 Good afternoon. My name is Molly Martin, and I'm with New America. I'm the director of New America's work in Indiana The director of New America Indianapolis in name and I work in Indiana and a little bit in Arkansas, Ohio Michigan, West Virginia and Western New York. I'm really excited you're here today I wanted to take a minute and tell you a little bit about who we are before we get to the far more interesting people on this call of I have lived in Indiana for 20 years. I've lived in Indianapolis. I'm from southern West Virginia I was drawn to New America because it's a different kind of think tank and we are think tank We are a nonpartisan non-profit organization based in DC But we do have folks who work across the country like I do because Our goal is to solve social problems and our goal is to highlight those who are already solving them in interesting ways We know that we don't have all the answers and we also knew that all of the answers didn't exist simply in DC And that's why we're here. I'm really excited about the event today at New America We focus on issues of work income and economic inequity and opportunity usually through a race conscious lens We also talk about income and gender Our working principles when we talk about race like we will today Because the title of the series is COVID-19 in the black community Our rules are black voices are critical to communities economic and cultural lives black lives matter Wraith race and ethnicity are different black residents are not a monolith and we talk a lot about vulnerability But that doesn't mean that all black residents are low-income or all black residents don't have means One of the reasons I'm excited to do this work in Indianapolis is its story of the black middle class and black entrepreneurship black populations across the country are so different, but if you Recognize the trend of the communities I work in many of them have a long history of both vibrant black communities and a deep segregation and sometimes deep deep inequity Today, we're going to talk specifically in this first part of our COVID-19 series About how black communities get timely and accurate information and you're going to hear from some top leaders now We only have an hour together and I'd love for you to hear far more from the top leaders So we'll be taking time to have one-on-one recorded conversations with these leaders after the webinar So that you can continue the conversation and continue to learn more about them I will introduce the panel momentarily I do want to start by thanking them, but I'm going to start with new America's lead partner in this work And that is the Indianapolis recorder Certainly if you live in Indy or if you live most anywhere you've probably heard of the recorder And I'm going to spend a couple minutes talking to the editor Oshia Boyd about the recorder's legacy So Oshia as I come over to you, I think Angela is going to unmute you there To talk to us about what the recorder is because we actually have attendees from across the country today And then also tell me why you think having well-supported media by and for black communities is so vital Well for those who know and those who don't know well first of all, thank you for this partnership This is a great opportunity for us for the recorder. We're 125 year old black-owned newspaper We had been black-owned since the very beginning of 1895 when we started out as a two-page church bulletin So we're the fourth oldest newspaper black-owned paper in the country. I think that said a lot about the recorder Um, we have been here for forever. It seems like 125 years and we're working who want to continue on that legacy for another 125 more and 125 more. So what our mission is is a prepared conscious I think we've lost audio and Oshia Can you guys hear me now? There you go. Okay Where did you where did we leave off? Um, could you restart again about the importance of black-owned media and media buy-in for the black community? Thank you So I said 125 years old we start out with a two-page church bulletin And so as you guys know People are pretty aware that the need for black-owned institutions came about because we were excluded We didn't we were not considered part of the fabric of America We had to start our own and so we start our own newspaper to tell our stories to keep our people abated on local and national news As well as tell positive stories that were happening in our community and that's still the world of recorder We still adhere to the highest standard of journalism Journalism Excellency is our is our standard always Stories we got became the editor two years ago our stories. We always look to engage empower educate our readers That's what we want to do with every story that we have in the paper and sometimes entertain as well But we want to make sure that we give our community good information that they can use to empower their lives educate themselves and be better citizens in our community fantastic Oshia Research shows and it's shown the same trend for for decades that black Americans tend to trust local media More than their white counterparts and it seems that black-owned media and the legacy of black community newspapers are a really important part of that My guess is that right now in a time of crisis the recorder gets all sorts of requests and demands on its time Can you tell me what it's like to be this trusted Scion of local media when your community is in crisis. What what are you hearing? What are the sorts of calls you're getting? Oh gosh, it's a lot of pressure a lot of pressure to make sure that we are Doing the job that we're supposed to do one of my one of my concerns is Beating into the hype into the hysteria. I don't want to do that but I want to make sure that we are disseminating accurate information and You know that is changing so rapidly that what's accurate at one o'clock may not be accurate, too So that's one of our challenges keeping up with What's going on and making sure our community? Knows and with our website that's reaching the younger audience as you're well aware that many of the baby boomers still read the print edition so We're a weekly and so that makes a little more difficult to Get them the information that's changing every every hour every couple of days So what we do with the print edition is try to make sure that we give them the stories that really Will impact the information they need to know the bigger stories. We're working on things like Talking to businesses that have been hit hard by by COVID-19 Talking to people who actually have had COVID-19 are in the process of ill and so we try to do some things differently For the print edition to make sure that people are still getting accurate information and good information and then things like this also matter And certainly we thought of the recorder of as a really important community convener And thank you again for doing this. We'll be back to Oshia very soon as part of our broad conversation But next I'd like to turn to a special guest We're really delighted today to have the honorable Andre Carson representing the 7th congressional district of Indiana Joining us today to talk a little bit about the importance of amplifying and lifting up Good work in the black community during the crisis, but also amplifying the challenges that are unique We'd love to hear from the congressman anytime But I think especially at a time like now The leadership is much appreciated. So congressman a representative Carson. I have to remember all of my different etiquettes Could I come over to you and ask you to say a little bit? Why do you think the COVID crisis might be different for black Americans? Well, I I think we know that COVID has been damaging and devastating our community And for folks across America And around the world and and there are really essentially two fronts to this I think there's the public health crisis we're facing and You know, this is by this virus is extremely contagious It's very dangerous and our ultimate goal is to really slow the spread and save lives and so While all of us are trying to engage in social distancing And stay at home as much as possible Our economy effectively has been shut off. So we have restaurants, hotels, bars, retail stores, barbershops dance studios yoga studios, gyms Practically every segment of our small business Minority african-american, latino Sector has been impacted and I think these social distancing measures Were were necessary But it has rocked our economy and I think the impacts will be so devastating We're going to be talking about this for decades And so I I think that there's there there has to be this balance between making sure Our community is a part of this effort to We revitalize our economy But you know, even I wrestled but I had I had a small business town hall yesterday on instagram And I had some of some of my my my friends who are barbers and who own beauty shops and who are estheticians and You know some some of my friends who even own smoke shops And many of my friends who are entertainers, you know, I know Sean Jones is in here Um and Ashley and others but even my friends who are entertainers Are really are really struggling and suffering right now And as we are bailing out The airline industry and we're bailing out other industries Small businesses are having to take loans So you have big corporate enterprises. We're getting bailouts with small businesses. We're still having to effectively get into debt Now the sba Is is is is offering competitive interest rates But we're still seeing an important segment of our society that has oftentimes overlooked and misrepresented Having to get deeper in debt to solve this crisis and it seems a bit unfair. So as they're representative in the true sense One of the things that that that I have done and others on both sides of the alfie frankly because we all have constituents I'm going to have to jump off and get on a call with speaker Pelosi in a few minutes Is raise these points with democratic leadership About how can we push back on the administration to not be so wedded to this idea of saving Corporate interests but missing out on everyday folks like us and business people who are the Incubators of our society and who produce other businesses and who help employ over 50 of the population You got a lot of nods on that one Thank you When you think about getting the word out to these small business leaders and actually next week's conversation in this series We'll focus on on small business and entrepreneurs and how they'll be impacted in the black community Getting them information quickly matters Getting accurate information in the hands of your constituents your neighbors matters What worries you about the trafficking of information at a time of crisis like this, especially in the black community Well, everyone's talking about this, you know $1,200 the additional $500 that that that that families will get and It's a notable amount for many It's a small amount for some but I think it's it's it's it's an attempt to at least cover folks temporarily, but Even if you work the numbers if you have an individual making up to $75,000 or married couple making a combined income of about $150,000 You have an additional $500 for a per child that still won't be enough And those payments even decrease Very rapidly and stop altogether for single workers making more than $99,000 And so I still you know, we've not figured out the right The right set of metrics to solve this thing I think it's an honest attempt because we're still wrestling with trillions of dollars in terms of our deficit But I would hope that we will continue to have these forms one for clarity and building bigger bridges between The government and and and the people who elect us But also to kind of dispel myths right now because you know, I There's so much information out there from from health experts from the president and from Many of my friends Who are very sincere and dedicated to enlightening The masses and and and and who are trying to keep us woke There is this confluence of information coming from all sides and at some point people don't know what to believe We don't you know people are at the point where they're unsure if it's bio warfare If it's if it's created by the u.s. Government if it was made in Wuhan and you have all of these ports of information coming in but what is clear is that it is devastating our economy And black people particularly elderly black folks and minorities and Latinos are getting sicker and sicker So regardless of the origin of this which I think we should focus on at some point I think what is clear is that our hospitals our hospital workers our health care workers are stretched very thinly We don't have the resources that we need the masks that are held in indiana or outdated And you you would think the wealthiest country in recorded history would be able to at least secure masks Now we're having to rely on foreign entities Um to get the tools that we need while their own economies and their people are suffering as well So we're at we're at a crossroads. I think where we're having to reevaluate Our misplaced priorities And this greater and more important conversation about health care and what it means in a free society Well put. I I think congressman everyone on this call on this panel would would agree and understand that there are Systems in place in this country that have historically Dismanaged all black residents. Um, you know, they keep them from schooling or or fair wages or safe housing This is a huge crisis that is amplifying those inequities If you make a if you were to issue a cry a battle cry to us all What would you want the panelists in the audience today? To to ask of people like you to ask of the representatives at a moment of crisis When these racial inequities are so heightened what what should we ask you back? You know, I I think we have, you know, the press here. We have The NGO representatives here. We have activists. We have artists here My my point would be to to push us Um to ask the right questions to do what's right on behalf of You and your families But also to really inform us any information that you're getting and to really support health care workers And folks in the service industry again With with so much information coming in day by day Um on these conference calls, I I think I have like six or seven conference calls a day many of with members of congress of different committees and you know The experts were on these calls and telling us that the virus Will will peak and could possibly revisit us Much more deeply around the fall But we certainly know that it's making a migration toward the midwest And to the best of our ability while we can prepare I think there there has to be an extent where we're working together cooperatively to not necessarily or at least In a way that that that stirs fears and anxieties To focus on ways in which we can help flatten the curve And not necessarily deal with its root yet But at least flatten the curve and practice social distancing and practice Washing our hands and to the degree that the health care experts are advising us To do to do such a thing I think when it comes to asking the right question when it comes to contracting for vaccinations when it comes to Minority vendors being a part of this and minority health care experts being a part of this greater conversation about Doing work with the government and working with local hospitals as these federal dollars come to our states I think that's an important point for everyone on this call to raise as we go further down the down the road Thank you so much. It's it's hard for me to call you andre because I was raised in appalachia And my mother will like reconstitute herself from her ashes and say you say thank you, sir. And thank you representative Everyone here calls me andre adres. So and that's who I am. So Well, thank you andre. We're really really grateful that you could join us today. I know you have to hop onto another call But thank you so much. Thank you everyone. Thank you thank you So after that, which was a great mobilizing moment asking for cooperative personal action We'll turn to our panel. I'm really excited today to have with us. Alan bacon Who is the senior director of the social innovation fund at united wave central indiana? You've met. Oh, she avoid the editor of the indianapolis recorder and indianapolis minority business magazine Ashley Gerbets the chief executive officer of the alliance for northeast unification And if I understood correctly also an artist And also an important part of our creative community Sean jones from wqrt local activist artist and creator with big car collaborative as well Speaking of big car We have the director of programs and exhibitions and also the co-founder chauchet marsh And then last but definitely not least latoya pits the executive director at christinmore house And and thank you all so much for being part of this So just to start off Since our focus today in this first part of the series is about how people in the black community get their best Information right now. I'm gonna start. Let's see. It's like looking at the brady bunch. I'm gonna start with alan From united way and ask you in your experience with your neighbors with the united way stakeholders How are people getting their information right now? And do you think they're getting accurate and timely information? Yeah, uh, thanks so so much for having me on this panel. We're really glad to join the dialogue and conversation But I think there's a lot of modalities and ways that people are getting information I think social media is definitely a driving force in this as well, but Always, you know direct people to when it comes to covet specific house impacting the nonprofit world uwci.org united ways Website is is a place where I think that you know people can get accurate information when it comes to covet Especially when it comes to the covet relief fund as well also the indy chamber Dot com indy chamber has a great program a rapid response program that is great for small businesses and a catch all Website and a place for information kepper.org as well It has a lot of information a lot of uh tools and resources that Individuals can access. So those are my my main My three go-tos when it comes to disseminating the information And alan that's so helpful. We'll make sure that we distribute that to everyone who's online that the list of great resources that you gave Tell us a little bit more about the united ways community relief fund. It's it was announced pretty recently. That's exciting news Yeah, I mean when we're talking about, you know rapid response and being able to Um get together just just a host of funders. It's not just united way, but Lily is involved and the polling center and fair banks and a lot of entities are just the funding community Has put together this covet uh rapid, you know response and release fund So that we can, you know, help, you know, secure the safety net help individuals in our community And it's something that we're very proud of We're able to get a lot of money out the door rather quickly Which is a goal and something that that we accomplished and and once again, it's really about you know, how can we help support The entire community but also, you know focusing on black and brown. So there's a lot of You know funding That went to non-profits that directly impact Black and brown communities with cafe at the marten flanner house gleaners The urban league just just to mention some so I think that you know, we're we're doing The best we can navigating this new space and that's fun the covet release fund is in our response to that Do you think alan since the united way works with just about every health and human services agency in the the region What would you advise these agencies to do to reach the black community specifically? well, I think it's you know one there's not a There's a lot of different sources of information. I mean the recorder being being one So I think there are you know those, you know pillars that the black community trusts for information during times like this especially So I think that it's not necessarily a point of you know, are we not getting information people are getting information I mean places like recorder, you know capra There's a lot of grassroots organizations like before you fall that are going, you know street to street canvassing They're in the specific zip codes and areas that are doing a great job I make sure that the information is out there, but I think you know, we have the right Pillars in place to make sure that you know, we're effective in communicating with the black community Thank you alan I will be back. I'm actually going to swing over to shatay Shatay when when all of this really when the crisis really hit Um, you and I had a conversation kind of back channel And you suggested that you were meeting people in your neighborhood who still didn't really know what was going on Can you talk a little bit about that and reflect on why you think that is? Yeah, um, so when I was getting groceries They're at safe way. There there were lots of people, you know, they're like, what's going on why Why is there a note? Why are people stocking up on toilet paper and Why is there none of this available for me? Um, and they didn't know anything about what was going on at all And I think a lot of you know, and definitely, um alan just referenced it and You know represented our Carson just represent our was talking about it You know, it's trust. Who do we trust? um in this time to get Information and then who has access You know I think that you know The Indianapolis recorder starting out as a church bulletin, you know churches You know, there's so many different ways now that that we receive information and things are are so divided based off of You know our histories and based off of of race like who do we trust within our communities to give us the correct information? um And who has access and then that's even divided within the the communities. So I really think at times like this, um, you know churches Going door to door That's the key to getting information out and making sure people have access to information and because big car Isn't just an arts organization. We were also Have a foot in community development and community work um, you know that our space is a hybrid between contemporary art museum and a community center. So we Are thinking about you know, how do we get information? How do we create spaces and now? Now that we can't offer up a physical space because it's not safe for people. How do we Get information to people? Um, and you know Continue our programming That's really really insightful Chate and I'll be back to you in a moment but you mentioned that the role of a community center and we do have Latoya here from christinmore house and I think of all of the work that christinmore does In hawville and on the west side So so you know probably better than anyone what it means to reach people kind of where they are on that day Whether they're young or or old or starting again or in perfectly fine shape How do you build community and get information to people when you can't be more than Six feet, you know closer Well, thank that's a great question. Molly and i'm so glad that you asked it. So, um With covet 19, of course, we had to change how we structure and how we do business So community centers have always been that place where you just walk in and as soon as you walk in the door You're greeted. We kind of meet you where you are and get you those resources Um, another thing that community centers are responsible for is making sure that our neighborhoods and our families have access to the information And the resources that they need and so with covet 19 before covet 19 We always have taken christinmore house. Um, and a lot of other community centers take a grassroots approach And so that's going to where the people are so we don't just um use social media Which we do we use a lot of social media, but we use a lot of printed materials as well So our families hang out at family dollar. That's where they do a lot of their shopping at so what do we do? We print flyers and take on the family dollar. We're we're making sure that the information is getting out there. Um The gas stations a lot of our families buy snacks and buy things from the gas station So we're positioning ourselves so that we're in the areas where the families are coming to So that they can still get that information because a lot of our families while they have cell phones and Have access to social media Sometimes the public library which we all know is closed right now because of covet 19. It's how they get access to the internet So if i'm a person then my email is attached to my phone And I don't have internet at home The only way that I have access to this is the maryon county public library But now that's not a I don't have that access anymore. And so we have to get really creative as a group Um, and how we reach our um, you know our people how we get that information out so Social media is one way but actually going out into the community. Um hallville neighborhood is fortunate enough to have a lot of Advocates that are from our area who are still living in that area. We have a guy by the name of ted hardy who is on social media He's actually going out and knocking on the resident's doors We have our neighborhood association harville strong and so kind of together We're we're taking a a west side harville approach and a lot of the community centers on other sides of town are doing that as well But I would say that's how we're getting the information out like you have to go to the people Latoya you make a really important point about smartphone access and broadband access We know and all and everyone on this panel knows that Black households in america are more likely to be smartphone exclusive than white households Some of that is trust some of that is just income stratification But you also have a broadband availability gap in black households So you have maybe about 66 percent of black households with broadband at home versus like 79 percent in white communities And so to your point of public spaces whether they're retail or or third spaces become increasingly important when people need information quickly How are you thinking about protecting your activists your outreach coordinators yourself as you have to get creative and do Kind of high touch person to person outreach for folks who don't have internet access right now yeah, so with christinmore house and I upui recently opened up their Wi-Fi and you can sit in their parking lots and have access to their wi-fi. So a lot of people may have not known that i'm in the same thing with um Westside community development corporation and christinmore house So we're not allowing folks into our building my staff are wearing gloves They were a mask when they're coming in contact with people we're giving out pens So we're not even recycling pens. So if a family comes in or comes to the building They need to fill out paperwork outside of our building. You can just have the pen We don't we don't need it back. We just we can't clean it quick enough Take the pen. We'll just give the next family a new one. So we're doing things like that like really getting creative Like I never thought we would go through 2000 pens But here we are needing to order more ink pens because I mean you just don't know so creative things like that But yeah, so that's how you know, we're we're protecting our community activists We move to a model where not all of my staff are in the building at the same time We're a small organization and so we alternate days. So some days everybody's in the building and we're kind of in our own area But like I said, we're using masks. We're cleaning off our surfaces. We've restricted who Is allowed into our building. So that's kind of how we're responding to it But I mean, it's just like a kind of a doctor or a nurse or like we're taking care of people's social Needs not necessarily their health needs. And so those needs still need to be met Families still need to be fed utility bills still need to be paid. Um, and so those type of things we don't have the luxury of saying Oh, well, we're just going to do everything from inside the building. It's just not that simple So we just have to get super creative and make sure that we're taking care of everybody Thank you for that and and that's incredibly helpful a shout out to the public interest technologists who might be listening to this conversation I think building uh electronic intake and digital tools that don't exist right now So sometimes you have to do intake face-to-face and there's some challenges there You know one one way that that we reached people when we stopped being able to go door to door a while ago was radio So this is a good segue for me to talk to Sean Jones Radio is a really interesting medium at a time like this Could you tell folks, especially folks who aren't familiar a little bit about wqrt and then reflect to us What's the mandate to a place like wqrt at a time like now? So thank you. Thank you all for letting me uh be a part of the conversation so Wqrt is a 100 watt low-powered FM station project of big car work closely with shatay and company started in 2017 with the purpose of Serving the community whether it be public service announcements volunteer run shows pretty much Programming and shows that focus on stuff. You don't traditionally hear on top 40 commercial radio so It's kind of an interesting moment on history I read an article the new york times posted on sunday About how community radio is getting more of a shine and spotlight More so now than the never just because we are kind of the beacon boltman board for organizations and community members and folks That don't necessarily have the means to get information from the worldwide web or their smartphone So that's essentially what we're trying to do even more so Now is to kind of piggyback what i was saying is get those pillars involved like the kebras and learning tree indianapolis recorder folks to collaborate with us to kind of just Amplify that message so to speak And shawn, we don't know each other. So did you grow up in peonapolis? I'm actually from war saw indiana and I came to nianapolis uh for secondary education iupy and Just kind of evolved into art and music and yeah, well, we're glad to have you I'm glad to find someone from a smaller community. Yeah, so what's your reflection on The experience of getting information right now that is kind of by and for The black community in smaller indiana towns. Do you have any reflection on that from having grown up in war saw? uh, I mean Not really inside I moved here and got to get to know my family My pops aside here But I mean the indianapolis recorder is definitely a staple at my granny's house So You know was that was definitely a thing where I knew and grained in my head that my uncle and my granny would always Read the indianapolis recorder and that was just an institution Of stability, you know But that's I feel like it's important now more so than ever Is to be able to share that That with everyone with the community and people that Don't necessarily have the means to touch technology like that Osha, when you hear shon talk about the importance It is understanding of the recorder as a trusted friend, you know, even in his earliest age everyone's mentioned it You have a captive audience right now uh, osha, what sorts of support does a community media Giant But one that that runs on a pretty thin operation What sort of support do you need from the community right now? Well the support we need read subscribe Go online Uh subscribe. That's how we get advertisers based on subscription Uh go online Share our articles. That's how we get web advertisements because people see that people are actually reading articles and sharing our articles Our reporters work really really hard. Um, we do a lot With the small staff we have I'm always amazed to have quickly to turn stories around just how in depth we can go With I mean, they're really pretty much straight out of college These are cub reporters and they really do They really work hard. We work We work more than 40 hours a week around here And we also have a magazine like you said Indiana business minority business magazine, which goes all over the state That's distributed statewide. So we do double duty. I'm an editor of both. They're the reporters for both So we're always trying to make sure that we keep our community with good information That is just one of the things like I said earlier We're just tasked with and it just warms my heart to hear people say, you know Your grandmother had the recorder institution. Um, that just It warms my heart to hear that right here people say how much the recorder played a role in their lives growing up I'm not from Indianapolis. I'm from Muncie um But I should hear the commercial on the radio And this is my second stint here. Actually, I started as a reporter here back in early 2000 And so I came back I came back after a few years away at other publications To be the editor so that just shows and there's a lot of people in our community who worked here And who are still involved who still come back. They they want to write they want to help They give us sources. So we are definitely family oriented. I should say the community definitely feels like part of the family So again, subscribe subscribe and buy ads and and Local media matters. I think we would all agree on that Yeah, it matters more than just about anything right now um, you know, actually coming over to you You're up with the alliance for northeast unification So when when you weigh in I'd love for you to tell us a little bit more about what what that means Uh, because it may be a new organization to people But since you work across community leaders, you work across business leaders and civic leaders and local leaders You probably have some insight on what makes a good leader. I'm leading to something here. Ashley Um, yeah is is unfortunately kind of a unicorn only six percent of news directors in this country are black Um, we need black leaders in health organizations We need black leaders in media organizations if we want black messaging and black stories to be told accurately And if we want people to trust those institutions So so after you tell us After about the alliance, I'd love to hear your thoughts on developing black leaders to communicate at a time like this Yes, um, thank you so much again for the opportunity. I would say first and foremost the alliance for northeast unification Um, simply is the collective community impacts here within northeast indianapolis We are really grateful as an organization where it houses two umbrella entities that of the united northeast community development corporation So when we're thinking of the bricks and sticks our housing The community partners whether you are a small business or a neighborhood association All of those play a huge impact as far as making sure If we want to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood Activate the historical press like preservants of just what makes a community community We do so through that Also with the alliance we house the meadows community foundation In we think about the business and economic development In our area itself there were a time Was a time excuse me where our neighborhood was one no one wanted to invest in There was no grocery store the access to schools itself But we know the power of what leadership can do together Where for instance today we're really able to say There was a 75 million dollar investment in the early 2000s where there are schools There is a beautiful health and wellness facility So I think when we're leading into the question about what makes a good leader It is identifying who are the leaders right within your backyard every single day and in a time and period Of what we're dealing with with covet. We're seeing our beautiful resilient leaders shining It's such a major time of crisis Who is that leader that has the ability of as one of my neighbors remind me all the time Keeping a new school, but also old school. So Making sure if we're communicating all important information That it makes sure there is equitable Access so it hits our senior. Um, and then it also Means to being innovative enough of hitting our our youth and our future generations to follow I think secondly as well a good leader understands the importance of We have our specific gift and ability So during that time frame our organization We're small but mighty, but we know the power of our collaborative spirit of our community partners Really thankful for instance as we're grappling making changes and I have to make sure I give credit we're credit to do um This opened our eyes about how we were structuring getting information out Let's get inapolis along with other community partners help make sure we had the essential needs of being able to integrate in um information such as text threads um a wonderful staple community church itself that feeds with our populations and pantries hundreds Upon hundreds each day get the adequate technology and even streaming to neighbors. Um, it's all done so through I think that aspect One of the other things I think from a leadership perspective that should be thought about as well You can't say you're leading unless you understand the components Of what the people need. Um, it's so Very important and essential that the characteristics the concerns the assets the understandings And yes, you will be tested along the line as far as how true to the leadership will be That you deliver. So that's one of the things uh wholeheartedly I'd say in northeast indianapolis We're doing and striving every single day um And if it wasn't for our neighbors where we're just being that information help for them Delivering if that means their neighbors whether block by block are able to get critical tools to them Or is it their businesses in our area where it's delivering information such as You know, what was mentioned with the emergency fund with uwci And we have to look into like the rapid response indie chamber and so forth We're just trying to do everything we can just the show we're standing with them during their most hardest times Thank you, ashley. Thank you for all of your You touched on a few things that are coming up in the questions and and to our audience online I want to reassure you we'll make sure that your questions if they don't get addressed live Get to the folks in question gets to get to our friends at wfyi and we'll get those answers out But a number of people have asked about credibility of language trust in institutions One of the programs that we'll do as part of this series later on is about the black experience with medical institutions And how it's not always so hot I'm going to go down the line and come to all of you and ask How do you Decide how to differentiate your message for a black audience? Do you do you talk to people? Do you have a go-to resource? um So yeah, how do you Shape a message that is credible and takes into account the uniqueness and of every black experience There's so many different black experiences. Alan. I'm going to come to you Since we haven't heard from you for a minute and ask you first I mean, how do you shape the message and I think you know This is from our vantage point in out of the way. We've been very intentional in reaching out to the black community um, you know, we've we've funded entities like kepper and and others And we feel that you know, we have a good understanding of what those needs are but I think just you know from us It's just that intentionality and you have to reach out you have to go deep in the community You have to have a level of understanding and that you know data and this is what you collect should inform You know, how you fund who you fund is what the strategies look like. So I think you know when it comes to You know having that, you know, trusted source of information You know, I feel pretty confident that just from from our vantage point that you know We're doing the due diligence on the front end and just involving the right parties and having the right individuals at the table When it comes to I help them to decide Uh In a form or our direction from forward. I should actually have a respond to the cope it Thank you. Shall I tell you how about you? so You know, one thing, you know, just being just being um Multiracial myself and Sean and I both kind of struggle with always trusting like what our perceptions are of the black community I a lot of times will go and and like for example I work with Mari Evans or I work with people I trust Lashonda crow storm phyllis Boyd with groundworks nd And You know several times I'm asking Is this Is this right what what I'm trying to say am I saying this the right way? um And also just not even speaking myself, but giving Them the platform um So I think that when it comes to messaging um Two specific communities minority communities in particular um, I Mainly try to hang back and put forward um People I feel in that community that are experts Thank you shot. Hey Latoya. What about you? What would you add? um, I would just add it's based on relationships people listen to who they think they can trust. Um We do a lot of non sugar coating at crystalmore house We deal with a lot of um brown families and my situation is a little different. I was born and raised in Alville So when my family's come to the center that she's from here She's walked the same streets as a little child. She's grown up here. And so my my messaging is different I'm perceived and received a little differently. Um, and they don't just look at me and think of my staff Oh, this is just another professional trying to tell me what's best for my life. Like they truly um believe that I stand for what I stand for. So I think it's about better relationships No matter what color you are if you are talking to People and the people can tell that you care about them. You've done your research And you know how to speak to them on their level on a level that they understand Not like you're talking at them But you're truly talking to them the people will listen. It's about relationship building It's great. Great advice Sean, what about you? I mean you you're kind of you said you were new to town at one time So you had to build those relationships in the ground up when you're when you're on the air or when you're finding Folks to join you on the air. How do you think about the message? How do you think about the messenger? Oh, I think we're you're still muted You're good now. All right. I feel like I've been blessed to be in a community of folks that are so active Within each neighborhood's all around the city, you know from, you know, learning tree Kepra Even Ted Hardy. So you get a gauge of what folks are doing locally And you see people that are in the trenches that are on the ground floor being active And sharing a message that affects folks Right here in the city I feel like that is important to always be aware and Listen and learn from that and to be able to share your resource And amplify that to let folks know that hey, this is what's going on in Hallville over here This is what's going on the southeast side um Right now more than more than ever. I feel like it's it's important to to gauge and listen and Get your information From folks that you trust, you know over the years and that you see are actively doing Stuff from, you know, like IPS having the food drives or the indie parks department have Sharing so from work any workhorse Workhouse development workforce development stuff like that Local ground grassroots initiatives that are benefiting people rapidly right here in the city Oshia, um, what would you add? I mean you have to Speak to so many audiences at once as an editor I as everyone on the panel speaking I was just thinking about that is one of the challenges I have As editor of the newspaper is that we don't have one specific audience As you said in the very beginning of african-american of african-american community is not a modelist So not only do we have the citizens slaves? We have People who are born in jamaica Who are born in countries in africa who all read the recorder? and so Our experiences might not always be the same But in america we all Can to be told at one point in time or another that we are black So I think that's what we can all connect is that we know at some point No matter what we do that somewhere down the road someone will remind us Hey, you are black and there are always challenges to being black and I think that is one of the ways that the recorder We always try to make sure our stories are told from a perspective of Not necessarily downtrodden but that we We have a connection here of this country. Let's us know at some point in time They're going to try to put you in your place. Whatever that place may be And that we can rise above we always want to make sure our story highlight Challenges But at the end of the day we can still win we can still come out on top It's not a story of of can't do it's a story. We will do we will try them And I think that's one of the ways we always try to make sure our audience We give them we try to give them hope that even though things may look bleak Even though things may be this way We've survived we persevered. We've been here for 125 years How many newspapers can you can you say that about black on white on doesn't matter? How many businesses can you say that about? So I think I think the recorder to me just Um It just actually exemplifies that that black excellence that that perseverance that can do no matter what mentality And so I think we try to make sure that we we pass that on to our readers as well Um, the connection is again We are black on there's a trust there because we're black on but we're also taking a task People aren't always happy with the things we write the things we report But but is it accurate? Is it true? That's that's the standard. That's most important to me We try to make sure that we can stand by whatever we've written and if we make a mistake we correct it I have no problem saying hey, we messed up We're going to run a correction to fix that So I think that also earns people's trust when they know that we're going to Fix it when we do something we make an error. So I think those things matter those little things matter I get on the reporters. I'm like, you know, we we can't we can't have a name is spelled We can we can't use the wrong word here or there because those little things hurt our credibility If you can't trust it with the small things, hey, can you trust it with the big things? You know, those are things that are very important to me So obviously ashley, thank you, ashley. You have to build a lot of trust with the folks that you work with in your project trust building representation Authenticity what would you add when when you're messaging? Oh, you're still muted ashley There you go. Um, you know, that's a great point and just building up what this boy said as far as trust um Something I say all the time to multiple audiences Throughout the neighborhood I work with is all progress moves at the speed of trust We know that there are wonderful things that are here often At times especially in our black and brown community We're always seen for the challenges the inequities all of the negative things first But we know for a fact that there are a lot of great assets right within our own backyard. So With trust, I think whoever the messenger is it's important to make sure One has taken the time to know before a message needs to be delivered that they know The audience of who they are delivering it to So I think just any time Whether it is through the relationship building with your neighbor Or a community partner that you do see that you have some type of connectivity with them And so we have to take it from a multi prong approach Some allow me to be direct with them. I'm a very open transparent book I don't mind admitting if I'm wrong. I think that also helps with that trust building and the delivery of messages itself, but I also know too That it's important as well if a message may be interpreted and Accepted especially if you can benefit their life better You know, who can I call on that may be able to help meet them in the same frequencies? So no one's left behind One thing that really struck me about what you said Ashley and what everyone has said speaks to a really important question That we got about the concept of evidence-based decision making When people who fund work or program work or decide what to put in the newspaper, you know that he this Audience member says, you know, that's an anomaly to black experience in life Because it's been controlled by white voices for so long and and I think that's an excellent point So the professor raises the point. I want to say professor Harold Brown Raises the point, you know, how can we have trust in the truth offered about the description of us as citizens by a white voice? So When you think about adding more black voices to your own work and a lot of you already do Um, what would your advice be to predominantly white institutions about adding those black voices? Things that they need to be careful of Tokenism or things that they need to really think about places they should look We're running a little close on time So I'll probably take some of your answers offline and we'll make sure we cover those But you know, Alan, I'm actually looking at you because the united way Is a very storied institution And and how do you cope with making sure that there are enough black and brown voices and in what you know A kind of long-standing white institution has been doing Yeah, man, and I think, you know, honestly, uh kudos to indianapolis because I mean not just united way But there's other, you know organizations as as a well that have been very intentional when it comes to making sure that black and brown Are at the table when it comes to decision-making when it comes to Who we're funding and things of that nature But you know, we've been very intentional in making sure that we have a record of The voice of our community and especially the individuals that we serve and a lot of the individuals that we serve in the community are black Are black and brown people so It would be irresponsible of us not to have, you know, relationships with the urban league and christmas moore house and And kepper and flanner house and just things of that nature because that's that's our people. That's who we're serving Those are our neighbors So, uh, we make it it's a part of our mission Uh internally and externally when it comes to our own goals and outcomes when it comes to diversity inclusion and equity and For us, I mean, it's it's just part of our fabric Right now to make sure that you know, we are doing our due diligence when it comes to making sure that the black voices are heard And just how that informs our decision-making Thank you. Thank you Latoya, we had a question about Mythbusting what local media outlets like the indie star are doing to bust some of the myths they're hearing But you have grown up in the neighborhood that you now serve You have deep relationships. What sorts of are you doing the mythbusting? Who's busting myths in the community about COVID-19 right now? Oh, I wish I was the only mythbuster, but I'm not so Um, but yeah, so I mean that's the reality of what it is It's a cultural issue sometimes and so when I hear things, um, that are not true or that are myths I'm equipping my staff so that they can have those conversations my case managers My family's when they come in so the families that send their kids there for preschool and After school and our our programs our senior programs We're we're having those conversations so that they can go out and be mythbusters throughout the community because that's really what it is So if I bust the myth for miss mary and miss mary has a group of 15 friends in the same block with her Now miss mary is the mythbusters So I've equipped her with what she needs to now be the new resource for the neighborhood So I think it's about a the gang telephone So if I bust one myth then hopefully she gets it and I explain it in a way She understands it and then she goes back and takes it to the masses of the people that she interacts with but um I mean it takes a it takes a group. So My conversations with united way my other conversations with my other community centers Like what are you hearing? This is what I'm hearing. Um, it's an ongoing conversation But no, I'm not the only mythbuster in the all-bill near west side area Thank you, that would be a lot, right? I think the whole world is dealing with myths 24 7 Looking at the clock and knowing that we had a very short window of time We're actually coming to the end of our time together I do want to acknowledge that we've had some tremendous questions and a lot of them speak to upcoming events in this series We had a lot of questions about institution and trust and black experiences in seeking medical care In being kind of believed taken up their word and taken seriously when seeking medical care Developing black leadership in health care and certainly messaging about vaccine Prevention and future responses to cobit as we learn them. So we'll definitely tackle those soon. We also had some really good questions about cdc Community development corporations for folks who live outside of this world How they've kind of fluctuated in their size and their capacity What it takes to be successful there and we'll certainly tackle that in a future program And then certainly last but not least lots of questions about supporting Individual black business owners getting information out to them and that will be the topic of our time together next week We will deal with all of these questions and make sure that we get back to everyone who registered and signed on As we've come up on time. I really just want to thank our panelists Thank you so much. Ashley and Alan and Sean and Shaute and Latoya and Doshia Thank you to the office of congressman Andre Carson Just tremendous thanks in the indianapolis recorder for their partnership here And for the work that they continue to do and and thank all of you for tuning in to new america today You can learn more about our work at new america.org And certainly as subscribed to the indianapolis recorder We'll share information about all the people and organizations we talked to today But thank you so much and angela. I'll turn it back over to you to close us out Thanks again so much for joining us and have a great day