Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 14 October 2005 — Page 1
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>The Indianapolis
INDIANA’S GREATEST WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Volume 110 ■ Number 41 ■ Since 1895 ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2005 ■ www.indianapolisrecorcler.com ■ Four Sections ■ 75C
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER PRESSING TOWARDS EXCELLENCE
he Indianapolis " ■ * Recorder celebrated its 110th Anniversary Wednesday at the Indiana State Museum. For more than a century, the Recorder has been a constant voice in the African American community. A voice that has spoken of injustices and untruths that have affected our people, a voice that has advocated for social and political change, a voice that has been strong, determined and full of vigor. For the last 110 years, the Recorder has indeed been a voice for the community...a
voice for our people. Since its inception, the Recorder has evolved to a multisectioned, full color newspaper that educates the public on various aspects of the African American community including politics, health and education. As we celebrate our 110th anniversary, we are grateful that our readers have remained loyal and we thank you for your continued support. Please enjoy our special tabloid that features articles on the country's top African American publications as well as pictures from Wednesday's celebration on pages A6 and A7.
NEWS BRIEFS
Civil rights activist and entertainer Harry Belafonte will speak on Saturday, Oct. 15 at the Madame Walker Theatre as part of a diversity summit sponsored by the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race and Gender Fairness. See story on page A2.
Linsey Davis promoted to weekend evening anchor Linsey Davis will become the new weekend evening anchor of WTHR-TV (Channel 13) Eyewitness News effective Oct. 15. She replaces Rhori Johnston, who is leaving WTHR to become a primary anchor at WTVFTV in Nashville. Before coming to WTHR, Davis was a reporter for WJRT, the ABC station in Flint-Saginaw, Mich. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia and her master of arts degree in communications at New York University. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Students want Planner House Higher Learning Center to stay open
Nicole Morris (left) is an advocate for the Planner House Higher Learning Center to remain open for the sake of her daughter, Chelynn Bostick. (Photo/E. Thompson)
School likely to lose its charter By ERICKA P. THOMPSON Staff Writer
At 35-years-old, Shirley Rice says receiving her diploma from Planner House Higher Learning Center (FHHLC) is her last chance. “I quit school when I was 17 because of health problems,” she said. “This is my last hope to be able to get my education. I’m upset that there is a possibility that the school might close because I’m so close to being done.” Like Rice, several students who attend FHHLC, a unique charter school that is geared towards individuals who have dropped out of high school are concerned that the school may close due to allegations made by the city. City officials cite that based on analysis, the school lacked attendance information required by state law. After an investigation, the Indiana State Board of Accounts (ISBA) reported that FHHLC could not substantiate its enrollment figures and, as a result, must forgo approximately $699,690 in future funding from the state and local sources. Added with the school’s
existing debt of more than $140,000, officials believe it would be nearly impossible for it to continue to operate. David E. Harris, the city’s charter school director, says after a January site visit, a concern arose about the number of students. He says the ISBA gave FHHLC an opportunity to provide evidence, but they
only presented a letter that refuted the finding. “We’ve had several conversations with (FHHLC),” he said. “Unfortunately it became clear that it was necessary to file the notice to revoke the school’s charter. It was the last thing we wanted to do.” There were also serious concerns about the school’s ► See PLANNER, A2
“The Millions More Movement is challenging allofnstorise above the things that have kept us divided in the past...” Louis Farrakhan
NATION PREPARES FOR MILLIONS MORE MOVEMENT Organizers expect large turnout in Washington
By BRANDON A. PERRY Staff Writer
Next week will mark the 10th anniversary of the Million Man March, a massive gathering that was designed to highlight issues facing African Americans and action-oriented solutions that could be taken home to communities across the nation. Despite the euphoria that many of the 2 million attendees felt after that march, many problems have continued to persist and even worsen. To keep the momentum of the Million Man March and formulate a lasting strategy to combat poverty and injustice, abroad coalition of leaders and organizations are making final preparations for the Millions More Movement, a massive march on the Washington Mall set for Saturday, Oct. 15. Organizers expect between 800,000 to a million people from around the country to attend. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who convened the Millions More Movement and visited Indianapolis in August to promote the march, said he hopes the event will raise an agenda of positive change that can be adopted by local communities. “The Millions More Movement is challenging all of us to rise above the things that have kept us divided in the past, by focusing us on the agenda to see how all of us, ► See MORE, A2
Community Resource Fair State Rep. Carolene Mays, D-Indianapolis, will host a Community Resource Fair Saturday, Oct. 22 at Lafayette Square Mall from
► See BRIEFS, A3
Got a hot news tip? Want to be heard? If you would like to report any news or share your comments, call the Recorder News Hotline at (317) 924-5143 ext 300
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By SHANNON WILLIAMS Recorder Editor
Background In 1978 the United States filed a complaint against the City of Indianapolis alleging that the city had “engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against women and Blacks on the basis of sex and race in the Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) and the Indianapolis Fire Department (IFD).” As a result, Consent
Decrees were established for the city with respect to hiring and promoting specific percentages of Blacks and women within the two public safety agencies. The decrees would ensure nondiscriminatory actions based on race and sex. Now, 27 years later Indianapolis and other cities throughout the United States may soon lose the Consent Decrees that have been a source of protection for Blacks and women for nearly three decades.
The Issue According to a U.S. Department of Justice memorandum, on Oct. 7, the Justice Department filed a motion to dissolve the Consent Decrees, citing that both IPD and IFD “have demonstrably met the hiring, promotional and recruitment goals of the decrees.” Kobi Wright, Corporation Counsel for the City of Indianapolis and Marion County disagrees. “While the city has
made significant strides toward eliminating the vestiges of discrimination, we have not arrived. We’re committed to getting to the point that we can say the discriminations are gone. (But) we need to get there via the Consent Decree that we entered years ago.” There are several other cities throughout the nation that the Justice Department is seeking on a case-by-case basis to dissolve their Consent Decrees as well. ► See DISSOLVE, A4
• Consent Degree I states that the city “agreed to appoint, subject to availability, atleast 25 percent Blacks in future training classes of IPD and IFD. It also called to promote Black officers within the two agencies so to attain a percentage within those ranks which is representative of the percentage of ranks from which promotions are traditionally made.” • Consent Degree II & addendum called for the city to “seek to recruit and appoint to the entry level ranks in the Police Department... qualified women in sufficient numbers so that (the female composition of the IPD) more nearly reflects the female composition of the work force of the city of Indianapolis. The decree called for the appointment of 20 percent women to all IPD training classes. The addendum added the goal of seeking to achieve 15 percent female applicant rate for IFD.
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