Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 22 September 2000 — Page 6
PAGE A6
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22,2000 111 " "m* civilian review board. How is"it woridng? Barker; I feelit’s woridng pretty well, considering we have not had one for very long. Initially there was fear on the part of staff and politicians, that there would be an over zealous group of citizens looking at our operation and would not have ample understanding of how we do business. There was a miltrust that those outside would not understand the reality of what We do. I think just the opposite hits happened. And that's the way a lot of things come to be. They stint with a lot of pressure, then they get it in line and people sayit wasn’t'sb bad after all. They realize the people & do understand. A Recorder: How do you think the community perceives the review board process? Barker: I think they see it as favorable. I don’t get people hollering about it. > Recorder: Has the review board accomplished what it was set upio do?i , ? Barker: I think it’s another level of oversight that the community feels acertain level of comfort With. Recorder: What is the Citizen Police Academy and how can Recorder readers become involved? Barker: I would love to have them involved. It’s an opportunity for people to see how we do bust ness, learn police procedure, and learn some criminal law. An opportunity to take classes on what we do as police officers and whatiit all means. When people graduate they tend to hive a whole different attitude. , Recorder: How can people get information if interested? Barker: Call Major Rick Benton at the Training Academy at (317) 327-6650. It’soneof the key places where I placed a Black. I also put a Black man in charge of human resources and a Black woman in charge of training so we can look towards better ways to encourage minority involvement in the police department. This extensive interview was edited for length. Part two will deal with issues relevant to the Black community.
in
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BARKER Continuad from A1 power — the power on the streets could be more powerful than the official power. I then realized it was not for the adventure. It was for public service. I set out to build partnerships, helping the neighborhood to change. When you can see people feel better about themselves, about the neighborhood, with a feeling they have the streets back - you can’t measure that. Recorder: What are the major responsibilities as chief of police? Barker: To keep police and community in balance. There is a delicate baiance. I deal with a lot of personnel issues and fair treatment. It is a management leadership role. It is also important to keep the officers equipped with all they need. Recorder: You have been chifcf for about six months. What are your top priorities and goals? Barker: To change the perception of police in the community. The perception is negative and needs to tye more attractive. To continue community policing. Move towards proactive vs reactive. More problem solving. More interaction with community. I would like to continue working to break down the barriers. Formulate more interaction, more opportunities to exist in a spirit of community cooperation. We need
Police Department Ranks by Race
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Total. White Black Othar
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to drive that point home with the police — not by just words but by deeds and actions. We need to plug public service and downplay the adventure. Part of that will happen in the training environment. It’s more important to get the community involved so more crimes will be reported. If the crime rates go up, that does not mean we failed, it might be a sign of success. It just might mean people are reporting more. Recorder: You have a diverse executive staff. Do you feel African Americans are properly represented? Barker: At the top, yes. In the middle management, no. We have been around 16 percent African Americans for too many years. This needs to be higher, (see Ranking by Race chart) Recorder: Can you talk about IPD’s recruitment efforts, particularly as it relates to African Americans and Hispanics? Barker: Not enough is being done. We have never been where we need to be. Our police department should mirror the community. If I could leave this job with one thing accomplished, I would be the most proud if I could bring our department up to where it needs to be. Recorder: Are you taking strides to make that happen? Barker: I try to make the department more user friendly. We should be looking for advantageous
ways. We should be carrying armloads of applications into the community. We even had an information van at the State Fair. We set up a booth at Black Expo. We need to find creative ways to reach the people of Marion County. There is an African American in charge of human resources and training. We have added a Hispanic recruitment officer. We are Dying to break the barriers. 1 have met with the Black clergy and community leaders, opening the door for suggestions. We’ve included more Black colleges. But there again, if we are doing things right, we shouldn’t have to. We should be able to get it right here. Recorder: Do you believe there is a negative perception of the process? Barker: Yes. Recorder: Are you trying to change the perception and the process? Barker: Yes. We have shortened the process. It was about 18 months long. There are basically two phases. First there is the written test and the interview. Then the background check. We’ve changed the oral interview to give people more opportunity to express themselves. It is friendlier than it was. But our requirements and standards are not going to slip one bit. To do that would be a disservice to our citizens deserve ? out there, police-
Selma elects 1 st Black mayor; longtime white incumbent out
intimidating the old and sick at nursing homes—people whocan’t talk, walk or eat by themselves supposedly voted for Smitherman
all these years.
“These are people that grew up with segregation,” added Bland. “All they know is when someone
SELMA, Ala. (NNPA) — Joe white says something to them, they Smitherman, Selma’s nine-term respond,‘Yes, sir.’
By CAROL PREJEAN
ZIPPERT
Co-publisher of The Greene County Democrat and LADDI JONES
Staff Writer
Special to the NNPA
mayor who has had a stranglehold on this small Southern town since the 1960s, is gone. James Perkins Jr. waselectedthecity’sfirstBlack mayor in a recent run-off election. Smitherman, 70, conceded defeat to his opponent following one of the largest turnouts ever seen in
a run-off.
The victory represented the destruction of one of the city’s last links to “Bloody Sunday,” the violent voting rights protest in 1965 that made the city internationally known as a symbol of segregation and led to the passage of the Voting
Rights Act.
Smitherman, mayor during that time, was opposed to integration. He supported the police who beat protesters who were marching
Perkins — whose 9 p.m. press conference was held at the St. James Hotel, one of the privately owned structures tha(t allegedly Smitherman helpedconstnict with city money — said that luck paid
no part in his victory.
“It was a faith and fate vote,” he said. “People just were ready for change. We finally have accepted
Perkins had run unsuccessfully that we have changed our image for the office twice before. He was and we have changed our direc-
defeated by only 300 votes in the last mayoral election. Observers said the Perkins victory momentum started building when the polls closed at 6 p.m. Long before Smitherman conceded, the city’s Broad Street became a festival of celebration, with Perkins supporters turning their “Joe Gotta Go” signs around to read “Joe
Gone!”
The “Joe Gotta Go” campaign was spearheaded by Rose and Hank Sanders, two of the city’s most prominent Black leaders. Rose Sanders, a progressive lawyer and educational reform leader, has been a longtime vocal opponent of the mayor. Her husband Hank is a state
across a bridge. Like many former senator whose district includes
segregationist public officials, he Selma,
later embraced racial integration. “People were dancing, cheering “It is time to put our Civil War — you could feel the whole spirit history and our civil rights history of celebration suck you in,” said
one observer. “This was not an air of vengeance. This was an air of
welcoming a new era.”
Ainka Sanders, the activist couple’s 21-year-old daughter, insisted that change was inevitable. “We were going to vote him out
The unofficial results show or God was going to put him out,” I am going to do. If you need any Perkins got 6,326 votes to she said. “God knows what is right, infonnation from me, just call. I
Smitherman's 4,854. Smitherman can either take the easy The absentee vote totaled 1,179. way out or he can go through hell .” for Smitherman to 578 for Perkins. College students were vety visSmitherman carried the absentee ible in Selma the night of its cel-
in our museums,” said Perkins, 47,
in his acceptance speech.
He said people have not beeh able “to recognize the true Selma
because of its history.”
But “the true Selma stood up and spoke out tonight,” he said.
tion. We have the opportunity to do
that now.
“It’s no secret that 'Bloody Sunday’ was vital to our city and our world,” continued«Perkins. “‘Bloody Sunday’ sent the message of the importance 6f the vote and everybody had to have the vote. “But seemingly,” he continued, “everyone learned from this but Selma, and that is why I couldnft
get elected.”
Peridns credited the Sanders’ “Joe Gotta Go” campaign with playing a big role in his victory. Said Perkins: “There were two campaigns. There was the Perkins campaign, which was ‘Moving Forward United,’ and there was the Sanders’ ‘Joe Gotta Go’ campaign. Some people responded to the first campaign, some people responded to the second. The two campaigns worked together — separately but in concert.” Smitherman called to congratulate Perkins on his victory. Perkins recalled Smitherman as telling him: “I have always said that if anyone beat me in an election, I was going to go away quietly and that’s what
box 3-1, following an all-out effort that was rumored to involve intimidation and the buying and theft of
votes.
“It was the things they would do — stealing ballots, intimidating people,” said Joanne Bland, tour director of the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma. “He was
ebradon. They came home to vote in the run-off, even if they hadn’t voted in the primary election. The push for the college vote came from
the Sanders’ campaign.
By 7 p.m., the festivities had spread throughout the City. Smitherman't headquarters was
immediately dismantled.
won’t call and try to interfere, but if you need any help, just call.” Perkins said that after some quiet time with his family, he plans to work to reunite the city through truth and reconciliation. Perkins said his vision was to build a “truth and reconciliation commission,” most recently used in South Af-
rica. ,
Hank Sanders said the victory gives ins city “an opportunity to
bloom.”