Empowering Voices: Fort Wayne Urban League's Candidates’ Night

Rohli Booker

Get ready, Fort Wayne! On September 28th, an exciting event is coming your way at the Fort Wayne Urban League that's sure to be informative and impactful. We're talking about the Fort Wayne Urban League's

Candidates’ Night, an opportunity for our community to engage directly with local candidates and to get answers to the questions that matter most. The lineup will include Mayoral candidates: Tom Henry (current mayor) and Tom Didier (current Councilman); City Council at Large candidates: Michelle Chambers (current Councilwoman), Tom Freistoffer (current Councilman), Marty Bender, Luke Fries, Audrey Davis and Stephanie Crandall; and City Clerk candidates: Porsche Williams and Lana Keesling (current City Clerk).

Moderated by the esteemed Dr. Debra Williams-Robbins, Deputy Superintendent of Fort Wayne Community Schools, this event promises to be a platform where the voices of the community will be heard, concerns addressed, and the city's future shaped through conversation. This is not just any forum – it's a chance for the people to steer the direction of the community.

The Fort Wayne Urban League is inviting you to join them and be part of this important conversation. Your participation is crucial, because change happens when voices come together.

The Urban League is no stranger to fostering civic engagement. With a rich history dating back to 1920, they have consistently worked to uplift our community through education, advocacy, and empowerment. And now, in these pressing times for our city and our nation, the need for open dialogue and community-driven solutions is greater than ever.

Executive Director, Aisha Arrington, had a chat with Rohli Booker to give you a glimpse of what to expect. She shared insights into why this event holds significance, especially considering the climate in our city and country.

RB: What motivated you and the board to organize a candidates forum?

AA: Voting has been a part of the Urban League Movement for many years. Women won the right to vote in 1920 but it would be 45 more years before the Voting Rights Act would be passed making it easier for African American people to exercise their right to vote under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. constitution. I say easier only because it banned practices like the passing of a literacy test in order to vote. Most of us remember the picture of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with his hands held behind his back and his body pressed against the counter of a police station. That iconic picture is of him being arrested for protesting against all of the road-blocks that prevented African American people from voting. The history of voting in the African American community calls for continued action to protect voter rights and to encourage African American people and people of color to vote. The Fort Wayne Urban League will be hosting our 1st Annual Meet the Candidates Night during the same week that the National Urban League will be kicking off their annual “Reclaim Your Vote” campaign. Having this forum continues the efforts of the movement. It helps to ensure that we vote and that we understand what is at stake when it comes to our home, family, and the community in which we live. So many times, we hear Urban Leaguers say, “They don’t care about us over here.” This forum provides an opportunity for those voices to be heard.

RB: Could you share some of the unique local challenges and issues that the residents who are served by the Urban League face? How do you anticipate that this event will address these concerns?

AA: Livable wages, housing, transportation, and mental health needs are just a few of the concerns and challenges that many of our neighbors face. Right now, we are helping families avoid a disconnection on their AEP bills through our Neighbor to Neighbor Program but the majority of those we serve are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet. The idea that poor people are lazy is so far from the truth. We worked with one mom who worked two jobs and was barely making it only for her rent to go up by $700. She was offered a better paying job but there was no bus to get her to and from the new job so she ended up not accepting the offer. When hope is constantly dashed, it’s important for people to be heard. I hope this forum will shed light on some of the gaps and disparities that make it nearly impossible for someone like her to keep their head above water.

RB: With this candidates forum being a significant step, what's next for the Urban League? What exciting plans or initiatives does the community have to look forward to in the near future?

AA: We will continue our Neighbor to Neighbor Program until all funds are exhausted and wait for a new home buying workshop class with our friends at Ruoff Mortgage.

Our banned book campaign has almost reached our goal of passing out 500 banned books to the community and we are kicking off our Trunk or Treat event here at the Urban League Halloween Night here in our parking lot.

We are excited to offer, through CDBG funding, one on one tutoring for school aged children up to two hours per week – per student.

We are working on a partnership with WorkOne to have a job and resource fair here at the Urban League October 19th and are excited to work with the Civic Theatre with their production of the “Color Purple”. Acting classes will be offered here beginning January 2024 right when all of our programming will be available again including our Senior Tekkie classes, Block Club funding for beautification projects, our Urban STEM camp and so much more! I encourage everyone to “like” or “follow” our new Facebook page to state connected with everything that is going on here at the Fort Wayne Urban League.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for September 28th, and come out to the Fort Wayne Urban League for a night of community, dialogue, and shaping the future we all want to see. Doors open at 5 PM and registration for this event can be found on Eventbrite. This is your chance to shape the discourse and ask the questions that need answers. Submit your questions to the candidates by stopping by the Fort Wayne Urban League at 2135 S. Hanna Street to fill out the form available at the front desk. Or questions for the candidates can be emailed to: aarrington@fwurbanleague.org.

Together, we can make a difference, one conversation at a time.