Indiana

What Have They Done for Her Lately

By Abdul Hakim-Shabazz

I realize that most of the blog space I have dedicated to the Baptist Ministers Alliance of Indianapolis (BMA) has not been flattering.  I freely admit to being skeptical of an organization that says it?s been around for more than 140 years when it filed as a not-for-profit with the Indiana Secretary of State?s Office in March of this year.  I also take some issue with a group that calls itself the official voice of the black community, when none of the black people I know in this town ever remember taking a vote.  And I while I understand using a tragedy to play politics, it would be nice if you?re going to posture, put your money where your mouth is.

I say this because I recently sat down and spoke with Shantay Chandler, the mother of Brandon Johnson, the 15-year old who accused IMPD of excessive force earlier this year.  The officer accused of the beating, Jerry Piland has been recommended for dismissal.  Since the incident which occurred this past spring the BMA has led marches, called for Public Safety Director Frank Straub to be fired and spent $20,000 to bring Al Sharpton to town.  They have made a lot of noise.  And frankly, that is all they have done for Ms. Chandler.

She?s been unemployed for months while trying to take care of her son and the family has had financial struggles.  She even lost her car.   I asked her if she?s gotten any help from the BMA and her answer was a stark ?no.?  The BMA hasn?t assisted the family with any money or other types of support.  So while the preachers were raising 20-grand for Al Sharpton?s visit, Chandler was and is struggling to find $1700 to pay for her son?s dental work.  And here?s an interesting sidebar, when Sharpton came to town, no one called the Chandler family, she found out when a reporter called her.

I asked Ms. Chandler if she had any contact with Stephen Clay, the wannabe black Pope of Indianapolis.  She recalled meeting him once since this entire ordeal, but has had no real contact since then.   You would think that if the BMA was the official voice of the black community, its members could pick up the phone and make sure the family had its basic needs met, like a job and medical care.  So that means either the BMA doesn?t have the juice it purports to have or Brandon Johnson is low hanging fruit.

And to make matters worse, when the images of Brandon Johnson were printed on t-shirts, some of the ministers sold them for $5-$10 each, and the family never saw a dime.   To her credit, Ms. Chandler says she wasn?t expecting help, but it would be nice if the people who allege they are fighting for Brandon to do more than just talk.   If you claim to represent 50,000 church members isn’t there someone in your collective congregations that could help someone land a part-time job.  And it would it really be that hard to raise an average of 4 cents from each of your members to help with some dental work.

Now we can debate excessive force, police policies and procedures, and even parental responsibility. But I don?t think there?s much to debate that if you?re going to take up a cause it probably wouldn?t hurt to go all in.  That is unless you have something else going on and Brandon Johnson is just a cause to further your agenda.  But we all know that wouldn?t be going on, now would it?

You can hear Ms. Chandler in her own words below.  Each segment is about 5 minutes long.  I also spoke with City-County Councilor Jose Evans who has stayed in close contact with the family since the incident in May.

Chandler Interview, pt 1

Chandler Interview, pt 2

Jose Evans Interview

Full post as published by Indiana Barrister on September 08, 2010 (boomark / email).