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shannon williams

Recorder President/GM Shannon Williams

Forty-four years ago, the organizers of something new for Indy – something called Indiana Black Expo – visited the offices of the city and state’s leading Black newspaper to ask for support. The owner/publisher Marcus Stewart Sr., sat and listened. He could’ve told the new Black Expo to pay for their ads. But he didn’t. He offered to help, to run ads, to write stories promoting the event. For free! And a partnership was begun. Now after 43 years, and several millions of dollars worth of free advertising and millions of dollars more in positive stories and photos promoting IBE’s events and accomplishments, the Board of Directors of Indiana Black Expo, a group of Blacks and whites, many of who have no connection to Black Expo’s rich heritage and history of service to Indianapolis’ African-American community, voted last December to “sever” all ties with the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. The action wasn’t revealed to the Recorder until a few weeks ago in February. The third oldest Black newspaper in America, the Indianapolis Recorder was a Charter Sponsor of Indiana Black Expo and had strongly supported Black Expo’s programs and events and activities for all of its forty-three years.  Read the Full Story From Indianapolis Recorder President/General Manager Shannon Williams that appears in the current issue.  It’s upsetting and distressing.

INDIANA BLACK EXPO SEVERS TIES WITH RECORDER

(Disclosure: Amos Brown has been a columnist for the Recorder since 1994)