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WP_20140717_16_04_56_ProSo what did Indianapolis Think of the 44th Indiana Black Expo Summer Celebration? Afternoons with Amos listeners and the community didn’t hold back.  They freely shared their views on “What was Good, What was Not So Good and What Could be Improved Upon with Indiana Black Expo”Afternoons with Amos held their 11th annual Community Evaluation of the 44 Year Old event that as born from the bosom of Indianapolis’ African-American community.  Click the Media Player to Hear The Many Comments and Suggestions on the 44th Indiana Black Expo from Afternoons with Amos listeners and Indianapolis’ African-American community. Then read below some of the written comments from e-mails, text messages and the Amos Brown-WTLC Facebook Page. Audio ©2014 WTLC Radio One. Hour 1, Runs 51 Minutes –   Hour 2 Runs 42 Minutes –

And Here’s some of the e-mails and comments from e-mails, test messages and the Amos Brown-WTLC Facebook Page.

  • Great event, terrible leadership. Leadership at Expo needs to change in order to refresh the corporate and civic image.
  • Walk up tickets were CASH ONLY? Seriously? Who in the 21st Century has an event that you are selling tickets to and only takes cash? A lot of people carry little to no cash on them. This was a poor business decision.

  • The price of food from the few vendors there was outrageous. Thank God the Gatorade booth had free chips and soda because that was a better deal than paying $10 to $15 for a meal that DIDN’T include a drink. Expo needs to either attract more vendors with various price points or let the convention center handle food.
  • In my opinion Expo has not changed with the times. It is the same as when I was a kid, with less support. Expo should add some things and take others away. How about a basketball tournament? More concerts; more diverse? Maybe even an Essence music fest style event.
  • It is insane that this peaceful, family event draws such negative portrayals every year. The media frenzy plants seeds of fear which make people afraid to go downtown – resulting in smaller crowds every year. At some point, the media needs to stop making the threat of violence the main story line for Summer Celebration when there are fewer arrests during Expo than the average NON-EVENT downtown weekend.
  • I attended the Expo this year and last year. It seems the attendance was much lower this year on Saturday. I enjoyed myself and was glad they moved the fashion show inside the main hall. That was a good improvement.
  • In the past, they have had an old school celebrity performance inside the main exhibit hall, which would draw a lot of people during that time of the day. I’m not sure if they had it this year, if not they should bring it back.
  • May be it’s time to think outside the box and do something different May be it shouldn’t be a 10 day event.
  • You are correct. Disney is very CUSTOMER Focused! Disney’s goal is to make the visit so perfect and flawless that you will want to return again. Customer complaints are taken seriously and immediately dealt with. Each employee (no matter what their job is), is tasked with making sure YOUR visit is without complaint. Indiana Black Expo should most certainly reach out to Disney and attend their training courses.
  • I attended the all white party this year. The party was a joke. I arrived at 10pm, and there were not any seats available for the poor peeps that did not reserve a table. Mr. Brown there were at least 40 EMPTY tables with 8-10 seats…all EMPTY!! So my party of 8 took a seat at 1 of the 40 empty tables. A worker comes over and says “you can’t sit here this table is reserved for the board of directors. You have 2 find a seat elsewhere. Poor planning…White party gets an F! Oh and sound system sounded like they had a blown speaker!
  • I find it very interesting for members of the so called middle-class black community to think it beneath them to support or attend Indiana Black Expo because of teens on the street. (a lousy excuse)
  • We arrived to the all white affair to find out that there was nowhere for us to sit. VIP had no seating! Unbelievable!! I’m not sure who the event planner was,but they did a horrible job.
  • Where are all the black officers from the Indiana State Police, I was at Friday concert and the State troopers walk in packs of 5 and and the sheriffs and IMPD walk alone or in two. It can be intimidating where you see goups of white police officers at a Black event.
  • I did not attend Expo this year and about 4-5 years prior. The major reason is that the Expo seems to have lost its focus. Back in the day you waited all year to purchase items that you could not get any other time of the year at any place, with the online market dominating our society, those same items can be purchased every day so the urgency to attend Expo for this purpose is less.
  • My 69 year old mother and I attempted to benefit from Indianapolis ‘ connectable sky walks and not cross Maryland street since I am a wheelchair user. As I approach the convention center via the Marriott sky walk at 445p on Sunday I am denied entry because only wrist band holders can gain access. Considering the time of day, day of event, and lack of foot traffic common sense should have prevailed.
  • There are those who feel strongly that the Expo tickets should be reduced on Sunday since the Hall is only open for 6 hours that day! Why are we charged the full price for a much shorter day of operation?
  • We need to get back to the Sutherland Ave (old location of Expo office) way of thinking. We are letting something so important to us, die off like it never really mattered!
  • Why don’t they just call it ‘The Expo’ and open it up for everybody?