Black residents, New Black Panther Party seek solution to violence, food deserts

For more than two hours on a cold Saturday night in December, local Black residents and others from around the nation gathered in a small chapel at the Hovey Street Church of Christ to discuss societal ills impacting Indianapolis' Black community and their solutions.

The audience gathered at the church included members of the New Black Panther Party and the Nation of Islam, the Lion of Judah Armed Forces.

Before them a panel — tasked with hashing out the issues and offering solutions for a path forward — discussed interracial violence, unity, policing, food deserts, education, and bridging the gaps between the young and old. They urged the audience to be authentic, have strong family values, and instill value and self-worth in children.

Before the event, Yasuke Shakur, chairman of the New Black Panther Party of Indiana, told IndyStar the summit was intended to be a "gathering of minds" brought together to discuss how to solve ills plaguing Indianapolis Black community.

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"As a collective, we feel like we have to take care of our community before anyone else will even try to take care of our community," Shakur said. "This summit is an effort to bring together the leadership, to figure out how do we battle crime in our city, (and) protect our community from different things and just overall that's just been a problem in the Black community of Indianapolis."

The leadership summit was part of a daylong event organized by community and family members of Dorian Murrell, an 18-year-old Black Indianapolis teenager shot and killed by a white man during the civil unrest last year.

The defendant in the case, Tyler Newby, confessed to shooting Murrell, but he has claimed the shooting was in self-defense. Newby's first trial ended in a mistrial. A new trial is scheduled to take place next year.

The day started at the Hovey Street Church, a meeting point for the community and members of the New Black Panther Party to gather before traveling to Brownsburg for a planned march through Brownsburg.

The New Black Panther Party is a Black nationalist organization founded in Dallas in 1989.

The organization adopted its name from the original Black Panthers, though some original Black Panther members have insisted that the New Black Panther Party, which the Southern Poverty Law Center considers a hate group due to its rhetoric, has no connection to the original civil rights group.

The local New Black Panther Party leadership rejects the Southern Poverty Law Center's label because they say it's inaccurate and based on claims that are not credible, old rhetoric and white supremacy.

It's unclear how many members reside in Indiana. But, local and out-of-state members have for months advocated for justice for Murrell. And, on Saturday, they gathered with others of different civil and religious affiliations to talk about how Indianapolis Black community can make progress.

At more than 260 deaths, the city has shattered its homicide record for the second consecutive year, with young Black men comprising many of the deaths. Meanwhile, the clearance rate for homicides remains a concern.

"How do we control that? How do we change that?" Shakur asked the panel, noting the millions of dollars city officials set aside for crime prevention yet hoping for more tangible guidance on solutions or a plan of action to help the city.

"Our community is out of control. This government, this city, is not doing anything to help us. How do we control that?" Shakur said. "I'm not trying to step on toes, but I'm trying to go a little bit deeper to figure out what exactly is going on here in Indianapolis and how do we bring the narrative to what it is we need more of for our people to grow and create progress inside of our community."

Shakur also noted that the city is grappling with food insecurity, especially in its food deserts which lack access to grocery stores and fresh, healthy foods. He also highlighted efforts to create job and educational opportunities that need more l support.

Chief LeTava Mabilijengo, an activist and representative of the H.E.R Living Campus, an immersive cultural learning association, pointed to existing grassroots programs and efforts that address education, home school co-ops and food deserts, suggesting that Shakur connect with older residents who are doing the work in those areas.

"If you really want to make something work at a grassroots level, it's probably someone already doing it and unfortunately you all haven't met yet and it's a good idea to make an introduction and get in where you fit in," she said. "You need to come up through the ranks, and I'll say this to any young person: If you're young and you got that fire in the belly, be willing to come up through the ranks."

The panel also addressed criticism directed at the Ten Point Coalition, a group of Black pastors who patrol neighborhoods to reduce violence through engagement. The coalition has been accused of not being effective, but some of the panelist insinuated that the criticism may not be all that fair.

"I'm not mad at Ten Point. They're a bunch of old Black men who got old Black solutions to a problem ...," said Hovey Street Church Pastor Denell Howard. "That's the way they think. If we're going to think different, we can't be hating on their thought. We got to have a different solution."

Howard also said a community cannot be protected if it doesn't have a presence within the community to enforce its values and hold those within it accountable. He added that people who harm a community should not be protected by relatives or others who know them.

"If you know where the murderers stay and Ten Point can't get them out and the police can't get them out, why are you harboring them?" he said.

Nuri Muhammad, a minister for the Nation of Islam, said issues should be addressed before they become problems, suggested implementing conflict resolutions centers at churches to stop shootings before they take place.

"Everything that I'm hearing is a reaction to something that has already gone bad," Muhammad said. "In the world of medicine, they have a saying that an ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure ... Why not focus more on providing that ounce of prevention?"

Contact IndyStar reporter Alexandria Burris at aburris@gannett.com or call 317-617-2690. Follow her on Twitter: @allyburris.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Black residents, New Black Panther Party seek solution to violence