page 1 beaten up by the police. People who live at Munsyana do no lose their constitutional rights because of where they live. “Then we had the killing of Mr. James Monroe, who is white. In the killing of Mr. Monroe, the police chief came out within a matter of hours of the killing and vindicated the officer involved. When did he have time to conduct a complete investigadon?” she said. “Ours is not an attack about the entire police department. It is against those who violate procedures. It is against those few police officers who are out of control. There are other officers who know what’s going on but are afraid to speak. That’s why we have taken some of the information we have and forwarded it to the FBI. “We don’t think Muncie police are capable of policing themselves.” Lang said the July 17 fatal crash of James H. Maddingjr., 24, during a police chase at Ninth and Madison streets underlined the need for better police training and procedures. “People have questions.

They need answers from the police on what’s going on. People used to think that the whole question of police behavior in Muncie involved just blacks. In the Kevin Wallace incident some felt it was black versus white. Unfortunately the Monroe situation has brought home to the surface that not only blacks are abused by the police. “Even whites, especially poor whites, have complaints about the police. In the past there have been divisions between poor blacks and poor whites. It is about how police treat the have nots, whether they are black or white. Things are beginning to change in Muncie. ‘We’re really worried about a long, hot summer. Some of our young people are angry about how they feel the police treat them. I am afraid it may be only a matter of time before some of our angry young people take action. I am very afraid,” Land said, “that some of them are arming themselves. Lives could be lost—and not all will be civilians.” She said some Muncie police officers may not be following proper procedures when it comes to dealing with

civilians. She said Muncie Police Department Use of Force forms require that all officers present during the incident should fill out the forms. However, Lang said she has found out that only the officer actually involved in the incident has completed the forms. If all officers followed procedures then there could be several different versions of what happened, depending on what each officer saw. “If that happened there would be checks and balances because officers could be willing to contradict each other because they would not want to face perjury charges for misrepresenting what happened,” she said. When Lang was in Gary, she said the Police Civil Service Commission was located away from police headquarters. It was staffed by civilians. This, she said, encouraged civilians to file complaints, without doing so in the intimidating presence of police officers. “Some officers lost pay or even their jobs when the complaints were found to be true. Police knew that the commission had the power to take action against them. It also made a difference because people knew that the

civilian staff at the Police Civil Service Commission was there to help them fill out the complaint forms,” she said. “In Muncie people have to file complaints at the police station. This has a chilling effect because you have to complain to the police about other police officers. I think a civilian police review board would be an excellent idea in Muncie.” Lang said some people have complained about her using Trinity United Methodist Church as a rallying point for blacks and whites concerned about alleged police misconduct. The mayor attended a meeting at the church after the Wallace incident. Family members and friends of Monroe have also attended a vigil at the church. “A lot of people think the purpose of the church is to teach on Sundays only and stay away from controversy. I disagree with that,” she said. “For me being a Christian means I am on duty 24 hours a day, not once every 7 days.When I see something wrong, I speak out. I believe that’s what God wants me to do.” That’s natural, especially since her parishioners include

two of the city’s leading community activists—Phyllis Bartleson, executive director of the Muncie Human Rights Commission, and Ed McNeary, president of the local NAACP chapter. She and Bartleson were among those who had met with the mayor to discuss the Wallace incident and to invite the mayor to come to her church and meet with worried residents. Social activism for Lang came slowly. She was born in Richmond, Ohio, which she described as a redneck town of 2,500. After graduating from the University of Cincinnati Law School, she was an attorney for 15 years, before she responded to a call to enter the ministry. After 3 years, she earned a master’s degree in divinity from Garritt-Evangelical Seminary, Evanston, 111. After her student pastorate in Gary, she moved to Muncie. “It’s up to the bishop (of the Methodist Church) to decide where I go. As long as I understand God wants me to be in Muncie, I am happy to be here and to do His work here,” she said.

NAACP, from page 1

that we’re going to host this convention. I think it’s going to be quite an exciting time to have it here. Having Mr. Julian Bond come here is quite exciting,” McNeary said. “Julian has a long track record in civil rights. He is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta. He was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), marched with the late Dr. Martin Luther King from Montgomery to Selma and worked closely in other ways with Dr. King. Later on he became a state senator from Atlanta (in the Georgia Legislature.)” This will be Bond’s third trip to Muncie. He was here in 1984 and 1990.

McNeary said the Muncie chapter was selected in 1997 to host Indiana’s final state NAACP convention before the millennium. “We were chosen because the state thought we were doing a good job in promoting the work of the state NAACP,” he said. The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the country’s oldest civil rights organization and one of the oldest black groups in the country. It was founded in 1909 to campaign for the civil and human rights of African Americans. Over the years, its members have included W. E. B. DuBois, Roy Wilkins and Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to be nominated by President

Lyndon Johnson as U. S. Solicitor General. Johnson also nominated Marshall to become the first black on the U. S. Supreme Court. Marshall led the NAACP’s successful challenge to school desegregation, resulting in the Supreme Court’s 1954 ruling declaring school segregation unconstitutional. “Over the years, the NAACP has been involved in every major civil rights decision in the country,” McNeary said. “Without the NAACP many changes that occurred in the area of civil rights would not have come about. “Since then, the NAACP has continued to try and better the plight of those who felt they didn’t have any hope. “We are ready to continue moving forward. I can’t say

enough about how hard our members work and have worked hard to get ready for October and to make this a very nice event. We’re getting good cooperation from the members and good cooperation from the banks and the businesses. We look forward to a very good convention.” This year’s theme is ‘Ninety Years of Making Democracy Work.” McNeary said the convention will start with a noon membership luncheon on Oct. 22 at the Radisson Hotel. Former Indiana State Rep. Hurley C. Goodall is the luncheon speaker. At 7 p.m. the same day, the Rev. Franklin Breckenridge, president of the statewide NAACP, will speak at the Horizon Center.

A noon to 2 p.m. luncheon on Oct. 23 bring members of the NAACP and the United Auto Workers (UAW) together. The Presidents’ Dinner, at 7 p.m. on Oct. 23, will feature Julian Bond. The convention will conclude with a 7 a.m. WIN (Women in NAACP) breakfast at the Radisson Hotel. McNeary, who is in his fifth year as Muncie chapter president, said there are about 300 NAACP members in the city. “I have enjoyed it,” he said. When the NAACP was founded 90 years ago membership dues were $10 per person per year. The membership was increased this year to $30 per year.

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