Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 23 October 1998 — Page 6

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23,1908

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EPITORIAIS More signs of hope By BERNICE POWELL JACKSON : It’s easy to become discouraged just reading the newspa- ! pers or watching television. j The stories we hear most often are stories of violence and | inhumanity. But all around us there are signs of hope stories ! which seldom get told in the press, but stories of flowers of life : being planted in our communities and our world. Here are two such stories.

| Birmingham BEAT When Bethel AME Church’s new pastor arrived some 11 years ‘ ago, the area around the church had become rundown and blighted. Many of the “shotgun” houses were falling down and most were owned by absentee landlords. The people in the community felt that everyone had forgotten about them and that no one cared. Rev. Ronald Noted, only 19 years old when he came to Bethel, believed that God cared about this community and he and members of his church set about proving it. Today the Ensley community around Bethel has been revitalized. There are new sidewalks, gutters and street lights. There are new houses, each designed by an architect working with the family living in the house and there are even new businesses adjoining the church. The neighbors came together and a new spirit has blossomed in their midst. All this has happened through the work of BEAT, Bethel Ensley Action Task, a housing and community development organization. But the residents of Ensley wanted to not only invest in their housing stock and their business community, they also wanted to invest in their youth. So an important part of BEAT is outreach to youth. There are tutoring programs and a Youth Council and a new community center is being built. Community residents and business owners are coaching a football team and the Birmingham Youth Jazz Ensemble has found a new home in Ensley. High school students participate in a summer on-the-job training program, helping in the renovation of homes. BEAT has encouraged local residents to start their own businesses and is assisting in the redevelopment of a nearby business district. The YMCA has recently announced it is opening a r^ew child care program there and there is a new catering business/ restaurant, a bridal shop, shoe repair shop and bookstore. There l is a new jazz center as well. ; The key to the new community blossoming in the Ensley section of Birmingham has been the word ownership. Most of the • new homes are now owned by the residents. The community ; has been an integral part of the development, even helping to ! select lighting, benches, trash receptacles, signs and landscap- * ing. The businesses are owned by local residents. Bethel Church and its BEAT program have defied the odds !. and shown that communities can once again prosper and flourj ish. With the help of local government, corporations and foun- ; dations, they have proven that with vision and perseverance there i can be signs of hope. Institute for Community Leadership Investing in youth is also the theme for the Seattle-based Institute for Community Leadership. This multiracial, multicultural program focuses on youth from all over the country, through several different programs. One, a month-long summer experience, is designed to develop leaders through poetry workshops, non- ; violence training, and leadership development in areas such as ; civic responsibility, social change and personal transformation. This summer’s program, for instance, included 80 students who lived with the Quinalt Indian nation in Taholah, WA. They ; lived without television or radio and learned about native Amerii can culture from elders who spent time with them. Students from J many different states and several countries participated in this 1 intensive, life-changing training experience. % The Institute for Community Leadership is funded by founda- ■ & tions, corporations, government and individuals and its programs tare available to schools, community organizations, businesses J and government agencies. Its goals are to develop leaders for ? the 21st century. Preparing leadership for the new millennium is a sign of hope for us all.

Are Gilroy^ Republicans ignoring Black voters?

Note: You may contact BEAT at 1524Avenue D, Birmingham, * AL 35218 or by calling (205) 780-4393. The Institute for Com- : munity Leadership can be reached at 2113 13th Avenue S.. Sel attle, WA 98144 or by calling (206) 720-1950.

INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER DIRECTORY

-Cart Ham

This November election it seems that major Republican candidates have gone out of their way not to bring their campaign and message to our Indianapolis Black community. This is very unusual because, in most fall elections, major statewide and Marion County GOP candidates have campaigned in Black neighborhoods. They’ve used Black media — radio and newspapers — early and often to promote their candidacies. The Republicans’ top two candidates; Senate hopeful Ft. Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke and Indiana Secretary of State Sue Ann Gilroy, have been virtually invisible in our Black community. Helmke’s absence is somewhat understandable, as he’s the major underdog in his race against Evan Bayh. Gilroy, though, is the first incumbent Secretary of State in 28 years not to advertise on the city’s Black radio outlets or Black newspapers. A leading candidate to run against Governor Frank O’Bannon in two years, Gilroy is considered a Republican moderate in the Dick Lugar mold. That makes Gilroy’s ignoring of the state’s largest Black community puzzling, unexpected and troubling! Republican Gary Hofmeister hasn’t been afraid to campaign in Black neighborhoods or appear on Black-oriented talk shows, such as the now cancelled WTLC Noon Show and our WAV-TV daily program. But Hofmeister’s the only Republican candidate ever to run in the 10th District, except for Marvin Scott, who excluded Black-oriented media from his campaign’s strategy. So far, Hofmeister has yet to purchase ad time on the city’s Black-oriented radio stations nor has he matched Carson’s TV buy on WAV-TV. Sheriff Jack Cottey, who’s cruising to re-election against Democrat George Kemp and Libertarian Ted Spilth; has mbie than $^4b,tio6 in ’ the bank. But as of October 19th, Cottey hasn’t spent a dime with the \ city’s Black-owned media, all of which, like Cottey, serve the citizens of Marion County. The lone Republican not afraid to bring his message to our Black community has been Marion County Prosecutor Scott Newman. Not only has he campaigned in our neighborhoods, but also Newman began using Black radio the same time he began advertising on the city’s White-oriented stations. Newman’s message is the same on all stations. Black or white—something other Democratic and Republican candidates have been reluctant to do. You can tell how a candidate

will treat our community by how it communicates with our community’s media. Except for Scott Newman, this year the Republican Party is seemingly living up to its perception among African Americans, as the party where Black voters aren’t wanted or welcomed! Heard in the Street The New York Times reports that the Democratic Party is launching an extensive Black radio campaign targeting Black voters with ads by the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Hillary Clinton. Will Indianapolis be one of the Black communities targeted by the national party, or will the party continue its nasty habit of ignoring America’s 16th largest Black community? Let me see if I understand this. On September 30th, Evan Bayh had $2.8 million in his campaign’s bank account, 19 times that of opponent Paul Helmke. Yet, Bayh’s campaign continues to refuse to spend one cent on Indy’s Blackowned WAV-TV Channel 53. Why, with nearly $3 million in the bank, has Bayh’s campaign failed to include this Black media outlet? As of October 19th, Bayh’s campaign had yet to buy an ad in the Black newspapers or Black radio in the state’s largest Black community. Why are Bayh’s bucks not used to reach Black vot-

ers?

I’m not surprised that Emmis Communications cancelled the city’s first Black-oriented radio talk show, “The Noon Show,” last Friday. As creator of “The Noon Show,” I’m not upset that Emmis

pulled the plug, but that it did it without an understanding of the program’s history; that a Blackoriented daytime talk show can generate large audiences! “The Noon Show” was patterned after Washington’s WOLAM “The Morning Show.” Hosted by Cathy Hughes, Washington community leader and owner of the largest chain of Black-owned radio stations in America, “The Morning Show” interviewed newsmakers, community leaders and politicians; raised Cain and opened lines of communications in Washington. Whenever in DC, I checked out “The Morning Show” and the insights it told me about happenings

in Chocolate City.

I wanted the same type of show for Indianapolis. So, I created “The Noon Show” September 1 st, 1992. During my 21-month tenure, our “Noon Show” plugged into the community’s psyche, brought newsmakers (Black and white) to our community, made news, raised Cain. In my last year, the show’s audience averaged 13,600 (Arbitron Ratings, Summer 1993 to Spring 1994). Sadly, since I left it, “The Noon Show" never regained its aura, luster and listenership. It became

boring, predictable, unexciting. The community turned it off. In the past year, the show averaged just 5,000 listeners (Arbitron Ratings, Summer 1997 to Spring 1998). Its companion show; “The Noon Forum,” attracts an audience of 2,700 (Arbitron Ratings, Summer 1997 to Spring 1998). “The Noon Show” is replaced by a new talk show airing at 8 p.m. when WTLC-AM’s signal is reduced by 80 percent with a drastically curtailed coverage area. Our WAV-TV daytime show will try to fill the gap, but our Black community has lost something special. Thanks, Emmis, for continuing to dismantle the media vehicles and institutions that held our Indianapolis Black community together! While Emmis and WTLC continue their abandonment of their community responsibility, the city’s Black-owned stations, KISS 106.7, Smooth Jazz Y100.9 and WAV-TV, continue to spearhead an advertising campaign to get our community to vote on November 3rd. Saturday and Sunday, October 31st and November 1st, the three stations, along with Hoosier 96, will open their phone lines to help you know where to vote Election Day. Tune to 106.7, 100.9, 96.3 or Channel 53 for details. See ya next week! Amos Brown’s opinions are not necessarily those of The Indianapolis Recorder. You can contact him at (317) 293-9600 or e-mail him at ACBROWN@AOL COM.

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GOP thinks it has a chance to “get” Clinton

The debate about an inquiry into the impeachment of President Clinton made it clear that we Americans are in the path of a very damaging political storm, and that there is virtually nothing we can

do to avert it.

The GOP leadership thinks it has a chance to “get” Clinton the way some Republicans believe the Democrats “did in” Richard Nixon, and they clearly are determined that neither the national interest; cries for statesmanship nor anything else will deter them. The committee hearings left no doubt that this campaign to humiliand depose Clinton is pure ugly

confused our children, disillusioned our idealists and empowered our cynics. “I am not proud of this prosecutor, Ken Starr, who has turned government in upon itself, distorted our system of justice in a politically

closely with these words from the statement by David P. Schippers, majority counsel for the Judiciary Committee: “The president is ... neither above nor below the law, (but) he is, by virtue of his office, held to a higher standard than any other American. Furthermore, as chief executive officer and commander in chief, he is the repository of a special trust... There exists substantial and credible evidence of 15 separate events directly involving President William Jefferson

Clinton that could—could—constitute felonies which, in turn, may constitute grounds to proceed with an impeachment inquiry.” Thus it is clear that the levels of disagreement and passion are so great that, no matter the damage to the nation, the conflict isn’t likely to end until we get to a trial and find out whether two-thirds of the U.S. Senate will vote to convict Clinton. And the damaging fallout won’t even end then.

inspired witch hunt that rivals

politics, fatefully propelled by the McCarthyism in its sinister pur-

fact that the issues are such that pose.

each side can claim it is driven by “I am proud of the millions of morality, patriotism and a love of Americans who have sifted the Constitution. ^ through mounds of disturbing maWe surely will have to endure terial to reach the common-sense months of the utterly partisan bick- conclusion that (the president’s be-

ering that we heard when only one of the 37 congressmen who spoke got any applause — Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla I could identify

sion when he said: “I am not proud of the |

havior) does not rise to the level of an impeachable offense, and who have asked us in a loud-and-clear voice to move on to the I know, though, that a majority in the Republican-controlled House, and a sizable minority of Americans, will identify more

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