Saturday Night Special
I now have a new tradition. The second Saturday night of Indiana Black Expo, I work the door at Nicki Blaine’s Cigar and Martini bar.
I do it to get a feel for the atmosphere and to see what problems occur when thousands of teenagers are unleashed on downtown Indianapolis and what the impact would be. I was pretty harsh in my critique last year, this year was a little different.
First of all, every IMPD officer who worked the event deserves a giant raise in pay. They kept the pedestrian traffic moving, which I think went a long way to keeping the silliness down to a bear minimum. There were some arrests for curfew violation. But there were no shots fired last night to the best of my knowledge and I was out until 2 a.m. Also with the way this week has gone, IMPD exercised great restraint and managed to keep a good sense of humor about the whole evening.
The worst criminal offense I saw was a person (an adult) picked up for weapons possession. There was one incident I saw where a cop told an 11-12 year-old to keep moving and the 4’8” kid tried to get in the 6’4” officer’s face. His little friends held him back and took him away. The Officer just gave the kid that “you are not worth the paperwork of me smacking you so get somewhere!” look.
Now with that said, I do think Expo should do a seminar for teenage girls about self-respect. I saw a lot of girls wearing clothes two sizes too small. I have seen more loin cloth on Indonesian tribal garb. There is no way my 14-year old daughter would be allowed to leave the house looking like she worked in a Vietnamese brothel. But apparently, somebody did. Either that, or the kids left the house with a change of clothes. What’s even worse were how the more “full-figured” gals looked like two pounds of rump roast in a one-pound bag. I agree last night was warm, but walking around half-naked was not the right way to beat the heat.
I think Expo officially has a new mission next year. It’s to end the “clothing optional” portion of that second Saturday night.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:20 am
2:21am 07-20, 50 N Capitol, Shots fired. A citizen reported this to 911 and officers on the scene also heard them.
But to the point, the crowd did seem to be better behaved than last year.
July 20th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Less lawbreaking, anywhere, anytime, any place-we’ll take it.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Response to all Nay-sayers:
How many of you have bothered to attend Indiana Black Expo. IBE’s Summer Celebration is more than young people standing around on the street corners in downtown Indianapolis on Friday and Saturday nights after the event closes.
First: Let me get something straight. African American Citizens pay taxes in this city and state also, and it is our downtown as well.
Second: Our youth have just as much right to enjoy all of the same privileges and opportunities the downtown has to offer as caucasians teens.
For those of you who have chosen not to experience the true programs of IBE, your criticism is merely based on media soundbites
of a few negative incidents that have occurred during the week. All of which can not be associated with IBE.
I have never heard a call from the majority community for the 500 Mile Race, the Brickyard 400 or any other major white supported event to be shut down when multiple arrests for public nudity, public drunkeness, excessive noise in the Speedway community and other law violations have occurred. Your statements are racist!
Living downtown, I have seen these offenses committed by white citizens but it does not always make the evening news.
Why don’t some of you attend the informative workshops held to expand your knowledge in business, education, health issues, employment, the arts, and exhibits which have been generously sponsored and supported by all of the major corporations and government entities for 38 years?
Fact: In an estimated crowd of 300,000 people in attendance for IBE’s events, the number of criminal offenses or incidents are minimal.
IBE is in the top 5 economic events for the city and the state, and we are here to stay!
July 20th, 2008 at 10:40 am
i’ve worked every event in this city. the races have many arrests too. but never has the been 7 people shot in one day. i can’t ever remember a person being shot at a race. much less car jacking and robberies. i do believe there are two events at expo. 1 being people who come in to have a good time and attend the events. the second throngs of young people lookin’ to fight, shoot, and do what ever they want. i don’t care who pays taxes. that doesn’t give you the right to act like an idiot no matter what race you are.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:10 am
To one who knows. I understand your message. However, you know when black folks tell white folks that they are not in a position to make comments because they “don’t know what it is like to be black”. Well, I think the same could be said to you regarding the white experiences at the IBE. Don’t tell a white how to react to something if you are not white. I would guess, and it is just a guess, that people who do not attend are more concerned about random gun shots than mere public nudity, public drunkeness, or excessive noise. Of course, I am just guessing here. I would also guess, and again, I am just guessing, that the many looks from people of “what you doing here at our expo” might slow some people as well. Again, I am just guessing. As well, many people have long ago gotten the message on the “N” word, only now to hear it dropped within almost every greating. Again, I am just guessing, but I suppose many white folks would just as soon stay away from that environment. But I am just guessing.
As for it being one of the top 5 economic events. In total, I would guess that this is a positive for our city. However, given the amount of public and private expenses directed to it, before, during and after, I am not sure how profitable it is when all is said and done. I am, in the end, happy to hear that this year was a very good success. It is, as you wrote, more than young kids standing around. But my guess is that you are not facing reality if you think people of all backgrounds are welcomed to the event. There is still a ways to go here. But sincerely, congratulations on another successful event.
July 20th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Greg has some valid points.
I attended the concert last night. It was a fiasco. The ushers were instructed to seat patrons in festival, first-come-first-served style. Little did the ushers know, the seats were to have been numbered.
I saw more than one person with an ID badge identifying themselves as an IBE board member, behaving very poorly when their VIP seating was takenk by, well, let’s just say, common folks.
The language, the indignation…compeltely disgusting and uncalled-for.
As for Abdul’s comment regarding clothing:
One Who Knows: you’re right, folks of all color and backgorund pay taxes, and have every right to attend the festival. But Abdul’s pot-on regarding clothing. What self-respecting parent would allow his daughter to dress like this.
And while I’m at it, the gangsta, BET/MTV dress of some of the young men provoked me, too. When did it become fashionable to wear two t=shitrs 5 sizes too large, shorts down around your ankles, and to walk around holding, your, uh…”junk” ?
The offending boys I saw were doing what some of the offending girls should’ve bene doing, regarding clothing sizes: tight anything on large obdies is not attractive.
Parents need to police their children’s dress. Much more.
July 20th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
How was the attendance this year?
All of the TV news reports from the expo appear to show empty seats at many events.
Does the event truly fulfill a two week schedule of activities?
Did the Black Expo break even or show a profit?
July 20th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
The Indianapolis Recorder glamorized the nakedness and trifling dress worn by our youth in this weeks recorder on its front page.
What they ‘masquerade’ as criticism is just marketing to the crowd, they will pick up a copy because of the fashion on the front. They show young black women with exposed cleavage and in tiny shorts, strappy high-heels, all provocatively without showing clearly demeaning with a big X over the photos, rather there are merely advertising and reinforcing the dress code and it shows no alternative dress for the youth. Of course, if they read this, they pimp uncle same and corporate america for money to sponsor a ‘phoney’ youth fashion show at $100 bucks a head.
Our local black media promotes most of the negative behavior we see from young blacks today and they sponsor and promote most of the trashy events and nightclubs that pander to young drunken kids.
July 20th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
A hundred years ago, over nine out of ten families had both a mother and father to raise the kids. Over half of new births in this country are now from single mothers. Over 80% of the black babies in Marion county are born to single mothers. Anybody think these statistics might have a bearing on the societal-wide issue of “Parents need to police their children’s dress.”?
July 20th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Thousands of people packed downtown Saturday night to take part in Indiana Black Expo’s Summer Celebration.
Hundreds of officers patrolled the streets downtown during Summer Celebration Saturday night. Faith based patrols were also out in force.
From WISH tv web site.
One by one, officers pulled teens aside for curfew violations, while keeping an eye on others. At one point in the evening, shots rang out, one person shot in the foot. Police took two into custody for the incident.
IMPD made 60 curfew arrests and confiscated a number of guns
July 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pm
I don’t remember anyone getting shot in the foot at the race track – one who knows. Based on history, drunken hillbillies versus thugs with guns . . . I’ll take the drunken hillbillies any day.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
the expo events during the week are just fine. the walkers and cruisers cause all of the problems. one way to slow this is cancel all sat events, and if not that how about no events letting out after 9pm……now i do wonder if this event is so wonderful than why did the mayor and director of public safety assign 460 officers on sat night to work it. look at the cost of overtime, yes many officers worked trade days, but all worked more than 8 hrs which caused ot. the only good in that were the reserves who volunteer their time and work for free, yep i said it, work for free and this should come to an end . everyone should be paid for working.
July 20th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Abdul –
Just curious. Why was my response to #5 removed?
July 20th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Response to IBE Nay-Sayers:
Fact: Television and movies today glamorize unwed mothers in Hollywood and drug use. Remember the TV series Murphy Brown, and not to mention the lifestyles portrayed daily in the soap operas. Just as many Caucasian teens wear the same clothing. If you are going to critique black teens, the same goes for whites. This country has a majority of young white unwed mothers with no fathers. More white citizens receive welfare benefits than blacks. Blacks are not the majority. Check your statistics.
The media continues to publicize the negative images in the black community which I do not deny exist. However, rarely do the media publicize the numerous accomplishments or the positives. Stereotyping blacks since slavery is the norm for the media. SoundBits in the news is what you have responded to.
Per capita, the city of Indianapolis has more educated blacks for a city of this size, and most are married.
Young white celebrities like Brittany Spears, her sister and others used to be idolized, no longer, and Paris Hilton to name a few. Yet you tend to imply that only black teens and young adults have this problem.
Illegal drug use and rehab is the norm for the wealthy. Blacks do not control or earn profits from the millions of dollars of illegal drugs sold in this country. Who does?
IBE is not responsible for any citizen black or white who chooses to violate the law during its events. Many of these crimes would occur in our city even if there was not a Summer Celebration.
Regarding attendance. Increased numbers of white citizens do attend and participate in the activities during Expo and they are welcomed. Ironically they are not afraid or intimidated to come and mingle with us. Maybe some of you should try it. Stop the stereotyping; I could do the same based on my personal experiences having grown up in this city.
As for guns, talk to the National Rifle Association Members.
July 20th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
One Who Knows, when the IBE rejects lesson plan after lesson plan presented by the city as being “too restrictive,” “discouraging the youth,” etc. and then crime ensues it IS the responsibility of the IBE.
Like I said earlier, the actions of the second Saturday night have come to define the Expo, and for whatever reason the IBE people in charge have done nothing to change that image. If they had at least tried I wouldn’t blame them, but they haven’t so I do.
There’s a lot of blame to go around, but denying the problem exists and making excuses for the people who are most responsible for it is the wrong way to look at it. Stop making excuses.
July 20th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
OWK: “This country has a majority of young white unwed mothers with no fathers. More white citizens receive welfare benefits than blacks. Blacks are not the majority. Check your statistics.” No disagreement with this whatsoever. Single mothers, citizen or not, expecting a check from taxpayers for their “lifestyle choice” is my objection- white, black, brown, purple with orange stripes, whatever. The “hottest” area of growth is in single mother Hispanic babies, as depicted recently per a highlighted U.S. map in the local paper. Thank you for reiterating the negative influence of much popular media.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
True most men men are pigs! I truly couldn’t of comprehended being a father at 18 then again at 25. I waited till I was past 30 to have my first child and let me tell you it was pure hell! Yup I felt I locked down with a screaming, crying demon child! Imagine these kids at 18 having a kid, throw in drugs, alcohol and lack of education and it is a recipe for disaster. Thank god for the grand parents and church folk who can step in and help. The sad part is a lot of these kids have no one to help and are to ignorant to ask for help.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:02 am
On the flip side sex is everywhere. So why not fornicate and make a kid. Safe sex and finding a way to get these kids to protect them self from having babies should be our number one priority! Of course our government rewards the poor with free hand outs for having kids. Society can’t seem to make up it’s mind what do we want? Now if we can only make people use their brains instead of their body parts! Yeah and pigs will fly! Unless you are at a Pink Floyd concert! :)
July 21st, 2008 at 12:12 am
My little bundle of joy (who now is 15 and thinks I’m stupid)used to drink to much formula and projectile vomit all over me and the sofa! He would have made Linda Blair proud!
July 21st, 2008 at 12:44 am
Ok you can tune your TV back to PBS for the serious side of the blog! VBG Humor, Humor we don’t need no stinkin’ humor! ;)
July 21st, 2008 at 12:51 am
Dang that fake website was on this computer to. Sorry Abdul. It’s gone!
July 21st, 2008 at 2:21 am
One who knows and everyone else who thinks just because whites are on welfare, have babies out of wedlock or smoke crack, its okay for us to do the same, the fact remains, our race cannot afford it, the white race is not suffering WE are and we become defensive anytime its mentioned and we scream “the whites do it too”!!!
The black race, descendants of slaves, need a different formula and should not adhere to the lowest standards set by a white person who marries out of wedlock, is on welfare, etc. They are not the benchmark for the black race, though our black leadership has made them the benchmark. Our belief that its okay that a disproportionate share of blacks have a problem is okay so long as we can point at a white with the same problem is killing us!
Ask yourself, when was the last time the white race asked blacks or asians to fix their problems?
When was the last time the asian race asked whites or blacks to fix their problems?
Only the lost blacks keep demanding whites to solve their problems, yet the black leadership and media ‘reject’ solutions that requires any awareness and acknowledgement of our own behavior, conduct or neglect; all the while screaming “their picking on us” or “their talking about us”.
Our race is doomed with high dropout, high murder, high incarceration, high welfare, high abortion rate, high infant mortality, high hiv rates, corrupt political, religious and business leaders–it really sucks too.
WAKE UP BLACK INDIANAPOLIS!
July 21st, 2008 at 3:03 am
That is why I am voting for Obama!
July 21st, 2008 at 6:15 am
Response to Iroc:
I can agree with much of what you have stated.
My point is just that. Indiana Black Expo has made numerous changes and is promoting and exhibiting the higher standards for young African Americans through a variety of workshops and exhibits for the past 38 years, as well as to educate members of the entire community.
Positive role models are recognized annually, information is presented and is available for those who desire to achieve and improve their individual lifestyles. “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
The racists in our society continue to try to define our race. However, we will not settle for it. For too long our true history has been hidden from us through our public educational system. For too long the negative images of our people have been promoted by those individuals in control of mass media.
For example, the media venues do not promote the numerous negative images of other races on a daily basis, year after year. Our history did not begin with slavery in this country, nor will it be recorded accurately unless we write it. These images continue to create the division amongst the races to maintain their superiority to people who are different from them.
America is a “melting pot” and every race has members who choose not to advance. Nothing or no one can change that.
July 21st, 2008 at 6:56 am
Hmmm….460 officers to ‘police’ the Summer ‘Celebration’?!?!
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Why so many? To listen to One Who Knows, these black Americans (not African-Americans) are doing nothing wrong.
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I guess it’s just a ‘cultural thing’, huh ?!?!
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BTW, if a white person, born on the continent of Africa, emigrates to America and becomes a Citizen, is this person also an African-American?
July 21st, 2008 at 9:48 am
Robert NW Side:
If people of color choose to call themselves African-Americans, it’s not your job to redefine it as “black Americans.”
Nor is it very smart.
What’s wrong with African-American as a defining term? Who peed in your cornflakes on that issue?
July 21st, 2008 at 11:33 am
My grandparents were born in Ireland, yet I can’t remember the last time I identified myself as European-American.
July 21st, 2008 at 11:49 am
Hi Think Again,
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Let’s see…BA/AA state that “we’re all Americans”, and “we all bleed red” and “we’re all the same”.
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Yet is seems that it’s ‘people of color’ that insist on hyphenating their nationality.
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I am an American. Simple, huh?!?!
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Rico43 said it well. Besides, if BAs want to call themselves AAs, then they certainly can. I will continue to use the term BA — which is my right, and hasn’t been legislated away just yet.
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I also note that you skirted the question posed at the end of my previous post #25. I’ll repost it again for you.
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BTW, if a white person, born on the continent of Africa, emigrates to America and becomes a Citizen, is this person also an ‘African-American’?
July 21st, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Response to Robert and Rico:
I did not state that African Americans could do no wrong. I am probably more critical of my people than you are.
Yes, if whites choose to be addressed as African Americans, they can be.
Who really cares.
BTW: Black includes all colors, and white is without color.
A particular race of people should not be defined by the color or pigment of their skin. If they choose to identitfy with a native continent or country of their ancestors, who cares.
Think on this. The color white is not superior to black.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
I don’t know of any “superior” color, sex, sexual orientation, income level, country, political party, or religion. While we all have preferences, I don’t know of an example in these measures being the only “benchmark”, or somehow being the exclusive repository of “the truth”. I think I’ve seen greatness and failure in all these spectrums. I DO believe we get to hang together or hang separately: We get to become participatory responsible citizens, including not spending money we don’t have and creating babies we don’t parent.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Robert, I didn’t skirt it. It was just kinda silly, and I was tryin not to make you look silly on a blog, but, for the fans, and because you insist, here is an answer:
What they call themselves should be no concern to you. Why are you so filled with wonderment at anyone’s description of themselves? You need to find some thigns to occupy your time.
Let it go, pal. No harm, no foul. Anyone can call themselves anything they wish.
And it’s none of your business or mine.
And no one’s gonna legislate that right away.
Lighten up.
July 21st, 2008 at 12:57 pm
IBE has numerous positive and beneficial workshops and programs (employment/health fair, financial planning, kid’s day, etc. for those who do not know). It is not IBE itself that is the issue; it’s the “poverty-minded” people who come to it and do not attend the programs, exhibits, etc. and just want to be hood. They want to tear up hotel rooms, not tip or disrespect waitstaff, and holler at people passing by. Unfortunately, we can’t control who comes to Expo, but it seems as though people forget there are also law abiding, professional, respectful families who also come. Be careful not to generalize when you speak of Expo crowds. I will say overall the lack of home training is sickening and maybe IBE should have an extensive program attacking that.
July 21st, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Hey just like the college kids at sping break, disrespectful, drunk and tearing up hotel and motel rooms and to think these are the leaders of tommorow! VBG
July 21st, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Would someone in the media, somewhere, please investigate this “tearing up hotel room” urban myth, and set us all straight?
I have a friend who is in hotel management downtown, and has been for several years. At a chain that sounds like diet, but I promised I wouldn’t reveal its name. :-) He contends the outdoors crowd has been a huge problem in past years, but wasn’t that bad this year, mostly because of police promises to detain curfew violators.
And he further contends that the hotel room trashing is no more or less than an ordinary Colts weekend.
Why there’s ANY hotel trashing is beyond me, but can we dial down the hysteria a tad? Unless you can provide some anecdotal or actual information, it’s getting annoying.
And, for the record, as a 40-something, I can remember all-white rock bands that trashed hotel rooms routinely. And, frankly, provided very little in the way of real musical talent, but that’s a personal judgment.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Hey just like the college kids at sping break, disrespectful, drunk and tearing up hotel and motel rooms and to think these are the leaders of tommorow! VBG
seriously?
Don’t you think your parents were saying the same thing when all the hippies were strung out at woodstock? Every generation says that about the next…
July 21st, 2008 at 5:30 pm
Anji, thanks for your thoughtful post. It really causes me to reflect and adjust my thinking. I am sure others have tried to say the same thing, but yours hit home for me. In the case of IBE, it is the minority of the minority who are causing the pain, and it appears steps are being taken to correct this issue. Clearly we all have a stake in improvements. Thanks again.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:16 am
I remember attending a conference in high school back in the early 70′s at the Hilton downtown. The security guard was more annoyed at the drunken bowlers who set up beer bottles in the hall and used them as bowling pins. He said the kids were good.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:20 am
good one – Of course they were. The nerds (which I was one) rarely go to spring break. I went after I got out of high school and was attending college part time. When alcohol and drugs are involved, people will always get crazy. The sad part is there were no guns in the 70′s and 80′s. They are way to many guns now. That scares me!
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:33 am
Think Again- True there were a lot of bad rock bands who trashed rooms and there were a lot of good ones! Aerosmith comes to mind, and boy they did their share of drugs and alcohol!
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 am
Greg – You are right steps are being taken to clean up the police department. You may have to read between the lines in the Star but we are headed for better times!
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:56 am
Now just get me some community policing PLEASE! I don’t care if school board members think it’s Socialism! I want cops in my community who live and work in my community. I don’t want to have to go downtown to get action. I think the mayor needs to work on this and get it into action. Ok enough blogging I feel like Robin Williams on cocaine!
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:28 am
correction – good one – Of course they were. The nerds (which I was one) rarely go to spring break. I went after I got out of high school and was attending college part time. When alcohol and drugs are involved, people will always get crazy. “The GOOD” part is there were no guns in the 70’s and 80’s. They are way to many guns now. That scares me!
Meant to say “GOOD” not bad..
July 22nd, 2008 at 3:40 am
Think Again – last post for the night (thank god!) Lets see the year was 1979 and during spring break I saw college kids heave the TIKI bar into the pool, flood the bath room at a Holiday Inn and according to the desk clerk steal and trash 3 out of every hotel rooms I was staying at. The people at Daytona hated the college kids! At Lauderdale it was worse. Quite a few of the motels and hotels wouldn’t even book college kids. Not sure how it is now but back then it was crazy. As I remember there was a 18 year old drinking age in Florida which may had something to do with it. Ya think!
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:11 am
I suppose I look at IBE differently than I do college kids on spring break or a rock concert. To me, IBE is supposed to be a time of enrichment and empowerment – I don’t think crowds at a KISS concert, a race track or Panama City Beach are necessarily after that. These events cannot be compared to the goals and scope of IBE. IBE strives to better the lives of everyone who attends the programs and workshops. So yes, it is disappointment when some low lifes wreck it with a few of the foul examples given above – they are going against the IBE mission and that rightfully makes many of us angry. There is just no excuse for it!
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:43 am
In terms of property damage, Black Expo isn’t that much different than certain spring break spots. The problem you end up seeing is that violence. That is where the difference is at in my opinion. It also usually involves the younger generations. Most fights that break out at the track are two drunkards who bump into each other and get upset over something (girls, knocked my beer over, etc. etc..). At black expo, young gang members purposely go down to sport their colors and their hand signs. To compare the two are laughable. Too many young black males are completely comfortable carrying a handgun which they have no problem using. Even if a gang member is defending himself, the idea that one would start popping off shots at Black Expo, in that packed of a crowd, shows the kind of people we are dealing with.
We are dealing with people who live in third world neighborhoods that just happen to be in the U.S.. Drive around the local Section 8 complexes. Most have trash all over the place. At any given time, I bet you could find 10 or more adults (mostly mothers), who are sitting at home doing nothing. Why can’t they pick up the trash in their neighborhood? As far as dressing as they do, that is typical for 3rd world types, irregardless of if they live in the projects or a trailer park. These people don’t have same moral values as others, as such, showing skin, and lots of it, is part of their mating ritual. First world types usually only do this type of thing in certain situations: Mardi Gras, spring break, etc..
July 22nd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
John Doe – Your point goes back to my original post. How in the world can IBE officials control who comes downtown to Expo? Again, these troublemakers are typically not coming to IBE sponsered events. I wish I knew of a way to weed out the bad people. But the solution should NOT be to dissolve IBE like some people seem to suggest. Maybe as opposed to having more teen oriented themes, which I know has been a goal lately, we should have more family and inter-generational activities to encourage families/groups to stay together. This may help curb the adults who drop their kids off at Teen Bling, then break out to the clubs for the rest of the night.
July 24th, 2008 at 4:22 am
John Doe, excellent post #45 !!
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Of course, it’s a ‘cultural’ thing..Right, One Who Knows?!?!
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Let’s see….One person gets hit butt kicked by the PO-lice (Rodney King), and for several days, THOUSANDS rioted in the streets of L.A., and other U.S. cities.
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About One BILLION dollars in damage, about 2000 people injured, and about 53 people MURDERED!!!!!
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ALL of THIS, because ONE person had his BUTT whipped! Yeah, Rodney King is certainly a poster child for the ‘picked-on black man’.
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After the riots, King seemed to be ‘hands-off’ for the police in some instances. Following is some “history” of the model citizen, Mr. Rodney King:
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July 27, 1987: According to a complaint filed by his wife, King beat her while she was sleeping, then dragged her outside the house and beat her again. King was charged with battery and pleaded “no contest.” He was placed on probation and ordered to obtain counseling. He never got the counseling.
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November 3, 1989: King, brandishing a tire iron, ordered a convenience store clerk to empty the cash register. The clerk grabbed the tire iron, causing King to fall backwards and knock over a pie rack. King swung the rack at the clerk and fled the store with $200. King was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, second-degree robbery, and intent to commit great bodily injury. In a plea agreement, King pleaded guilty to the robbery charge and the other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but was paroled on December 27, 1990.
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March 3, 1991: After being seen speeding on the 210 freeway by CHP officers, King led them on a chase at speeds estimated at up to 110 to 115 mph. When finally stopped, King refused requests to get into the prone position and appeared to charge one of the officers. He was beaten and arrested. King was charged with felony evading. Charges were later dropped.
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May 11, 1991: King was pulled over for having an excessively tinted windshield. Although King was driving without a license and his car registration had expired, King was not charged.
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May 28, 1991: King picked up a transvestite prostitute in Hollywood who happened to be under surveillance by LAPD officers. King and the prostitute were observed in an alley engaging in sexual activity. When the prostitute spotted the officers, King sped away, nearly hitting one of them. King later explained that he thought the vice officers were robbers trying to kill him. No charges were filed.
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June 26, 1992: King’s second wife reported to police that King had hit her and she feared for her life. King was handcuffed and taken to a police station, but his wife then decided against pressing charges.
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July 16, 1992: King was arrested at 1:40 A.M. for driving while intoxicated. No charges were filed.
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August 21, 1993: King crashed into a wall near a downtown Los Angeles nightclub. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.19. King was charged with violating his parole and sent for sixty day to an alcohol treatment center. He was also convicted on the DUI charge and ordered to perform twenty days of community service.
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May 21, 1995: King was arrested for DUI while on a trip to Pennsylvania. King failed field sobriety tests, but refused to submit to a blood test. He was tried and acquitted.
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July 14, 1995: King got into an argument with his wife while he was driving, pulled off the freeway and ordered her out of the car. When she started to get out, King sped off, leaving her on the highway with a bruised arm. King was charged with assault with a deadly weapon (his car), reckless driving, spousal abuse, and hit-and-run. King was tried on all four charges, but found guilty only of hit-and-run driving.
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March 3, 1999: King allegedly injured the sixteen-year-old girl that he had fathered out of wedlock when he was seventeen, as well as the girl’s mother. King was arrested for injuring the woman, the girl, and for vandalizing property. King claimed that the incident was simply “a family misunderstanding.”
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September 29, 2001: King was arrested for indecent exposure and use of the hallucinogenic drug PCP.
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On August 27, 2003, King was arrested again for speeding and running a red light while under the influence of alcohol. He failed to yield to police officers and slammed his SUV into a house, breaking his pelvis.
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This needs to be repeated: About One BILLION dollars in damage, about 2000 people injured, and about 53 people MURDERED!!!!!
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Now, in contrast, how often do you see this happening when a white person has their butt whipped by the police?
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Yeah, it’s ‘culture’.
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Chris Rock has an excellent video on this topic, “How not to get you ass kicked by the police.”
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http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-880897175401400927
July 24th, 2008 at 5:38 am
Hey Robert NW:
Why is the majority of mass murderers and serial killers European Americans?
July 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Anji,
When IBE has no involvement in the public safety planning of the second Saturday of Expo, then they’ll be excused. At least for the past 5 years (maybe more) IBE staff have insisted on seeing lesson plans, traffic patterns, and public safety estimates, going so far a few years back as saying there were “too many police” downtown, resulting in no fewer than 5 (five) shootings. Behind closed doors IBE staff and previous administrations have even discussed for lack of a better phrase “acceptable body counts” before they shut down festivities.
They can’t control who goes downtown, but they have involved themselves in how people who go downtown are controlled. Why?
July 24th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Angry Democrat, are you speaking of world-wide, or in the United States?
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BTW, how many cities have been looted and burned as a result of a white person getting their butt whipped by the police?
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How many people have been murdered / seriously injured as a result of a white person getting their butt whipped by the police?
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I’ll be waiting for that list.
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BTW, I was in Detroit in ’68. Happy days, huh?
July 26th, 2008 at 4:52 am
Robert
Your comments are clearly racist. Considering the number of teens over (100,000) attending IBE events for the right reasons, the number of incidents involving the police are few. You need to check your statistics. Overall, IBE nor the police have no control over the number of persons who choose to violate the law during these events. The Rodney King incident in LA have nothing to do with Black Expo.
July 26th, 2008 at 6:46 am
Springfield’s secret
100 years ago, Lincoln’s birthplace was torn by riots as whites attacked blacks — an episode the city is only now accepting.
By Michael Skube
July 6, 2008
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — Our memory of the unpleasant chapters in our nation’s history is usually shorter than we imagine, especially where race is concerned. Few Americans could even tell you “who” Jim Crow was. Only mostly older Americans remember the racial history of the Deep South and of the big cities — Detroit, Newark, Watts.
Still fewer would include in the roster of riot-torn cities the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator. But 100 years ago this summer, white mobs rampaged through the streets of this city for weeks, setting fire to black businesses, beating up blacks wherever they found them and demanding that two black inmates — both accused of crimes against whites — be handed over to them by the county sheriff. Not until 5,000 federal troops were deployed was calm restored. Afterward, the Chamber of Commerce and others tried their best to paint the episode over, saying the mobs were local lowlifes who did not reflect the city or its people. “The inception of the destruction of lives and property in Springfield came from the lawless, indolent and vagrant portion of the community,” Maj. Gen. E.C. Young said on declaring an end to military occupation of the city.
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FOR THE RECORD:
History: A headline in the July 6 Opinion section describing racial riots in Springfield, Ill., said that the city was Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace. He was born in Kentucky. —
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The archives tell a different story, one in which respectable citizens and even local newspapers played their parts. The Illinois State Register began its Aug. 14 story reporting the alleged rape of a white woman by a black man this way: “One of the greatest outrages that ever happened in Springfield took place … last night. There is no doubt the case is one of premeditated assault. … No effort should be spared to find the black viper.” A month later, the woman, Mabel Hallam, would confess to making the story up.
Tensions had begun more than two months earlier. On June 1, an intruder broke into the home of a mining engineer named Clergy Ballard and frightened Ballard’s 16-year-old daughter in her bed. Hearing her screams, Ballard gave chase, eventually catching the intruder. But the man pulled a knife and Ballard was mortally wounded. After Ballard died, his son and two other men scoured the neighborhood for suspects. The three came upon a 17-year-old black drifter named Joe James, who was sleeping on the street, and, apparently, convinced themselves he was the likely killer. They were beating James to a pulp when police arrived. According to one account, shreds of clothing matching James’ were found at Ballard’s home. For his part, James said he had been drunk and couldn’t remember that night. His guilt has never been conclusively established, but he was tried that September and hanged Oct. 23.
In the months between Clergy Ballard’s death and James’ hanging, tension among Springfield residents spilled over, fueled by rumors of alleged assaults on white women by black men and imminent lynchings. Bands of white vigilantes roamed the city at will. It was Mabel Hallam’s allegation of assault by George Richardson that brought tensions to the point of riot. Scores of black-owned homes and businesses were torched. Before it was over, half a dozen people would be killed and more than 100, white and black, would be injured. One of those who died was 84-year-old William Donnegan, a retired cobbler whose only crime was to be married to a white woman. When a mob moved on Donnegan’s house, the old man came to his door. The mob pulled Donnegan from his home, cut his throat and strung him up in a schoolyard across the street.
The city’s riots were instrumental in the founding, in New York City the next year, of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.
Last month, Springfield’s local newspaper, the Illinois State Journal-Register, ran a special supplement recounting the horrors of that summer a century ago. For many, it was an awakening to something in their city’s past they had known nothing about. “I was born and raised here, and this is the first I’ve ever heard of it,” a 53-year-old man said at a Barnes & Noble bookstore.
I had heard nothing about it myself until taking a history course at a university in the South. Growing up in Springfield in the 1950s and 1960s, I had made school trips to Lincoln’s home at 8th and Jackson streets and once took an out-of-town girlfriend to visit his tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. But the riots of 1908 went unmentioned in the schools I attended, the city held no commemorations, and no truth-and-reconciliation commissions sought to reconcile past and present. The city was residentially segregated, and it remains so today. The west side sparkles with neatly kept lawns and new businesses; the east side is in abysmal decay.
The contrast between white and black in Springfield is a grim reflection of the words of Alexis de Tocqueville in “Democracy in America,” written 25 years before the Civil War and almost 75 years before the riots of 1908.
“These two races,” he said, “are fastened to each other without intermingling; and they are alike unable to separate entirely or to combine.” Tocqueville saw slavery as an ancient evil that had mutated in a pernicious way in the New World. He saw no hope of assimilation.
A mere six months after the riots, he would not have been surprised by the city’s centennial celebration of Lincoln’s birth. It was the grandest ever held in the city, with a sumptuous menu that, as the Journal-Register’s retrospective reports, included “five barrels of oysters, hundreds of pounds of fowl, beef tenderloin and crab meat, more than a ton of ice cream and gallons of turtle soup, all part of a four-course meal for the roughly 750 invited.”
The city’s two newspapers at the time covered it as the gala it was, with scarcely a word about the violence of the previous summer. Almost buried in its coverage was a smaller story reporting that local black leaders had held a separate celebration in a church on the east side. Theirs was separate because they were not invited to the grander celebration downtown. There was no interest on the city’s part in their assimilating.
Long before Malcolm X preached separatism, assimilation is all black Americans ever wanted — assimilation not in the sense of losing racial identity but only of wanting a place at the nation’s table. Symbolically, it is what they and many whites today want in the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama. In the city where he once served as state senator, Obama surely knew what had happened in 1908. If whites had long since forgotten, memory of it would have been passed down through oral tradition in the black community. It would have understood what William Faulkner meant. “The past,” he said, “is not dead. It is not even past.”
And yet hope of a better future, even more than change, has been the wellspring of Obama’s presidential campaign. In the face of a past so implacable, it requires an uncommon optimism to believe tomorrow is not only a new day but a better one.
Michael Skube teaches journalism at Elon University in North Carolina.