Dear Indy,
Today’s lead story comes from local government reporter Peter Blanchard.
He spoke with teenager Sanai Taziyah and her family about Sanai’s experience on an IPS school field trip where she said she was harassed by an off-duty Indianapolis police officer.
Here’s how the article begins:
Sanai Taziyah’s parents saw how excited the teenager was to explore Washington, D.C., during an IPS Center for Inquiry School 70 field trip last year.
But when her parents asked her about the experience afterward, Sanai broke down in tears.
Sanai, who was 14 at the time, told her mother that she had been harassed and mistreated on the trip by a school chaperone. As one example: She said the chaperone, who is white, said she and her friends, who are Black, were “lazy” and “slobs” when they refused to clean up a mess made by other students.
Brandi Taziyah was outraged to hear her daughter describe being disrespected and subjected to racial stereotypes.
“To know that because your skin was darker and you have a different culture,” Taziyah said, “you were treated differently on a trip that’s supposed to be fun.”
The chaperone, however, isn’t just another school parent. She also is a 17-year veteran at the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department who works as a sergeant on a unit that investigates child abuse.
Continue reading the article here.
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In other news
- Morris. Holt. Pershing. Westsiders see these street names every day, but do you know who they were named after? Westside reporter Enrique Saenz dusted off the history books to find out the answer. He found that two streets were renamed in response to anti-German sentiment during World War I. Read more here.
- Let the energy of last month’s I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll festival continue rolling with African American Music Appreciation Month. The celebration, created under President Jimmy Carter and made official under President Barack Obama, offers an opportunity to appreciate how Black musicians have not only shaped art but also history. Hear from Premium Blend saxophonist Jared Thompson and check out the Spotify playlist he shared with Mirror Indy.
- Almost a fourth of Hoosiers lack internet access or rely solely on cellular data. That’s why a new partnership between Managed Health Services, Black Onyx Management and the Indiana Minority Health Coalition aims to increase internet access by distributing money to Indianapolis nonprofits to help in their communities. The deadline to apply is July 12.
What’s going on around the city
- Saturday, June 15: The White River Paddle Days and Festival is back! Day two of the three-day festival kicks off at 8:30 a.m. at Frank’s Paddlesports Livery, 3010 N. White River Parkway. Spectators can earn points through the free Discover White River Rewards Pass by attending the races, which can be redeemed for prizes and on-water experiences. Free to watch, but prices vary to join the competition.
- Saturday, June 15: Friends of Irving Circle will kick off their 2024 concert season with the band Blue Alchemy at 7 p.m. at the Irving Circle Park, 5703 University Ave. The event is free, with the proceeds from concessions going toward park upkeep.
- Sunday, June 16: Ash & Elm Cider Co., 1301 E. Washington St., will host a 45-minute rooftop yoga class, led by Yvonne Rodriguez of Invoke Studios at 9 a.m. Following the class, participants can grab a cider of their choice and join a brunch starting at 10 a.m. $20
— Breanna Cooper, arts and culture reporter
Looking for other things to do? Check out Mirror Indy’s events calendar.
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What else we’re reading today
- IndyStar: The showdown of the summer features a slew of porn website operators battling Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita over our state’s upcoming law requiring adult websites to verify users’ ages.
- The Indianapolis Recorder: This article is for the students experiencing anxiety at the thought of college entrance exams.
Arts and Culture
If not for the sign over the door, it would be easy to miss it.
Braydee Euliss, the owner and curator of COMPANION, runs her art gallery from her house in Mapleton-Fall Creek. Because she does most of the work for the gallery, updates and information are shared mostly through her Instagram account, which means that even though the gallery has been open since 2021, it’s not widely known outside of the local creatives crowd.
The exhibition currently on display, “Winding Accord,” is a bit different, however. The works in painting, collage, ceramics, textiles and printmaking came together in partnership with GANGGANG and were only meant to be on view for 48 hours — the duration of the 2024 Indiana Global Economic Summit at the Indiana Convention Center.
But all the work that Euliss put into the art show for the out-of-towners left her feeling like it deserved more attention.
Now, every work that was on display there is inside Euliss’ house and you can go see it.
— Jennifer Delgadillo, arts and culture editor
Want to explore more of our city’s vibrancy? Find more arts and culture coverage here.
Reflections
Today marks the return of the Indy Strawberry Festival, which is a fancy way of saying today is when you can get strawberry shortcake at Monument Circle.
Years ago, I started attending with my pal Marisa Kwiatkowski when we both worked at IndyStar and needed a quick afternoon break away from the day’s news.
So you better believe we’ll be there again today. Except this time, we’ve decided to eat shortcake for breakfast.
Ryan
P.S. If you liked something about today’s newsletter, or didn’t, let me know at ryan.martin@mirrorindy.org. It helps us serve you better.
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