Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 2 September 1995 — Page 7

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1993

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A7

We must stop babies killing babies immediately

Reuben Taylor, 3, died last week at the hands of two teenage girls who displayed a callous disrespect for life and responsibility. I’m angry, and you should be too, over the incident in which two Black girls, ages 13 and 16, allegedly smothered a 3-year-old toddler to death. The girls had been “babysitting” young Taylor, when they decided to “run away” from home and go out on the town. According to police, for a week these two, with the toddler, sashayed all over town, allegedly “cavorting” with men in area motels. And, according to police, when young, innocent Taylor wouldn’t stop crying, one of these two girls smothered him to death. Yes, everyone’s innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. But, if a judge and jury, after hearing the evidence, find these girls guilty, then they should be locked up, under the Women’s Prison, for the rest of their lives! But, they aren’t the only guilty parties. What about the men with whom they consorted? Why haven’t they been anested and charged with accessory to murder? Where were their parents? What kind of parents brought up girls who, according to a high-ranking IPD official, showed no sorrow, remorse or emotion when confronted with their dastardly deeds. Have we, as an AfricanAmerican community, sunk so deep into the cesspool of immorality that we’ve created a Frankensteinian monster of Black youth who show supreme disregard for human life and human rights? We Americans talk about human rights overseas, but we don’t give a damn about the human rights of a 3-year-old who was allegedly executed by sick, depraved young people who come fro.t the bosom of our Black community. Where’s our outrage over crimes committed by youngsters who seem to regard human life as a Saturday morning cartoon? Why aren’t we pressuring our city’s TV stations to show less violence and show more positive news and programs on African Americans? Why aren’t we demanding that Mayor Stephen Goldsmith and Gov. Evan Bayh return some of our state’s $1 billion surplus directly to youth organizations to work toward restoring values and respect for life among our youth? And where are solutions from our Black community? Why haven’t the sororities and other Black women’s (or men’s) organizations stepped forward to provide programs to teach girls that the way to stop a baby from crying isn’t to commit murder? We must stop acting like life’s an afterset and get about the business of taking back our children and our streets. If we don’t, the white establishment will do it for us, packing their prisons with our children and pacifying our streets with their riot-helmeted police, tanks and tear gas. Heard in the street Let’s go to some good news. Three hundred people Aug. 25 attended a positive event that could serve as a counterweight to the negative influences overwhelming our young people. Unfortunately, the event didn’t receive the media and community recognition it deserved because of the ineffectiveness of the city’s public relations apparatus. The Indianapolis Commission on African-American Males, created by Goldsmith in 1992, held a recognition event at Shortridge Middle School. Some 125 African-American men were honored for volunteering their time, energies, talents and skills to helping youth in Indianapolis Public Schools. The honorees were plain folks, including family men, working class, middle class, high school grads and degreed folks. Men who care. Men who give back. It was a great event, IPS Superintendent Dr. Esperanza Zendejas, the mayor and state

Rep. Greg Porter (D-96) spoke. But, most of our community didn’t hear about it. No coverage in the Star-News, a little on TV. The commission and the city gave no prior publicity or interviews about it to Black media. The commission and private donors spent thousands in fullpage newspaper ads saluting the ■ honorees, but didn’t highlight the Shortridge ceremony. I first learned about it from a vague press release sent three hours before the event. When I got there, the city’s PR person couldn’t even give me details either on the event or on the honorees. But, my heart was warmed

seeing these Black men honored, their families beaming with pride. In a week during which Indianapolis heard about the worst of our Black community, they also should have heard about some of our community’s best. But, they didn’t because of the apparent continued lack of understanding of and respect for our Black community by the city’s public relations apparatus. Thus a golden opportunity, that could have bridged the race relations chasm, was frankly botched. As the Commission on African-American Males plans next year’s recognition event, I hope its members remember this. What good is lifting up the esteem and image of AfricanAmerican males in this community, if we don’t communicate that to the community through media which Blacks respect, listen to, read and watch most often — Black media. I’m told there’s a wheelchair-

confined inmate at the Indiana Women’s Prison, who, in violation of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act, is prohibited from participating in some prison activities, including attending chapel. The Legal Services Organization or the Indiana Civil Liberties Union should look into this. Finally, when Circle Centre Mall opens, Friday, Sept. 8, there will be eight Black-owned businesses within it. None of the advertising for Circle Centre mentions them. But I will: ■ Athlete’s Foot ■ Bijoux by Beverly ■ Centre Image ■ Hope Marie ■ Lollipops ■ Niang African Art & More ■ The News Centre ■ Victory Circle Indy Souvenirs. When you shop Circle Centre, make sure you shop our Blackowned stores, first.

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