Community Connection With Tina Cosby
Community Connection With Tina Cosby
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Community Connection - September 28 2026 - Tina Cosby with Open Lines and Wisdom Cole joins the show

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ABOUT THIS EPISODE

**Community Connection: Exploring the Future of the Circle City Classic**

This week on Community Connection, we're diving into the world of the Circle City Classic, a beloved Indianapolis tradition that's been bringing people together for decades. But as the city's demographics and interests change, the classic's future is uncertain. Our host, Tina Cosby, is joined by a lively panel of callers, including Wisdom Cole, Senior National Director of Advocacy for the NAACP, who shares his insights on the importance of community engagement and voting rights.

The conversation touches on the challenges facing the Circle City Classic, including declining attendance and a lack of enthusiasm among younger generations. Our callers share their thoughts on how to revitalize the event, from incorporating star power to finding new and innovative ways to engage the community. Wisdom Cole emphasizes the need for collective action and community involvement, highlighting the power of the "power of five" – taking responsibility for five people in your community to ensure they're registered, educated, and voting.

As the discussion unfolds, our host and callers explore the complexities of hosting events in downtown Indianapolis, including the impact of gentrification and the need for creative solutions to stay relevant. The conversation also delves into the world of food trucks and how they're changing the way people experience food and entertainment.

Join us as we explore the future of the Circle City Classic and the importance of community engagement in shaping the city's events and traditions. Listen to the full episode to hear more from Wisdom Cole and our callers as they share their thoughts on how to revitalize the classic and make it relevant to a new generation.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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IN THIS EPISODE

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TRANSCRIPT 🔗

00:00:00
Speaker 1: It was ugly. It was 55.
00:00:01
Speaker 2: Wasn't it 55 to zero or something like that? I think that that was the score. Bottom line was that was great for Hoosier football.
00:00:10
Speaker 1: That was great for Hoosier football.
00:00:12
Speaker 2: But will that same thing work with another HBCU that IU can play?
00:00:18
Speaker 1: I mean, it's going to be lopsided. It's not going to be. Well, anyway, maybe not. Maybe not. Maybe not. Let me take it back because there's some good.
00:00:30
Speaker 3: There are some.
00:00:32
Speaker 1: I take it back. I take it back.
00:00:35
Speaker 2: We just didn't see it this a couple of weeks ago down in Bloomington when they had to cut the game short.
00:00:40
Speaker 1: We did not see that.
00:00:42
Speaker 2: And it also depends on what the goal is. If the goal is to get people into seats at the stadium to enjoy the classic, so to speak, then yeah, I guess that would be fine. I mean, it's the same as putting the high school kids here. They were trying to, you know, attract a younger crowd and put the high schools in the spotlight with girls' flag football, boys' high school football. You know, they did a lot of that. And so getting the defending national champions. Now, by the time Circle City Classic comes around next year, we don't know that they'll be the defending national champions. All this season, though, they are defending the crown until somebody takes it from them during.
00:01:29
Speaker 1: Okay, go ahead.
00:01:29
Speaker 4: Not to interrupt you, Ms.
00:01:30
Speaker 3: Tina, but we have to remember, IU does have one of the biggest alumni associations in the United States.
00:01:36
Speaker 1: Of course, I'm an alum.
00:01:37
Speaker 3: If we're talking about just getting up numbers, yes. If we're talking about getting up those numbers, I mean, wouldn't this be a wise.
00:01:45
Speaker 5: Way to go?
00:01:48
Speaker 1: You know what?
00:01:48
Speaker 2: I need to noodle on that one a little bit because I'm feeling a little lopsided about that idea.
00:01:54
Speaker 1: I don't know why.
00:01:55
Speaker 2: And I'm trying to sort out my thoughts here and figure out why that.
00:02:00
Speaker 1: I just, I don't know. I don't know.
00:02:03
Speaker 3: Well, I know for sure we've got to get some youth on some of these boards and panels. We have some people who've been in play for quite some time now, and I think it's time to dismiss some folks.
00:02:17
Speaker 2: Well, you know, certainly a reassessment, a serious reassessment isn't under, you know, I can't say.
00:02:25
Speaker 1: What should or shouldn't.
00:02:26
Speaker 2: But, yeah, in order to get it to where you want it to be, yeah, you got to take a hard look at what's going on now. You got to take a hard look at that. What's working and what's not working. So we agree there.
00:02:39
Speaker 1: Yep, indeed. All righty. Well, that was good. You know, a good point. Very good point. Thank you. Thank you, Jamil. I appreciate your comments. All righty, we've got a.
00:02:48
Speaker 2: Couple more calls, and we will get to them, but we don't want to get interrupted by the break, so let's go ahead and take the break. When we come back, we'll go to the phone lines and take your calls and questions and comments right after this.
00:03:02
Speaker 6: Let's get back to the conversation. It's Community Connection with Tina Cosby from the Praise Indy Indigo Studios on Praise.
00:03:10
Speaker 7: AM 1310, 95.1 FM.
00:03:14
Speaker 1: Okie dokie, Eric.
00:03:15
Speaker 2: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for that.
00:03:17
Speaker 1: This is our new music. This is ready?
00:03:19
Speaker 8: That is it.
00:03:20
Speaker 9: It's ready.
00:03:21
Speaker 10: It's in.
00:03:21
Speaker 1: Okay, I like it.
00:03:22
Speaker 8: That is it.
00:03:23
Speaker 11: I like it.
00:03:23
Speaker 8: And someone's grandson. Well, it was great, too.
00:03:26
Speaker 12: Yeah, yeah.
00:03:27
Speaker 1: I'll have to let him know.
00:03:28
Speaker 12: Definitely.
00:03:30
Speaker 2: Let's go back to the phone lines.
00:03:33
Speaker 9: 317-480-1310.
00:03:34
Speaker 1: Christine, go ahead. How are you?
00:03:36
Speaker 13: Hey, I'm doing pretty good. I listened to the last caller, and I understand... about wanting to have a national team come for the Circle City Classic. But my concern would be, how would you have that other demographic want to participate if everything on the news pertaining to a Circle City Classic or IBE has always been negative as far as gun violence?
00:04:06
Speaker 4: So how would you cater for.
00:04:11
Speaker 13: The other demographics want to come and participate. I don't think that that is even a feasible idea in.
00:04:20
Speaker 5: This and how everything is going on.
00:04:24
Speaker 1: Eric, didn't you say it was just an idea, I think, being tossed around?
00:04:27
Speaker 8: Yes, being tossed around. Nothing confirmed.
00:04:30
Speaker 14: IU hasn't responded, but it's been something that was tossed around. I think I saw it.
00:04:33
Speaker 1: A lot of ideas are probably tossed around.
00:04:36
Speaker 8: Yeah, a lot of ideas trying something.
00:04:37
Speaker 14: I even had the idea personally that Maybe next year tie the Universal Circus to it somehow. That might bring some extra people to the event. Make it a part of the celebration somehow, maybe a summer celebration, or I don't know, maybe tie it into a summer celebration, Indiana Black Expo.
00:04:59
Speaker 1: Well, that once was the case at some point.
00:05:01
Speaker 8: Once was the case, exactly. So could dates make a difference too, you think?
00:05:06
Speaker 1: Well, I think... Go ahead, go ahead.
00:05:09
Speaker 13: I think so because growing up, I remember it always being sort of coupled with that. And so you was excited, you know, come summer and then you're getting ready for the fall. But right now, I personally, I have no desire and haven't had a desire, nor does my children have a desire to even go to the Circle City Classic.
00:05:35
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:05:36
Speaker 15: Yeah.
00:05:37
Speaker 2: Well, that is some of the work that has to be done. How do you get it back? How do you spark the enthusiasm?
00:05:44
Speaker 1: What do you do? I don't know.
00:05:49
Speaker 13: As the previous caller stated, probably getting younger people involved, seeing what it is that they would like to see.
00:05:58
Speaker 2: Well, it may involve restructuring it, too, and making it something. And maybe that's what the young people will say. Maybe they don't.
00:06:07
Speaker 1: You know, I don't know. I don't know. It's a model.
00:06:10
Speaker 2: It's a model that has worked for the longest, but maybe the model isn't working anymore.
00:06:17
Speaker 1: I don't know. Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot to be discussed and unpacked.
00:06:24
Speaker 2: And I don't know how it'll go.
00:06:28
Speaker 1: I don't know.
00:06:30
Speaker 2: I hope that this was not it. I don't think so.
00:06:32
Speaker 1: There were some people saying, oh, this is it. I hope that that's not the case.
00:06:37
Speaker 2: Because I think we still need to have it, but we got to get folks downtown. We got to get folks involved and enthused and excited about it again.
00:06:49
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:06:50
Speaker 10: Yeah.
00:06:50
Speaker 11: I agree.
00:06:51
Speaker 4: I agree.
00:06:52
Speaker 10: Yeah.
00:06:52
Speaker 5: Thank you.
00:06:53
Speaker 1: All righty. Thank you.
00:06:54
Speaker 3: 317-480-1310.
00:06:54
Speaker 10: 317-480-1310.
00:06:55
Speaker 1: Manny, go ahead. How are you?
00:06:56
Speaker 15: Hello.
00:07:06
Speaker 1: Manny, are you there? Is Manny there?
00:07:10
Speaker 8: Hey Manny, are you there with us?
00:07:14
Speaker 1: I think he's, uh, Manny's on hold.
00:07:16
Speaker 8: He must be. He's got us on hold. He's got us on hold.
00:07:19
Speaker 9: Manny.
00:07:20
Speaker 8: Hello.
00:07:22
Speaker 14: Well, we can go back to him, I guess later. He had, he had some thoughts on the circle city class.
00:07:26
Speaker 3: Oh, he did.
00:07:27
Speaker 9: He did.
00:07:27
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:07:28
Speaker 1: Yeah. I, I don't know. I don't know.
00:07:31
Speaker 2: But like I said, um, You know, people, you know, the population age is a little more. Interests change as that happens. Things are just different than they were even 10 years ago. Things are different.
00:07:49
Speaker 1: And I don't know.
00:07:51
Speaker 2: Like I said, I can't criticize Alice Watson. I just can't because I don't know what she's going through. You know, when she was here before, she wiped a lot of the– misconceptions right off the board with the realities of what they're dealing with. And so that is something that we need to put on the table, so to speak, something we need to keep in mind. But again, I tell you what, maybe you're sensing people's frustrations. I know I'm at a loss to be able to explain what has happened over the years, and I'm at a loss to be able to explain how it can be recaptured, if you know what I mean.
00:08:38
Speaker 1: I'm just at a loss.
00:08:41
Speaker 2: I do know that it was a lot more. Again, the parade had numbers, but not nearly the numbers.
00:08:51
Speaker 1: That the parade has historically delivered. The parade did have some numbers, but not nearly. And I know for a fact, seeing all.
00:09:00
Speaker 2: The empty seats at Lucas Oil, that those numbers did not deliver. I think that's fair to say. 317-480-1310, 317-480-1310.
00:09:13
Speaker 1: Frank, go ahead. How are you?
00:09:15
Speaker 11: I'm doing good, Ms. Tina.
00:09:16
Speaker 16: How are you?
00:09:17
Speaker 1: I'm doing well, thank you.
00:09:19
Speaker 11: You're more than welcome.
00:09:22
Speaker 16: I used to go to the Circus City Classic.
00:09:25
Speaker 11: And the parade and all of that years ago, and I I stopped going and it's just like the Black, I used to go to the Black Day Expo too, me and my wife both used to go there all the time. So here's what I've seen that was happening one of the days that I was in there down there and going. I didn't like the way that the police and other people in the parking and all that other stuff was going on down in there. And you had to walk a mile to park. When you park somewhere, you had to walk another mile to get there. And the parking fees were so high. And so I always said this, If they move that from downtown and get their own building somewhere, the Black Expo and the Circus of Crescent, have all that in one thing there, you're going to be surprised to know how that's going to work out. I've been saying that for years, but it's just like anything else here in this city. Cameron had a Sunday, he had a caller that called in and mentioned to him about the strike for the truckers on this diesel fuel. And here's what he said. Here's what the caller said. The caller said, if you did that, you wouldn't have black support anyway. So in this city, I can see why they called it Naptown. I'm not criticizing the events that's going on and been going on and things like that. I'm not criticizing these people, but something needs to change so that people won't be harassed. And the white Caucasian goes out there to Speedway and do everything they want to do.
00:11:33
Speaker 16: And, you know, nothing happened. But soon as something happened downtown, The police and everybody's grabbing them and snatching them. They just don't want us downtown anyway because they keep blaming it on the black youth down here doing this and doing that.
00:11:55
Speaker 10: Yeah.
00:11:55
Speaker 2: And, you know, just for the record, though, Circle City Classic has been incident-free. Several years ago, there was one incident at Indiana Black Expo where there was a shooting outside of a basketball game over at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
00:12:14
Speaker 1: I think it was something else.
00:12:15
Speaker 2: But Circle City Classic has never, ever had an incident. And I think that the— I agree with you, Frank. Perhaps it was overkill with the security that came out as a result of that incident at Indiana Black Expo, because the year after, they had tanks. Literally, those tanks— downtown sitting on corners and snipers up on the, I thought that that was overkill for summer celebration. And who wants to see, who wants to feel like they're going into a police state, you know, to be entertained. So that I get, but I don't get the, maybe the two events are conflated. Frank, is that what you're saying? That they're conflated in terms of how the city or how people view security around them?
00:13:10
Speaker 1: Hello?
00:13:11
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:13:11
Speaker 1: Okay. Is that what you're saying?
00:13:13
Speaker 11: Well, it's just, I've been seeing this all my life. I can see why they call it a nap town.
00:13:20
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, yeah. Well, and you know what?
00:13:23
Speaker 11: People here are just sick. Even your people that send places, your... City County Council and all these people, they just.
00:13:37
Speaker 4: Won't do trustees and all that.
00:13:39
Speaker 11: They just won't help the people, period. That's what I've been saying over the years.
00:13:44
Speaker 1: Thank you.
00:13:45
Speaker 11: Goodbye.
00:13:46
Speaker 1: Yeah. And you're right.
00:13:49
Speaker 2: There's a whole lot to be said about just losing interest. Just losing interest. You know, there's that, too. So Frank makes a good point, too. And what he was saying about taking it somewhere other than downtown, I've heard that a lot, too. And that would certainly be part of it, I guess. But then part of the appeal and part of the excitement that was created around classic and summer celebration has been downtown, having it downtown.
00:14:21
Speaker 1: But again, Frank makes a good point. Okay. We have.
00:14:27
Speaker 8: Okay. You ready for the... Oh, well.
00:14:30
Speaker 1: Well, caller went away.
00:14:31
Speaker 8: We lost them.
00:14:32
Speaker 1: Maybe we lost them. But, yeah, so.
00:14:35
Speaker 8: I'll grab the next one.
00:14:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, that would be good. So I don't know. I don't know. Here's the thing.
00:14:44
Speaker 2: There are big events that happen year in and year out. But the interest remains. You know, somebody said the 500. There are some other events that happen year in and year out. And people don't lose interest because they know what they're going to get. Part of the problem, perhaps, with Summer Celebration and certainly Circle City Classic is the consistency of what was to be expected started to change. And when folks don't know what they're going to get or they have to adjust and adjust and adjust, maybe Frank's Naptown analogy isn't too terribly off base and that folks just lose interest. But The one thing that I noticed from the very beginning that kind of threw me off a little was when the date started moving. Because for the longest, it was the fall classic always, always, always on the first Saturday in October.
00:15:48
Speaker 1: Never failed.
00:15:49
Speaker 2: Always the first Saturday in October. And people would make plans around that. They would make plans. around the first Saturday in October.
00:15:59
Speaker 1: Never changed.
00:16:00
Speaker 2: And some of the powers that be, for whatever reason, decided to start moving the date. You know, sometimes it was, you know, September, this weekend in September or such, you know, it started moving. And so people had a hard time finding it. Just, you know, for one, they just had a hard time finding it. So that threw off a lot of people's equilibrium too.
00:16:24
Speaker 1: So, and then from there on. But let's see. Let's go back to Manny. We got him back. Go ahead, Manny.
00:16:33
Speaker 4: Hey, Ms.
00:16:33
Speaker 6: Tina.
00:16:34
Speaker 17: Hey, Eric.
00:16:35
Speaker 1: Hey, how are you?
00:16:36
Speaker 15: I hope everybody had a good weekend.
00:16:39
Speaker 1: Hope you did, too.
00:16:41
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was okay.
00:16:42
Speaker 5: It was good. It was good.
00:16:43
Speaker 15: Hey, you know, this is my thing. Everybody made a lot of good points about the Circle City. I remember when the Circle City Classic Man back in the day, When I was in high school, as a matter of fact, back then, I remember it was the bee's knees. Everybody wanted to come to the Classic. I mean, everybody from all over because we had it going on. This has been about 15, 20 years ago, though. And it just seems like now with the current climate that we're living in, everything is so expensive, the traveling, the getting to schools, the venues.
00:17:20
Speaker 16: I mean, it's a lot.
00:17:22
Speaker 15: I mean, we can't just blame the parts that be. I understand we've got to get the youthful input. That's a good thing, too, as well. But the youth ain't got the money. We still got to go to the parts that be. We need more funding. And I think, like you were saying a few minutes ago, we need to bring it down, dumb it down, have smaller venues, maybe a couple of different venues, you know what I mean? Not just all downtown, because I'm going to tell you, downtown ain't like it used to be.
00:17:53
Speaker 17: Downtown used to be.
00:17:54
Speaker 11: Fun to go downtown.
00:17:56
Speaker 15: Downtown now is such a chore. And then.
00:18:00
Speaker 15: It's like a, it's like a money pit. It's like, it's like everything is money, money, money. And then, and then, like I said, you got to pay the part, whether it be on the street, whether it be, uh, at a garage or, or whatever. And then you got to walk. And then it's, it's, it's, like you said, the turnout ain't like, like it used to, used to be. I mean, I mean, the parade used to be so fun and vibrant and, and, It's just a lot of things have changed. So I'm like you. I was telling– you used a good word, the noodling. I have to noodle over there like you.
00:18:30
Speaker 5: Noodling over there, Miss Tina.
00:18:33
Speaker 15: Because– It ain't like it used to be.
00:18:36
Speaker 11: A lot of things ain't like it used to be.
00:18:38
Speaker 9: And I don't know what we can do to.
00:18:40
Speaker 15: Bring that old flame back. It's going to take some meeting of the minds, the older generation and the youthful generation and the middle generation. It's not just an easy fix.
00:18:53
Speaker 1: No, it's not.
00:18:54
Speaker 15: That's not a comment.
00:18:55
Speaker 1: Thank you, Manny. Love y'all. Thank you, Manny.
00:18:59
Speaker 2: I think the elephant in the room that we have to address is money.
00:19:05
Speaker 1: Funding sponsors. Money would cure it all.
00:19:09
Speaker 2: Money would allow for the high-stepping, crowd-pleasing, celebrated HBCU football teams.
00:19:19
Speaker 1: Money, money, money would allow for that. But the money is drying up.
00:19:25
Speaker 2: Everybody's money is drying up. So we've got to find a way to be creative with what we have. And I think That, you know, certainly they are trying. I mean, you cannot say that they're not trying. They're trying like the Dickens to keep this thing going, given what they've got, you know, what they have to work with. So, yeah, that's part of it. of it.
00:19:52
Speaker 7: 317-480-1310.
00:19:52
Speaker 1: Mayhem, go ahead. How are you?
00:19:55
Speaker 4: Hey, how's it going?
00:19:56
Speaker 3: Good, good.
00:19:56
Speaker 12: How are you?
00:19:58
Speaker 4: Hey, everybody's right, and they don't mind. I think.
00:20:01
Speaker 11: Okay.
00:20:02
Speaker 4: This is my opinion. I think we need to go towards... I don't understand, you know, the either or. It can be both. But I think that influence, somebody need to give my aunt a call. Maybe he can get some influence. If he had some people come down to Washington Park, I'm pretty sure he can get some influence for people to come downtown. I mean, he even had Mike Tyson to come back here. If I was Mike Tyson, I would have never stepped back in this town. But he got influence, and a couple other people like Mike Epps can be influenced and make this. People are talking about getting that old spark back. Now, that old spark is dead. You need a new spark. And the ones that are complaining about the walking and the prices, maybe it's daytime. It's past. Because that town is dead. about the cheapest that you're going to find parking and anything in the country. So, you know, we need some influence. Some people need to put their ego down, and if y'all want to stay alive, get some people like Mike Epps and whatever on the board. I mean, I'm pretty– it seems like Mike Epps is pretty easy to talk to, so I don't understand why. Because when his little event was here, when nobody talking about his event, and his event was successful, didn't nobody get shot or anything.
00:21:36
Speaker 16: But we.
00:21:38
Speaker 4: Just didn't really, didn't know the news or anybody to talk about his event. And people are still talking about his event. But, you know, somebody need to give Mike Epps a call. Maybe he can, you know, get some people. Because he has some influential people down in Washington Park.
00:21:54
Speaker 15: Yeah.
00:21:54
Speaker 18: Yeah, he does.
00:21:55
Speaker 5: All right.
00:21:56
Speaker 1: Thank you, Mayhem. Appreciate it. And what Mayhem is talking about is star power. Yeah. And there's certainly, yeah, there's certainly the star power.
00:22:05
Speaker 2: You know, the classic and summer celebration used to be star studded.
00:22:10
Speaker 15: Yeah.
00:22:10
Speaker 1: I mean, there was no doubt about it whatsoever.
00:22:12
Speaker 2: You know, Mike Ahern, Mike Ahern, excuse me, Mike Epps, and is not only a star, not only is he from Indianapolis, he, as Lamar and some of the others pointed out over the weekend, we were talking, He has a heart. He has the heart for the community.
00:22:29
Speaker 8: He loves his hometown.
00:22:30
Speaker 2: He loves his hometown. And so he puts the he pours that into. And, you know, this whole thing got started because Reverend Charles Williams had the heart for his city and his people.
00:22:45
Speaker 1: And he poured that into it.
00:22:46
Speaker 2: And so that showed in terms of what, you know, was able to to take place that showed that. in terms of getting people to come out and be a part of it. And so I think the combination of star power and heart, which is what Mayhem was talking about, certainly, certainly contributes a great deal.
00:23:06
Speaker 1: But again, the money.
00:23:09
Speaker 8: That's it, the money.
00:23:10
Speaker 1: The money. Now, star power can do a whole lot to raise that money.
00:23:15
Speaker 8: Certainly can.
00:23:16
Speaker 1: And so.
00:23:19
Speaker 1: Again, does it have to be either or?
00:23:21
Speaker 2: Or, you know, like he said, maybe, you know, maybe Expo can consult with Mike Epps. But I don't know that a consultation would, because Expo has their thing.
00:23:32
Speaker 1: And Epps has his.
00:23:33
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's true.
00:23:35
Speaker 2: So, you know, he's creating his in his own, you know, his own image and what have you.
00:23:41
Speaker 1: And he's carving out what he carves out.
00:23:44
Speaker 2: They have carved out this over here.
00:23:46
Speaker 1: How do you make each one work?
00:23:48
Speaker 2: And I'm sure Mike Ips gets a lot of community contributions.
00:23:51
Speaker 8: He may have some ideas.
00:23:53
Speaker 1: He may have some ideas, yeah.
00:23:55
Speaker 8: As you may recall, you recall, of course, we had big name sponsors for.
00:24:00
Speaker 1: Oh, my goodness.
00:24:00
Speaker 8: I mean, big name. Won't even mention them.
00:24:03
Speaker 1: They were well known.
00:24:04
Speaker 12: Their money.
00:24:05
Speaker 1: Their money.
00:24:07
Speaker 8: And everybody's money has gotten kind of.
00:24:09
Speaker 1: Kind of funny.
00:24:09
Speaker 8: Kind of funny.
00:24:10
Speaker 2: And Epps put some of his own money into it, but not all, because he gets collectives.
00:24:16
Speaker 1: He gets partnerships.
00:24:17
Speaker 2: And that's the formula that Reverend Williams used, collectives and partnerships. So let's go back to the phone lines.
00:24:26
Speaker 1: Rick, go ahead.
00:24:26
Speaker 2: How are you?
00:24:28
Speaker 10: Good afternoon to both of you. I'm doing fine.
00:24:31
Speaker 1: Good afternoon.
00:24:33
Speaker 10: Yep. The classic is really special to me. I met my wife there.
00:24:38
Speaker 9: Aww.
00:24:39
Speaker 10: Yeah, 34 years ago. And we got married two years later or a year and a half later, something like that. And we just always made that our weekend. You know, we'd go to a parade and sometimes to the game. And we used to love the, it was a ball fest when they'd have, you know, all the vendors out and music and they'd be selling, you know.
00:25:00
Speaker 1: So what changed? What changed, Rick? What changed?
00:25:04
Speaker 10: I can't put a finger on it.
00:25:06
Speaker 9: For years.
00:25:06
Speaker 1: There you go.
00:25:07
Speaker 10: Playing tanya bell and then i thought well that's a pretty easy target but you know we live in a changing time where you know i remember where you couldn't and my wife was from town you couldn't get a hotel in marion.
00:25:21
Speaker 1: County oh no no.
00:25:23
Speaker 10: You had to go way out somewhere and uh.
00:25:27
Speaker 2: During summer celebration and classic no hotel space.
00:25:30
Speaker 10: Yeah But I remember about five years ago when they were saying that about NASCAR. It was like, NASCAR's TV numbers are down. Their ticket sales are down.
00:25:39
Speaker 16: What's going on?
00:25:40
Speaker 10: And, you know, a couple people said it's a different world. People check things on their phone now, the younger generation. You know, I used to be a baseball, never a big baseball fan, but more casual. Somebody asked me, you don't watch baseball anymore? I said, I'm to the point where I wake up in the morning and I grab my phone and I look at my ESPN app. I said, who am I going to check the box? You know, I just... I don't say I got to be home a lot because the first pitch is thrown out at 815. Maybe it's like with basketball and things like that. I used to love seeing people with their colors on from out of state. You'd say, those people are here because they're representing Tennessee State and it'll be their alma mater. And you would just see they'd all be in unity. And then the opposite teams would have on their colors. And when we would go, we had to buy a sweatshirt or a t-shirt.
00:26:29
Speaker 9: Commemorating that year.
00:26:31
Speaker 10: You know, it was just so special. And we worked the medical thing at the, I know you can't call it the Minority Health Fair anymore, but we worked that every year at Black Expo and watched the numbers just dwindle and dwindle and dwindle. And I'm thinking, what else can they do? It's free now. The only thing I can suggest is maybe they pay people $ 5 to come and walk through there, you know?
00:26:56
Speaker 19: Mm-hmm.
00:26:56
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:26:58
Speaker 2: It's going to take some work. It's going to take some work. It's going to take some work. Well, the last.
00:27:03
Speaker 10: Few years, every time they say who the Grand Marshal of the parade is, whoever I'm next to, we look at each other and say, who? Yeah. As a matter of fact, who was the Grand Marshal this year? Or are you guys familiar with it?
00:27:16
Speaker 1: I have no idea. I don't remember.
00:27:18
Speaker 10: Yeah, it's not a big name. It's, you know, I remember when it was after seven and, you know, all of them and just, you know, Tom Joyner and his crew would always have a and they come around Jim and they'd all be dancing. It was just such a celebratory weekend.
00:27:34
Speaker 2: Yep, but not today, so not this weekend. We'll see where we... Happy anniversary to you and your wife. I'm sure it's coming up.
00:27:45
Speaker 1: Thank you. George, go ahead. How are you?
00:27:47
Speaker 4: Hey, how's it going, Tina?
00:27:51
Speaker 1: Good, good, good. How are you doing?
00:27:53
Speaker 5: Okay.
00:27:55
Speaker 17: Can I bring an inside perspective from when I used to work downtown regarding Black Expo and Circle City Classic from a hospitality perspective, things that I noticed. I remember when.
00:28:13
Speaker 9: We had Brickyard, Brickwood is 400?
00:28:15
Speaker 5: Yes.
00:28:15
Speaker 1: This was back in the 90s.
00:28:18
Speaker 17: I noticed a difference in the way the hotels moved and the way the police department moved because Somebody just said they wanted to maybe think about moving the classics down to the, at Black Expo most definitely, out to the fairgrounds. Now, I noticed one year we had had, I think it was an ex-classic weekend. The Brickyard was here back in August, and the next event came behind that. I noticed the way that the hotels treated the guests. When the Brickyard hit and the Indianapolis 500 hit, The guests were free to walk around and do what they wanted to do. Classic weekend and expo weekend, the hotel sort of checked in to see if you were actually a guest at the hotel before they would let you in. They put up the red belt ropes, the dividers, the stanchions for when the black events came around. But when the race and all the other stuff came around, It was free-for-all. And like you said, I noticed one time when I was working at a particular hotel, there was a non-melanated group of people on the elevator, and they were doing their business like one and two on the elevator. They had to call housekeeping to clean it up. Black events that went smoothly. IMPD, they literally had cameras outside monitoring Circle City Classic. And they said they were using that to give to a review. They were doing some kind of research review board where they were trying to determine if the classic and the expo should be held downtown. And on top of that, Coach Deion Sanders was, he made a claim about the real, one reason why that Jackson State could not go to the class, he was moving them away from that, was because of the economic cost. You realize, people don't realize that a lot of those football players and band members, they had to pay for their own way to get to these events. And the money and the revenue that the universities were generating Pretty much, they were doing it, they were almost, let's just say, doing it pro bono, free. So economics was one thing that, I know Deion was talking to Deion Sanders, saying that the economics just didn't, it didn't work for the black universities to go to these classes. It was like, it wasn't feasible.
00:30:48
Speaker 2: Was he talking about the classics, or was he talking about playing the power teams? Because there was an article that he was saying that these HBCUs or the money that they get to go to these games, these football games, and play the Notre Dames or the LSUs or Ohio States or what have you, the money that they get, it pales by comparison to what some of the other non-conference, non-Power 5 schools get. And one of the comparisons was $ 650, 000 to $ 1. 5 or $ 1. 2 million. He wasn't saying don't go. He was saying demand more money if you want us to come. But I don't remember or recall anything about particular classics, so to speak, because I know one of the expenses of the classic was transportation for the football teams and the bands and the like and their equipment and everything. And that got to be Pretty expensive. I believe Alice was saying on the show, you know, it gets into the millions for one particular school.
00:31:56
Speaker 1: So I don't know what the school would be paying for.
00:31:59
Speaker 2: But, you know, if you're invited as a guest of the classic, that tab is on them, which is why money dries up quicker and quickly. in terms of getting the big guns, so to speak. So I'm not quite sure if it's the same thing. I'd have to look and see, look a little bit closer at that article that I sent to Dionne Levingston, actually, about Dionne, and what Dionne was saying was these HBCUs are getting shafted, so to speak, in terms of the money that they're being offered as opposed to the money non-HBCU teams are being offered. And if they're going to play and you want them to play, have them demand more money.
00:32:38
Speaker 17: Exactly. That's why he pulled Jackson State out of the— they were doing the Bayou Classic or something like that. It was another classic that was down south.
00:32:48
Speaker 10: And he pulled that team out because of.
00:32:51
Speaker 2: The— The Bayou Classic is— Jackson State would have not been in the Bayou Classic. That's always Southern and Grambling, isn't it? I mean, that's the standing— it' s the same two teams every year for the Bayou Classic.
00:33:04
Speaker 10: Every year, okay.
00:33:06
Speaker 17: Yeah, this one, I know whatever classic Jackson State was in, Dion pulled them out.
00:33:10
Speaker 1: Okay, yeah. No, the Bayou, that's ingrained.
00:33:15
Speaker 17: Yeah, and then a lot of the bands started getting demand. A lot of the black marching bands were getting demand.
00:33:21
Speaker 1: Yeah, they do. Well, they're international. They go to Europe. They go everywhere, and you have to get in.
00:33:25
Speaker 17: They were getting a lot of revenue going international. So that's why we see a lot of bands are like, well, we can't get the band booked because they're overseas playing them.
00:33:36
Speaker 1: And they're getting paid. And they're getting paid.
00:33:41
Speaker 3: All right.
00:33:41
Speaker 17: Spot on about that. You know, I noticed how they didn't want the classic and the Black Expo downtown Indianapolis, period. I know, especially, I remember Marcia Bennett.
00:33:53
Speaker 1: Yes, yes.
00:33:56
Speaker 17: I ran into her at the job, what place I was working at. And she was just, you know, glancing over that they were trying to, you know, pretty much Run them out of downtown and get them to move to the fairgrounds, which it was sad, but I agree. Downtown ain't not the same. It looks like Gotham City at nighttime when you go down there.
00:34:16
Speaker 1: Okay, okay. Got to go, George. Got to get a commercial break in here, but thank you. Thank you for your call. Appreciate it. We'll be right back right after this.
00:34:25
Speaker 6: WTLC AM, W236 CR Indianapolis. Broadcasting from the Praise Indy Indigo Studios. Discussing the issues that matter to you. It's Community Connection with Tina Cosby on Praise AM 1310, 95.1 FM.
00:34:42
Speaker 1: And we're back.
00:34:44
Speaker 2: As we were saying earlier, top of the show, the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization, founded in 1909. Just a few of their major legal and legislative.
00:35:00
Speaker 1: Accomplishments over the years. And again, these are just a few. Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
00:35:07
Speaker 2: That was argued by then-Attorney and future former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, where the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutionally, quote, inherently unequal overturning Plessy versus Ferguson. There was also, as you very well know, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, backed by heavy NAACP lobbying and activism, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Clarence Mitchell Jr. and the NAACP's Washington Bureau helped push forward this crucial law, banning discriminatory voting hurdles like literacy tests. Again, just a few victories of this storied institution, and there are many, many, many more. This Friday evening at the Rich Charles in Carmel, the Greater Indianapolis NAACP will host its 55th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet. Part of that banquet will be a fireside chat featuring our next guest. But before we bring him on, I want to play for you A public service announcement, you all probably have seen it, heard it, or read about it.
00:36:13
Speaker 1: Anyway, it's a PSA.
00:36:15
Speaker 2: It's with actress and activist Jennifer Lewis, and it's a PSA that summarizes the fight the NAACP is in right now.
00:36:24
Speaker 1: Take a quick listen.
00:36:26
Speaker 18: Hello, everyone.
00:36:27
Speaker 8: I'm Jennifer Lewis.
00:36:30
Speaker 18: All of us have fought long and hard to make a better world for ourselves and our children. But right now, our freedoms and our futures are under attack. Hospitals are closing in our communities. The racial wealth gap is growing. Education for our children is being defunded and dismantled. All this and more is happening right now. We cannot, we must not be silent. That's why I'm asking you to join me in supporting the NAACP. So please, call or go online to keepadvancing.org right now. For $ 19 a month, only 63 cents a day, you can become an NAACP champion for change. Let's reclaim our power and our rights. The NAACP is on the front lines, fighting to keep hospitals open, pushing for economic justice, protecting education, and holding leaders accountable at every level.
00:37:52
Speaker 1: But they cannot do it without us.
00:37:57
Speaker 18: Join me by calling the number on your screen or going online to donate monthly.
00:38:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's that PSA, and I'm sure if you're like me, it's across all screens, and it's an urgent call to action.
00:38:17
Speaker 1: Anyway, we have a guest. We have a guest.
00:38:20
Speaker 2: He is the Senior National Director of Advocacy for the NAACP. He is Wisdom Cole.
00:38:26
Speaker 5: Mr.
00:38:27
Speaker 1: Cole, thank you for joining us. How are you doing today?
00:38:30
Speaker 10: I'm doing well, Tina.
00:38:31
Speaker 9: Thank you so much for having me.
00:38:32
Speaker 1: Oh, thank you for being here with us.
00:38:34
Speaker 2: So you're coming to town Friday for the annual Freedom Fund banquet, the 55th annual Freedom Fund banquet. What is it that you're going to be talking about?
00:38:48
Speaker 16: Yes, absolutely.
00:38:48
Speaker 20: You know, I'm very excited to be coming to Indianapolis to join the Greater Indianapolis NACP for their 55th Annual Freedom Fund Banquet. I've heard this is an amazing experience, an amazing time. You know, the theme for this banquet is We the People, which is actually the theme that we had there for our national convention that took place in Chicago. And I think this message is very, very important right now. Democracy and civil rights aren't things we simply inherit. They're things each generation has to participate in, protect, and move forward. So I'm looking forward to talking about the power that is already in Indiana, the power that is in Indianapolis. amongst our communities, whether we're talking about voting rights, economic opportunity, education, or the issues affecting our families every day. Change happens when people are organized and know how to turn their concerns into action.
00:39:43
Speaker 9: That's especially important.
00:39:45
Speaker 20: Because we are 36 days away from the midterm elections. and everybody has to vote. And so it's important that we start to galvanize one another to turn out this November 3rd, and even better yet, turn out early.
00:39:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, early indeed. So how do we do that?
00:40:02
Speaker 2: How do we get people to understand that they have access to every level of power that they could possibly want?
00:40:10
Speaker 1: How do we do that?
00:40:12
Speaker 20: Yeah, oftentimes people ask me, how do I get involved? Do I need to come to Washington, D.C.? You know, national conversations do matter. But so much of the work of civil rights happens locally, right? The power is in our neighborhoods. It happens when we organize. It happens when we show up to school board meetings. It happens when we engage with elected officials. register and mobilize voters and build coalitions around issues that impact our communities. We recognize that strong local branches are so important to the fabric of the NAACP. So coming out to events like Freedom Fund Dinners allows us to build, connect, restore, and continue to fight ahead at least for the next 36 days and beyond.
00:40:56
Speaker 2: So what are we looking at, and what is the NAACP nationally, and I guess the local chat, what are you working on right now?
00:41:06
Speaker 1: Actress Lewis, Ms.
00:41:07
Speaker 2: Lewis, a civil rights activist, was talking about how we're under attack in so many different areas. Is there any one of these areas that she identified that is more crucial than the other that the NAACP is looking to get to right away, or are they all under the same umbrella?
00:41:26
Speaker 20: Yeah, you know, the NAACP is working diligent and hard to make sure that we are turning out Black voters for this midterm election. But the reason why we are working to turn out Black voters is to ensure that we are working every day to build Black political, social, and economic power. Right now, that means so much to us because we have to protect our voting rights. After the decision that we saw this summer, after Calais, Black voters were mobilizing because they recognized how important voting rights is to the fabric of America. and to our future. It's connected to our economic opportunities. It's connected to our affordability. It's connected to our representation directly in Congress. It's connected to protecting access to quality education, as well as environmental and health inequities. These are all things that are happening right now in 2026. Oftentimes, we feel like there is a barrage of issues impacting us all at the exact same time. That's why it's important for us to use the tools that are in front of us, right?
00:42:27
Speaker 11: Use our vote.
00:42:28
Speaker 20: Turn out the ballot. Make sure that we are heading to the midterm elections and being prepared not only to turn out ourselves, but to turn out our communities, right? My challenge to you and to your audience is to ensure that you are using the power of five, right? Who are five people in your community that you can educate, that you can make sure are voting early or voting on time, that you can make sure have a right to the polls, who are informed about what is on their ballot, More than ever, we need people to lean in and stay engaged and pay attention to what is happening, right? Voting is connected to the issues that people care about the most, right? We talk about affordability. We talk about the cost of college. We talked about the cost of child care, right? Access to health care. All these things are connected to the ballot. And so if we want to change the future of America, it starts by making sure that we turn out this November.
00:43:19
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:43:20
Speaker 1: The power of five. I love that. I love that.
00:43:22
Speaker 2: Can you repeat that so that our listeners can can get that? Because I want to underscore that.
00:43:28
Speaker 20: The power of five, the power of five is so important. We all have people in our families, our aunties, our uncles, our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our neighbors, our community leaders who are just down the street, right? People you may see at the grocery store. The power of five says, I'm going to be responsible for five people to make sure that they are registered, that they are educated, that they have access to the ballot and are able to turn out to the polls. If that's either by getting a ride, if that's by going to a march to the poll, if that's by, you know, being there on Sunday, being.
00:44:01
Speaker 10: A part of a soul to the polls.
00:44:03
Speaker 20: If you are part of a divine organization, you may stroll to the poll.
00:44:07
Speaker 16: Right.
00:44:07
Speaker 20: Whatever way you choose to get there, you got to get there.
00:44:10
Speaker 5: Right.
00:44:10
Speaker 20: And so the power of five says I'm taking that responsibility to ensure not just me, but five other people in my community also harness that power and continue to turn out to protect our voting rights and protect our future.
00:44:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, indeed.
00:44:24
Speaker 2: The NAACP has a rich legal and legislative history, as I was saying in the introduction. Anything that the public can support the organization with underway now in terms of law, legality, legislative measures underway that the NAACP is involved in?
00:44:46
Speaker 20: Yeah, I think what people can do is continuing to build up the association and stay involved, right? And the way that we do that is through membership, right? If you are not a member of the NAACP, I encourage you to join. your local branch, to join your local unit, to come with us to the Freedom Fund Dinner this Friday from.
00:45:06
Speaker 10: 6 to 9 p.m.
00:45:07
Speaker 20: To learn more about the association and how you can get involved on a day-to-day basis.
00:45:12
Speaker 10: Indeed.
00:45:13
Speaker 1: Well, thank you very much, and we look forward to you being here with us on Friday.
00:45:18
Speaker 2: And by then, there'll be even a few days closer to the midterm elections. And so, Any final words before we have to let you go that you can say to our listeners to encourage them to please, please, please get out there and vote during these midterms?
00:45:36
Speaker 20: Absolutely. You know, I'm super excited to be joining you all this Friday. Excited to meet people in person. I want to remind people that civil rights has never been expected or sport. We believe that people mean that we have a role to play. And The next 36 days are going to be absolutely critical for us to use all of our voices to come together, celebrate how far we've come, and organize for the future that we want to see.
00:46:03
Speaker 10: Thank you so much for.
00:46:04
Speaker 20: Having me, Tina.
00:46:04
Speaker 1: Thank you for being with us. Look forward to you being here. Thank you. Wisdom O.
00:46:08
Speaker 2: Cole, Senior National Director of Advocacy for the NAACP. He is coming here Friday. October the 2nd, he'll be at the Rich Charles in Carmel for the Indianapolis' NAACP, the Greater Indianapolis NAACP's 55th Annual Freedom Fund Dinner. If you want to find out more about that or attend the dinner, you can go to indianaacp.org. Again, indianaacp.org. The dinner, the awards, the banquet, the fireside chat in which Mr. Cole is going to be involved. is going to be underway as well as some other things. So Rich Charles and Carmel, this Friday, October 2nd. So I want to apologize if we can.
00:46:58
Speaker 1: It seems like our.
00:47:01
Speaker 2: Sound is taking off for some reason. And again, this is all a result of an update. So if our guests or callers are sounding a little bit Alvin and the Chipmunk-ish-y, Our engineers, as I'm looking right now, as I'm looking at them right now, they're working too. But hopefully you were able to hear and understand what Mr. Cole was saying. And so, so very important. And what people can do, support the organization. The organization is, you know, people say, well, the NAACP is good at suing people. Yeah, they're good at that. And that's why they've had the legislative victories. Like the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act. That's why they've had the legal victories, you know, in court.
00:47:48
Speaker 1: Like Brown v. Board of Education.
00:47:51
Speaker 2: And again, those are just some of the more well-known ones. There are, if not hundreds, of other victories that this organization has been able to secure for the rights of African Americans here in the United States of America, and they continue to do so.
00:48:07
Speaker 1: So it's going to take all hands on deck.
00:48:10
Speaker 2: You know, all hands on deck because the onslaught and the campaign to take away what has been gained through organizations like the NAACP, the Urban League, National Action, the Voting Rights.
00:48:28
Speaker 1: All of those things, it's a full-on assault on everything.
00:48:33
Speaker 2: So, you know, we have to protect what we have, make sure that nothing more, and then try to get back what we lost. but we can't do it by ourselves.
00:48:42
Speaker 8: Just imagine if we didn't have them. I can't either. I can't either.
00:48:48
Speaker 1: I can't imagine. So much is being whittled away.
00:48:52
Speaker 8: It whittled away. You're right about that. It's being done slowly.
00:48:58
Speaker 1: Slow burn.
00:48:59
Speaker 8: Slow burn.
00:48:59
Speaker 1: Yeah, so there's that.
00:49:02
Speaker 2: But again, their annual Freedom Fund banquet, 55th, coming up October 2nd, Indy naacp.org is.
00:49:11
Speaker 1: The website for that. So, we have that.
00:49:15
Speaker 2: So, yeah, we were having a conversation about just, you know, how the weekend went.
00:49:23
Speaker 1: I think we're all in agreement that.
00:49:28
Speaker 2: Most people would like to see the Circle City Classic remain and would like to see.
00:49:36
Speaker 2: You know, it's hard to say, well, you know, let's have it. Even the Indianapolis 500.
00:49:41
Speaker 1: Isn't what it once was.
00:49:42
Speaker 8: No, it's not. It's not the same.
00:49:43
Speaker 2: Things change over time. And certain things within time dictate those changes. But we have had the time change, you know, the changes that naturally occur over time coupled with just a lack of interest, a lack of enthusiasm, a lack of attendance for better, you know, for better.
00:50:07
Speaker 1: Say it a better way, a lack of attendance.
00:50:09
Speaker 8: And the lack of attendance didn't just start.
00:50:11
Speaker 1: No, no, no, no, no.
00:50:12
Speaker 8: It's been going on for a while.
00:50:14
Speaker 2: Seems like we have this conversation every year, either after summer celebration or after classic. And like I said, if we're honest, and we are, this has been a steady decline for at least the last 10 years, maybe 11. I don't know, but I do recall having a conversation at the Indiana Convention Center with Amos Brown, who, former host of This Time Slot show. It wasn't this show because it was Afternoons with Amos.
00:50:46
Speaker 1: That was the show. But it was This Time Slot.
00:50:49
Speaker 2: And he was very concerned. And he's been gone since 15, so it might have been 14, maybe a year. It may have been the year that he passed, but he always stopped by the booth and talked. and went over the numbers, which went over my head a lot of times. When I tell you how brilliant he was with numbers, I don't know that I can describe it accurately. I don't know that I can accurately describe it, but it would just blow you away.
00:51:20
Speaker 1: But he, I.
00:51:22
Speaker 2: Don't think he had an answer per se, But he had very stark observations, very concerning observations, I'll put it that way. And in terms of how to stop the bleeding, so to speak, the numbers never really went into that, but he was just concerned about what the numbers were showing.
00:51:44
Speaker 1: The trending, as we say now.
00:51:46
Speaker 8: Yeah, the trending, exactly.
00:51:48
Speaker 10: 317-480-1310, 317-480-1310.
00:51:48
Speaker 2: We also talked about the Universal Circus. which was here for a 10-day run. Very successful run. Very good run.
00:52:01
Speaker 1: You went yesterday. I went yesterday. I didn't see you because I was leaving a new company.
00:52:07
Speaker 8: You might have passed her in the traffic.
00:52:09
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you see, probably.
00:52:12
Speaker 2: I followed some cars and took a little bit of a shortcut and Rode over some grass.
00:52:17
Speaker 8: Well, there was.
00:52:19
Speaker 1: A little path.
00:52:19
Speaker 8: Well, that was you.
00:52:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was me.
00:52:22
Speaker 8: I saw some dust blowing up.
00:52:23
Speaker 1: Yeah, that was me. That was me. Yeah, dust, yeah.
00:52:25
Speaker 8: A number of people found that path.
00:52:26
Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh, you know the path I'm talking about?
00:52:29
Speaker 8: I saw it on the way out.
00:52:30
Speaker 14: I didn't use it, but I saw it.
00:52:31
Speaker 15: I did.
00:52:32
Speaker 1: I'm just saying.
00:52:33
Speaker 8: The only reason I didn't.
00:52:34
Speaker 14: Use it is because I just cleaned our cars on, what, Friday or something like that?
00:52:40
Speaker 8: Oh, see, Mr.
00:52:40
Speaker 15: Clean.
00:52:41
Speaker 8: I don't want to get all that dust on it, so.
00:52:44
Speaker 1: I was ready to go home.
00:52:45
Speaker 2: But anyway, 317-480-1310. Let's go back to the phone lines.
00:52:52
Speaker 1: Paula, go ahead. How are you?
00:52:54
Speaker 5: Good afternoon.
00:52:55
Speaker 7: How are you?
00:52:56
Speaker 16: I'm good.
00:52:56
Speaker 19: Thank you.
00:52:58
Speaker 5: I wanted to call.
00:53:00
Speaker 7: I was on earlier to make a comment or observation about the attendance of Circle City Classic that has kind of dwindled over the years. And I heard someone say last week, and I don't know if it was Thought about that, but when it first started back in the late 80s, there were only probably about five or six classics. And now I think I heard it's like close to 20-something.
00:53:27
Speaker 1: That's true. That's true. There's a lot more to choose from.
00:53:30
Speaker 7: Yeah. And so I think that's one of the things we've got a lot more competition, you know, with other states.
00:53:36
Speaker 1: Well, exactly.
00:53:37
Speaker 2: And when our classic started, I believe it was modeled after the Bayou Classic, if I'm not mistaken. So there there was only one, maybe two others.
00:53:48
Speaker 1: I don't know.
00:53:48
Speaker 2: But the idea was to bring that tradition to the Midwest for everybody who doesn't get to experience and enjoy the black college tradition. And the black college football tradition is steeped in history with the Bayou Classic, with the Grambling and Southern.
00:54:09
Speaker 8: Exactly.
00:54:10
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:54:10
Speaker 12: So I think that's a big part of it as well.
00:54:14
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah.
00:54:15
Speaker 1: Indeed.
00:54:16
Speaker 11: Yeah.
00:54:16
Speaker 1: A lot. Thank you, Paula.
00:54:17
Speaker 2: Very good point that just the choices. Everybody wants one now. You know, everybody is trying to do. Some of them have folded, if I'm not mistaken. They just they can't keep up with. the expense of presenting such a thing. So there's that.
00:54:34
Speaker 1: Ann, you have a comment. Go ahead. How are you?
00:54:37
Speaker 10: Yes.
00:54:38
Speaker 12: I like the classic and Black Expo. But I like where the exhibits is. So if they could keep that and put more into that, That might draw a lot of people as well. And I heard somebody was talking about walking and transportation. Maybe they could get some walking. Well, it's kind of like walking close downtown.
00:55:12
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's just going to be. I'm sorry. That's just part of it.
00:55:15
Speaker 2: Because you go to a Colts game, you go to a Pacers game, you go to anything down there. I mean, that's just part of the course.
00:55:21
Speaker 1: It just is. And I have some.
00:55:24
Speaker 2: friends in chicago who were just blown away by how cheap it was to park downtown for events because they're talking.
00:55:34
Speaker 8: Rates compared to chicago.
00:55:35
Speaker 2: Yeah that's what they were saying 65 and 70 dollars to start and that's that's a nice little walk that's not the premium parking and so they they were only too happy to pay between 20 and 35 dollars They were like, yes, yes, we'll do it.
00:55:50
Speaker 12: I was getting ready to say, everything is just so spread out. It's just the way it is downtown.
00:55:55
Speaker 2: Well, part of the attraction of downtown, though, is that it is not spread out, that you can walk from the Fieldhouse over to Lucas Oil in five or ten minutes. So that is part of the draw that keeps conventions and sporting events and things to, downtown keeps keeps the draw as part of the draw to downtown is because everything is so uh close by and you don't need the hotels and all the other stuff you don't have to go here yonder and everywhere so i guess it's all in your.
00:56:27
Speaker 1: Perception huh what about the fairgrounds.
00:56:31
Speaker 2: What meaning in regards to what having something at the fairgrounds.
00:56:35
Speaker 12: Moving the event to the fairgrounds, you think it will draw more people or what?
00:56:41
Speaker 1: I have no idea.
00:56:42
Speaker 10: Okay.
00:56:44
Speaker 2: I know the fairgrounds is attractive for a lot of folks because it's right there on the bus line. So you can get on, you know, but this is not a bus riding city.
00:56:56
Speaker 1: It's not.
00:56:57
Speaker 8: That's very true.
00:56:58
Speaker 9: I mean, if it.
00:56:59
Speaker 2: Were, there would be more routes and more stops along popular routes.
00:57:04
Speaker 8: That's true.
00:57:05
Speaker 2: Because that has been explained to us. So until ridership goes up, we're not even going to get more.
00:57:10
Speaker 8: That's true.
00:57:11
Speaker 1: We just don't have the ridership that some of the other cities do.
00:57:13
Speaker 8: Yeah, ridership.
00:57:14
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:57:15
Speaker 12: I just love the exhibit hall during Black Day.
00:57:17
Speaker 1: But downtown's on the bus line, too.
00:57:20
Speaker 15: It is.
00:57:21
Speaker 8: It is. Red line.
00:57:23
Speaker 16: Mm-hmm.
00:57:24
Speaker 12: Hopefully I can get more traction in there because I notice it's not as much attraction.
00:57:30
Speaker 5: As it used to be. Yeah.
00:57:31
Speaker 12: But like you said, everything is money.
00:57:34
Speaker 1: Everything costs money.
00:57:35
Speaker 2: Even bus fares going up.
00:57:38
Speaker 8: Yeah, it is.
00:57:39
Speaker 2: It went up shortly, a small amount, small amount, briefly. A brief time ago, let me put it that way. A short time ago, it went up very, you know, incrementally.
00:57:50
Speaker 1: It wasn't a whole lot, but it went up. It went up. All righty, thank you. Thank you, Ann. I appreciate that. But yeah, everything is more.
00:57:57
Speaker 2: And I suspect that with buses, I didn't even think about that, that there may be another unexpected fare hike with diesel.
00:58:06
Speaker 1: The cost of diesel.
00:58:08
Speaker 8: Well, now the one thing... Oh, no, no, no.
00:58:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, right.
00:58:10
Speaker 8: The red line and purple line buses are electric. Electric, that's right. So they avoid the diesel thing.
00:58:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, they avoid the diesel. But the rest of them are.
00:58:17
Speaker 8: The rest aren't. They're diesel.
00:58:19
Speaker 9: Yeah.
00:58:19
Speaker 1: So we only have... What, four, the red, blue, purple, and.
00:58:22
Speaker 8: Yeah, well, the blue is on, they're still working on the blue.
00:58:26
Speaker 5: Yeah.
00:58:26
Speaker 8: So we just have the red and the purple right now.
00:58:28
Speaker 9: Yeah.
00:58:28
Speaker 1: So we only have three lines. Yeah, three, once that's up and running. The other lines have diesel.
00:58:34
Speaker 8: Yeah, they have diesel. All the others use diesel.
00:58:36
Speaker 1: Look for another increment.
00:58:37
Speaker 8: You think that's coming?
00:58:38
Speaker 1: No, I don't know.
00:58:40
Speaker 2: I don't think they want to. They do a pretty good job of keeping fares down.
00:58:44
Speaker 8: They have, historically.
00:58:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, so.
00:58:48
Speaker 2: 317-480-1310.
00:58:51
Speaker 1: Can you let me know who this is?
00:58:52
Speaker 8: It is Gaga.
00:58:53
Speaker 1: Gaga.
00:58:54
Speaker 5: Okay.
00:58:54
Speaker 8: Gaga. Are you there?
00:58:57
Speaker 12: Hello?
00:58:57
Speaker 8: Gaga, you still with us?
00:58:58
Speaker 5: She had a comment.
00:59:00
Speaker 14: I think she said her grandchildren went to some of the festivities.
00:59:04
Speaker 8: Oh, okay.
00:59:05
Speaker 14: I don't know if she's still there.
00:59:07
Speaker 1: Are you there?
00:59:08
Speaker 8: Gaga, are you there? Maybe she's not.
00:59:11
Speaker 1: Maybe she's not.
00:59:12
Speaker 8: She's become very shy. Well, she can call us back.
00:59:15
Speaker 1: You can call us back, yeah. Okay.
00:59:17
Speaker 2: In the meantime, let's go ahead and take a quick commercial break right here, and we'll be back.
00:59:35
Speaker 6: Let's get back to the conversation. It's Community Connection with Tina Cosby from the Praise Indie Indigo Studios on Praise AM 1310, 95.1 FM.
00:59:50
Speaker 1: And we are back. I think we've pretty much.
00:59:56
Speaker 10: I don't know.
00:59:57
Speaker 1: It's complicated. You know what? That's what we probably should have said earlier.
01:00:01
Speaker 8: It's complicated.
01:00:02
Speaker 1: It's complicated.
01:00:03
Speaker 8: It's complicated.
01:00:04
Speaker 2: If it were just one thing, that would have been resolved a long, long, long time ago.
01:00:08
Speaker 1: But it's not. It's complicated.
01:00:10
Speaker 8: That's true.
01:00:11
Speaker 1: It's complicated. You know, populations change.
01:00:14
Speaker 8: That's very true.
01:00:16
Speaker 1: The budget changes.
01:00:17
Speaker 8: The budget in a big way.
01:00:19
Speaker 1: In a big way.
01:00:20
Speaker 2: I don't know anyone not wrestling with budgetary issues from the average family going to the grocery store to, you know, organizations and not-for-profits. And, you know, There are some places that have done phenomenal work, you know, like the Neighborhood Community Center.
01:00:38
Speaker 1: There was one out there at 71st and Michigan Road. It was Glick.
01:00:42
Speaker 8: Oh, yes, Glick.
01:00:43
Speaker 2: Yeah, they were supposed to be temporarily closing.
01:00:47
Speaker 1: That was more than a year ago. That was a year and a half ago.
01:00:49
Speaker 8: Right, I remember that.
01:00:50
Speaker 1: They were supposed to reopen.
01:00:52
Speaker 2: They were just closing to reorganize or what have you, but there's no money. Yeah, the money is just dried up. And so you drive past there. And I thought about that the other day because I drove past.
01:01:03
Speaker 1: I said, oh, yeah. What happened?
01:01:05
Speaker 2: I mean, all the buses are gone. It's overgrown. It just looks like abandoned property now. It doesn't look anything like a place that's getting ready to reopen for business or that had to shut down temporarily to reorganize or what have you. So we are hoping that that's not going.
01:01:22
Speaker 1: To be the case.
01:01:23
Speaker 8: Hopefully not.
01:01:25
Speaker 1: Classic and things.
01:01:25
Speaker 14: Of that classic going yeah and again being open to different ideas i think as i was saying off the air uh well you know maybe no idea is a bad idea just an idea get together meeting of the minds and toss some thoughts around and like making a salad put what you need in there and mix it up and what do you come up with you know talk to some other uh other event cities maybe.
01:01:49
Speaker 8: Just to get an idea how they uh well navigate.
01:01:52
Speaker 2: It i'd have to look and see um Because I understand, if my conversation was correct, I understand even the bioclassic is navigating some rough waters.
01:02:03
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. You have to. It has to be.
01:02:06
Speaker 8: Yeah, because financially, everybody's being affected by the tariffs. All of that.
01:02:13
Speaker 14: It's affecting all of us. I think some people thought that would affect, you know, one direction.
01:02:18
Speaker 8: But no, it's like affecting all of us.
01:02:21
Speaker 1: You know.
01:02:22
Speaker 2: And I was so sorry that, excuse me, we had some audio difficulties because Wisdom Cole from the NAACP was dropping so much wisdom, literally, and knowledge and just everyday strategies for us to stay involved, to be involved and to stay involved and to, you know.
01:02:41
Speaker 1: Stay the course.
01:02:42
Speaker 2: Because this is serious stuff that is being, you know, just dwindling away. And His fireside chat at the Freedom Fund Banquet coming up Friday at the Ritz Charles in Carmel is going to be impactful, I'm sure. It's going to be very impactful. So, you know, I'm sure they're going to have great attendance there. And, you know, they're going to continue the work.
01:03:11
Speaker 8: Yes, most definitely. IndyNAACP.org.
01:03:15
Speaker 1: IndyNAACP.org.
01:03:17
Speaker 2: And, you know, this is a young person with an old soul.
01:03:20
Speaker 1: He's quite young.
01:03:22
Speaker 2: He's a senior national director of advocacy for the NAACP, but he was previously the national director for the NAACP Youth and College Division.
01:03:32
Speaker 10: Oh.
01:03:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, served more than 700 youth councils, high school chapters, and college chapters actively involved in the fight for civil rights.
01:03:40
Speaker 18: Mm-hmm.
01:03:41
Speaker 2: Extensive experience in civil rights advocacy and electoral action training, grassroots organizing and issues, toolkits and webinars and all the like. So he's got quite an extensive resume.
01:03:55
Speaker 8: Sounds like it.
01:03:55
Speaker 1: At such an early, such a young age, such a young age. Wow.
01:03:59
Speaker 2: But he knows what he knows and he knows what he's talking about and sharing it.
01:04:05
Speaker 1: I just hope.
01:04:08
Speaker 2: We don't take this election or the opportunity to participate in the election for granted.
01:04:15
Speaker 8: Should not.
01:04:16
Speaker 2: Because on the for real, you may not. I mean, I'm not exaggerating. None of us are when we say this. This could be if they if they have their way.
01:04:26
Speaker 1: The last time. What was that? Trump said you vote for me and you won't have to vote in another.
01:04:29
Speaker 11: Yeah.
01:04:30
Speaker 1: Yeah. I think that's the plan.
01:04:33
Speaker 8: That should be chilling. Those words should be chilling.
01:04:36
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
01:04:37
Speaker 1: They should be.
01:04:37
Speaker 8: Very much so.
01:04:38
Speaker 1: They should be. And the, you know, we the people. Still a democracy. Yeah, still a democracy.
01:04:49
Speaker 2: And it's a collectiveness to that phrase, that theme for the Freedom Fund banquet. And as he says, that theme of collectiveness is what we have to work under. You know, we have to work under that and think that way as opposed to individually.
01:05:09
Speaker 8: We must.
01:05:10
Speaker 5: Yeah.
01:05:11
Speaker 2: Because individually, does anybody ever get everything that they want, exactly everything that they want?
01:05:16
Speaker 5: No.
01:05:16
Speaker 1: I mean, think about when you were younger.
01:05:18
Speaker 8: I don't know.
01:05:19
Speaker 2: Well, I just think that that's just an unrealistic expectation to put on your vote.
01:05:23
Speaker 8: And to get everything.
01:05:24
Speaker 1: And on a candidate.
01:05:24
Speaker 8: Everything, everything, everything I want to get.
01:05:27
Speaker 2: Think about writing when you were younger, if you were so inclined. On your Christmas list to Santa Claus.
01:05:32
Speaker 8: Oh, I was a super good kid. Well, yeah, I was a good kid.
01:05:36
Speaker 1: But didn't Portia ask to make a list?
01:05:37
Speaker 8: Still, yeah, make a list. Did I get everything?
01:05:38
Speaker 18: Uh-huh.
01:05:39
Speaker 1: Did you get everything on that list?
01:05:40
Speaker 9: Uh-uh.
01:05:40
Speaker 1: What'd you get? You got what you needed.
01:05:42
Speaker 8: Yeah, what I needed, maybe a couple of things.
01:05:44
Speaker 1: And a couple of what you wanted.
01:05:45
Speaker 8: Yeah, that was it.
01:05:46
Speaker 1: But did you swear off Santa?
01:05:50
Speaker 15: No.
01:05:50
Speaker 1: Well.
01:05:51
Speaker 8: No, no.
01:05:51
Speaker 15: No, no.
01:05:53
Speaker 1: I mean, that's probably one of the most simplistic analogies. That is very simplistic.
01:05:57
Speaker 2: But it speaks to, I think, sometimes the unrealistic expectation that we have with our vote. Well, this candidate is not this, this, this, this, this, and that, and I'm not going to vote because blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and I.
01:06:09
Speaker 1: Don't get it.
01:06:09
Speaker 3: No.
01:06:10
Speaker 8: I didn't get this. I didn't get that.
01:06:12
Speaker 2: Get what's in your best interest and what is in the overall best interest, and then work on it after you place your vote. That's what holding people accountable is. Work on it after you place your vote.
01:06:23
Speaker 8: True.
01:06:23
Speaker 2: And that's been explained so many times. to our listeners by public officials publicly elected officials that give us something to do let us do our job you all elected us you all pay our salaries give us something to do and don't wait until something happens and then ask us to go back and fix it if you can let us know in in advance it may not always be the answer but and and some sometimes it is though but Get used to doing that.
01:06:55
Speaker 1: Get used to the process, I guess. I don't know. I don't know.
01:07:00
Speaker 2: I just don't want our enthusiasm to wane. That's why we're bringing, starting next Monday, Julia Vaughn in. She's with Common Cause Indiana, the executive director of Common Cause Indiana. We also want to remind everyone, we'd be remiss if we didn't, especially after A great interview with Mr.
01:07:24
Speaker 7: Cole.
01:07:26
Speaker 2: We want to remind everyone that the last day to register to.
01:07:30
Speaker 1: Vote in the state of Indiana is Monday, October the 5th.
01:07:35
Speaker 8: A week from today.
01:07:37
Speaker 1: One week from today.
01:07:38
Speaker 8: From today.
01:07:39
Speaker 2: Is the last day to register to vote. If you are hearing us, please check your voter registration. Make sure everything is in order. Make sure you are there and make sure you are active. Go to indianavoters.com, indianavoters.com, and you can take.
01:07:57
Speaker 1: Care of all of it. While you're at it, what's the principle, the five, what was it? Let me say it exactly correct. Let's see.
01:08:10
Speaker 2: Well, anyway, the power of five, the power of five. I love that, the power of five.
01:08:17
Speaker 1: Power 5. Take somebody with you if you can.
01:08:20
Speaker 2: Take somebody with you.
01:08:23
Speaker 1: 317-480-1310.
01:08:24
Speaker 2: Right after next Monday, a week from tomorrow, is the first day of early voting.
01:08:28
Speaker 1: And again, Mr.
01:08:30
Speaker 2: Cole from the NAACP said vote early. This is from the national chapter, the national offices of the NAACP. He's saying vote early.
01:08:40
Speaker 8: Vote early.
01:08:41
Speaker 1: Vote as early as you can. I'm going to go as early as I can.
01:08:45
Speaker 8: It's a good idea. Get it done early. You've got it done.
01:08:48
Speaker 14: You don't have to wonder or be worried about, oh, am I going to make.
01:08:51
Speaker 8: It in time?
01:08:55
Speaker 1: Nope, nope, nope. Vote early. Vote early. 317-480-1310, 317-480-1310. Anita, go ahead. How are you?
01:09:01
Speaker 6: Hello, Tina?
01:09:03
Speaker 1: Yes, this is Tina.
01:09:06
Speaker 5: I don't usually call in, but I had a few comments I wanted to make. There's some history to Black Expo and the classic that the younger people and maybe some people don't know. They talk about going to the fairgrounds. I think when Black Expo first started, it was like 70 or 71. That was the first place they went to the fairgrounds.
01:09:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it did. Didn't it start at the fairgrounds?
01:09:34
Speaker 18: Yeah.
01:09:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay. That's okay. I've heard that.
01:09:39
Speaker 5: The second year they moved to the Convention Center. That was the year the Convention Center opened? Mm-hmm.
01:09:45
Speaker 8: 1972.
01:09:47
Speaker 16: 1972.
01:09:50
Speaker 5: So they did start at the fairgrounds, but when the convention center opened, it was like an upgrade, and everyone was really excited. But down through the years, I think people have kind of been unfair to Black Expo and the Classic, because I notice now that they use the name and the outside people, the promoters, bring the tours in and everything, and instead of them working with Expo, it seems like the money is going to the tours and the promoters, in my opinion. Because it used to be, that was a big thing back in the years, Black Expo and the Jazz Festival. But now there's so many different things that people can go to, and they just don't have the money to spread around or the time to go to all these things. So I kind of feel like Expo got the raw end. So I just wanted to say that. Yeah.
01:10:50
Speaker 1: Yeah.
01:10:52
Speaker 2: There's a lot to that as well, because regardless of what you have, there's always.
01:10:56
Speaker 1: Going to be something competing, you know, some kind of competing interest.
01:11:00
Speaker 2: But the key has been remaining relevant.
01:11:03
Speaker 1: You know what I mean?
01:11:04
Speaker 2: Remaining relevant, interesting and keeping excitement around it.
01:11:09
Speaker 1: And so that as well as.
01:11:12
Speaker 2: Dealing with dwindling resources is, is a difficult balancing act.
01:11:16
Speaker 1: And you're right.
01:11:17
Speaker 2: You know, sometimes they get criticized unfairly for things that are beyond their control.
01:11:24
Speaker 1: On the other hand, I.
01:11:28
Speaker 19: Don't know.
01:11:29
Speaker 2: How much do we support? I mean, could we support things like that more?
01:11:33
Speaker 5: I think we could. Like I said, there's so many things going on now. It used to be, they used the name, like the Weekend Everything came here, but now it seems like I hear more outside tours and everything coming in, and Expo doesn't get the money.
01:11:53
Speaker 1: What do you mean? What do you mean?
01:11:57
Speaker 2: Outside tours? You mean outside tours you're talking about?
01:12:02
Speaker 5: Like, they bring the tours in, the rap groups and the R & B groups and everything.
01:12:07
Speaker 15: Oh, yeah.
01:12:07
Speaker 5: But they're not connected with Expo, but they use the weekend... to bring their events here, and that takes away from the expo to me, or classics.
01:12:17
Speaker 15: Okay.
01:12:18
Speaker 1: Well, yeah. Yeah, that could be. That could be. Let me think. Yeah.
01:12:29
Speaker 2: Everybody's grabbing the same piece of the entertainment dollar.
01:12:32
Speaker 14: And there were a number of events this weekend, too. This past weekend, there were a lot of things going on.
01:12:38
Speaker 1: Jazz festival.
01:12:40
Speaker 8: Mm-hmm.
01:12:41
Speaker 2: The classic, well, the classic, of course. And then the circus, Universal Circus.
01:12:46
Speaker 8: Universal Circus.
01:12:49
Speaker 1: You name it. And there was, I mean, we didn't even get to half of the stuff.
01:12:53
Speaker 8: No, that's true.
01:12:53
Speaker 12: Very true.
01:12:54
Speaker 2: So there's a lot of competing. But you have your core, too, that's like, no, I'm going to this. This is what I want to go to, and this is what I'm going to do. Because the Jazz Fest has their core.
01:13:04
Speaker 8: Yeah, that's true.
01:13:06
Speaker 1: Circle City Classic has its core. Universal Circus.
01:13:10
Speaker 2: I think has a broader core because it's so family oriented. You know, I don't think it's just one demo. If the family is the demo, then that's what they've got.
01:13:19
Speaker 1: But yeah, yeah. You make a good point. You know, everybody's made good points. And like I was... Oh, go ahead. I'm sorry.
01:13:29
Speaker 5: Oh, no. I was just saying, I just remember back when it first started and we had started the fairgrounds and.
01:13:36
Speaker 11: It was more.
01:13:39
Speaker 5: It was more focused around Expo, and then the other things were just kind of like on.
01:13:43
Speaker 19: The perimeter, you know.
01:13:45
Speaker 5: Yeah. But it's changed over the years. It really has.
01:13:49
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. It makes you wonder. Thank you, Anita. I appreciate that. It makes you wonder.
01:13:56
Speaker 2: How other organizations, events, even restaurants, I mean, and other, you know, other organizations, industries stave off the competition and managed to stay afloat and how others just don't seem to be able to do it.
01:14:12
Speaker 8: Yeah. And there's a lot of competition.
01:14:14
Speaker 14: You think of the restaurants, burger restaurants, all of these different restaurants, more than, more than five and they're still in business.
01:14:22
Speaker 5: Yeah.
01:14:23
Speaker 8: So how do they do it?
01:14:24
Speaker 2: I don't know, because you know what? You know who's making a serious run at those? These food trucks.
01:14:30
Speaker 8: All the food trucks are.
01:14:31
Speaker 1: They are. They're making a serious run at some of the restaurants.
01:14:33
Speaker 8: They really are.
01:14:34
Speaker 1: They are. You know, I have a cousin. I got a lot of cousins. My father's from a family of 10.
01:14:39
Speaker 2: So whenever I tell you I got a cousin, it's never the same one. But anyway, one of my cousins was telling me that She saw on Instagram something about a burger, a smash burger, and where they were located. And she said, so she and a couple of her friends drove to that location. And the location was about, I don't know, 30 minutes from her house. I said, wait a minute, you're going to drive 30 minutes to go to a food truck? She said, oh, yeah, yeah, I want to try it out. This is a person that wouldn't drive 20 minutes to go to a restaurant. But she wanted to try this food truck. And so but and a lot of the excitement being generated about some of these places is taking place online because.
01:15:24
Speaker 1: There's, oh, this is the best.
01:15:26
Speaker 2: And look at the sauce oozing and they're showing pictures and, you know, all kinds of stuff. Instagram is really big with the recipes and all kinds of food.
01:15:35
Speaker 1: So, you know, it's fast and furious. It's coming at you.
01:15:39
Speaker 2: And, again, a lot of competition that we talk about in other arenas is a result of.
01:15:46
Speaker 8: These handheld computers. Oh, absolutely.
01:15:49
Speaker 2: And the online presence and things of that nature. So, yeah, folks have a lot. They've got to fight off a lot.
01:15:55
Speaker 8: Well, that's and see with food trucks, they don't have the overhead that a brick and mortar.
01:15:58
Speaker 15: No.
01:15:59
Speaker 8: I mean, they're right there. They can be mobile here or there. And that, you know, that's a savings.
01:16:04
Speaker 1: Yeah.
01:16:05
Speaker 10: Yeah.
01:16:05
Speaker 1: Go ahead. But but yeah, these food trucks.
01:16:07
Speaker 2: And I have to say there was there was one that I love that shut down.
01:16:13
Speaker 1: It was a Cajun called. Well, I don't I don't even know where she's still open. She might be.
01:16:20
Speaker 5: But.
01:16:21
Speaker 2: I loved that one, and it shut down. And I have to tell you, rather than go to a restaurant, I preferred to go to that particular location and get my Cajun boil or whatever it was that I wanted to have. But I'm just saying habits are changing, trends are changing, and you have to keep up and you have to know what the competition is and so on.
01:16:41
Speaker 1: And so forth. And it can be daunting. It can be overwhelming. And so what Anita said about... you know, Expo and.
01:16:50
Speaker 2: Circle City Classic sometimes criticism being unfair.
01:16:54
Speaker 1: I can see that. I can see it either way. I can see it either way.
01:16:59
Speaker 2: Speaking of cousins, let's go to the phone line.
01:17:04
Speaker 1: Brother Ahmad, go ahead.
01:17:05
Speaker 12: How are you?
01:17:07
Speaker 5: Hey, cuz.
01:17:07
Speaker 9: How you doing?
01:17:08
Speaker 1: I'm doing good.
01:17:09
Speaker 18: I'm doing good.
01:17:10
Speaker 1: It's hard to explain a large family, isn't it?
01:17:13
Speaker 19: Yeah, yeah.
01:17:14
Speaker 9: I'm going to make a comment on that. So I was just... Talk about with One of our cousins Her Kathy Blackwell And I happen to look at My great grandmother Probably your great grandmother's Obituary Which is Grace.
01:17:29
Speaker 1: Yeah Grace Grace Humes Yeah.
01:17:32
Speaker 9: Yep Humes Cosby So at the time of her death She had 37 Or 47 Grandchildren And 37 Great grandchildren Oh wow So when we talk about we got a lot of family, we got a lot of family.
01:17:46
Speaker 19: And I wasn't born.
01:17:47
Speaker 7: Yeah.
01:17:47
Speaker 9: And I wasn't born when she had passed away. So like that number just kept multiplying.
01:17:51
Speaker 1: Oh, you were.
01:17:52
Speaker 8: OK.
01:17:52
Speaker 5: Yeah.
01:17:52
Speaker 1: You're young. And I forget about that.
01:17:53
Speaker 9: Yeah. I'm 48.
01:17:55
Speaker 5: OK. Yeah.
01:17:56
Speaker 12: Yeah.
01:17:56
Speaker 10: She's gone longer.
01:17:58
Speaker 5: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
01:18:00
Speaker 9: So, yeah. When I tell people all the time that I'm related to everybody down there, like, that's a literal fact. That's not an exaggeration.
01:18:07
Speaker 1: It's not an exaggeration.
01:18:08
Speaker 9: It's by no stretch of the imagination.
01:18:11
Speaker 1: And you know what? Here's the thing.
01:18:15
Speaker 2: In one instance, you know, the Humes name slash Cosby.
01:18:17
Speaker 1: Okay, you guys, I'm not going to go too far.
01:18:19
Speaker 2: But I am related on both because my mother is Humes and my father is a Cosby.
01:18:24
Speaker 1: And so, yeah.
01:18:25
Speaker 10: Yeah.
01:18:26
Speaker 1: So the two sides.
01:18:28
Speaker 2: It's not double cousin or uncle, daddy and all that stuff.
01:18:32
Speaker 1: It's just that's the way it ended up.
01:18:34
Speaker 11: So, yeah.
01:18:35
Speaker 9: Yeah. Yeah. Because, yeah, my grandmother is a Cosby, but her mother is a Humes. And then her grandma, which is May, her grandmother is a Daughtry and I'm a Perry. And, you know, my grandfather. mother's a Beatty. So, like, they're all tied together.
01:18:54
Speaker 2: I loved your daddy. He was one of my favorite cousins. Just loved him.
01:18:58
Speaker 10: I know.
01:18:59
Speaker 2: Always loved when he came around. When he came to town, we just loved it. But anyway, so he'd be very proud of you. He'd be so very proud.
01:19:07
Speaker 1: He already was. He already was.
01:19:09
Speaker 5: Yeah.
01:19:10
Speaker 9: Absolutely.
01:19:10
Speaker 11: Absolutely.
01:19:11
Speaker 9: But yeah, I just want to let, let, let all those here that know that we have an extremely rich family.
01:19:17
Speaker 1: Okay. Thank you.
01:19:19
Speaker 9: I'll talk to you later.
01:19:20
Speaker 5: Oh, okay.
01:19:20
Speaker 13: Okay.
01:19:21
Speaker 1: I thought you were going to talk.
01:19:22
Speaker 5: Okay.
01:19:22
Speaker 9: Well, you just, no, I don't have a comment except that speaking of my dad, he was the one that introduced me to black expo and circle city classic. And it's, it's all those things. I remember when, um, Before we had the Indy Jazz Fest, it was jazz on the avenue when it was shut Indiana Avenue down. And you could not drive up and down the street and you had to walk in. And, you know, just all the things that made downtown Indianapolis what really what it is. You know, we populated that area for many, many, many years before the gentrification and everything switched around like IUPUI.
01:19:54
Speaker 15: Absolutely.
01:19:56
Speaker 9: That whole area was Lockfield Gardens.
01:19:58
Speaker 8: Yeah.
01:19:58
Speaker 9: You know.
01:19:58
Speaker 15: Yes.
01:19:59
Speaker 9: One of the first housing projects in the United States.
01:20:01
Speaker 5: Yes.
01:20:02
Speaker 9: You know.
01:20:02
Speaker 8: Indeed.
01:20:03
Speaker 9: Just so many. Indianapolis's downtown area has such a huge Black history to it. Like Arlene's music. Just so many different things.
01:20:11
Speaker 1: Arlene's House of Music.
01:20:12
Speaker 5: Yes.
01:20:13
Speaker 1: Indeed.
01:20:14
Speaker 11: Yeah.
01:20:14
Speaker 9: Absolutely.
01:20:15
Speaker 5: Yeah.
01:20:15
Speaker 10: Yeah.
01:20:16
Speaker 9: The Phyllis Wheatley YMCA. When they used to have the monster meetings down there.
01:20:20
Speaker 11: Like a lot.
01:20:21
Speaker 9: And that was a major political thing. thing in Indianapolis. You know, you have so many movers and shakers there, but that's why we need to study our history and understand all the giants we really have in this city that we probably don't talk about or most of us don't remember anymore.
01:20:35
Speaker 5: Indeed.
01:20:36
Speaker 10: Yeah.
01:20:36
Speaker 1: All righty. Well, thank you much, sir. I appreciate you.
01:20:39
Speaker 19: You're very welcome.
01:20:42
Speaker 1: Pierre, we got about a minute left, but we can get you in. Go ahead. How are you?
01:20:47
Speaker 19: Thank you, Tina. I went to the Circle City Classic yesterday. I had a great time, and I just wanted to congratulate. I think it'll work. It was nice. The game, I saw the game between Lawrence North and I think it was Ben Davis. Very exciting. Just wanted to give the lady who sang the national anthem, and I can't remember her name, but she did a beautiful job.
01:21:20
Speaker 1: Mm-hmm.
01:21:22
Speaker 19: Beautiful job on singing the National Anthem. I could have did without that prayer. Somebody can call you and tell you about the prayer.
01:21:31
Speaker 1: Okay, I didn't hear about it. So Pierre, in a way, it was too long?
01:21:36
Speaker 19: It was too political. I was into the prayer, but then it just went off and I just raised my head and I'm like, okay, what's going on with this?
01:21:46
Speaker 1: So Pierre, I don't want to interrupt you, but I am.
01:21:49
Speaker 2: So what you're saying then is It there's potential there. Give it a chance to grow, because this is a perspective we haven't heard all afternoon. So what you're saying is, yeah. What about giving it a chance to grow? Is that what you're saying?
01:22:04
Speaker 19: Yeah. I mean, it would be great to get to black college teams back. But I know the challenge of that and the money they have to start planning now. this year for something maybe two or three years from now.
01:22:18
Speaker 10: Yeah.
01:22:19
Speaker 19: And coming up with the money and all, and, and it's just, and with all these classics going on around the country, we, but we, we could have used more local support from the people at the games. But there was still enough people there, you know, it was, it was, it was good.
01:22:39
Speaker 2: You know, it was concerning because we were hoping for more. But what you saw was potential where a lot of folks saw the opposite, you know, like, so that's good.
01:22:49
Speaker 1: That's good.
01:22:50
Speaker 19: Yeah.
01:22:50
Speaker 1: That's a good perspective. I'm glad you shared that.
01:22:52
Speaker 19: Some people, you know, just, but it was a beautiful thing. We have it here in Indianapolis as a tradition and it's ours. So support it, support the kids. and it was just a great time, and that was a great game too.
01:23:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, it is something to do, and like I said, I'll circle all the way back to what we started out with and quoting my good friend and event promoter Geno Shelton, why can't we have two celebrations?
01:23:22
Speaker 8: Why not?
01:23:23
Speaker 2: You know, Mike Epps and Expo. That would be three, Mike Epps, Expo, and Classic.
01:23:28
Speaker 1: Why not? Why not?
01:23:29
Speaker 2: Let's do the more the merrier is what Geno said.
01:23:33
Speaker 5: Mm-hmm.
01:23:34
Speaker 19: Thank you.
01:23:34
Speaker 1: Alrighty. Thank you, Pierre. And I liked that.
01:23:37
Speaker 2: I'd like to end with that because that's good.
01:23:39
Speaker 1: That's, you know, moving forward in hope, you know, I got.
01:23:44
Speaker 8: To tell you this too, Tina. Wouldn't you know, everything, everything's working. The stream is working.
01:23:53
Speaker 11: Oh yeah.
01:23:54
Speaker 1: As we get ready to sign off. It's all working.
01:23:58
Speaker 14: Whatever was going on as it was technical, it wasn't our fault. It was just something updates that happened and, So now.
01:24:04
Speaker 8: It's all working.
01:24:05
Speaker 1: Blasted updates. That's all the time we have for right now. As always, thank you for listening. Our website is praiseindy.com. Willie Moore Jr.
01:24:15
Speaker 2: On the radio is up next. Please continue to be safe, be well, and stay informed. For all of us here, I'm Tina Cosby, and this is Community Connection.

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