“There should be an allegiance to Gary to build it up and make it prosper once again.”

Transcript for Learn from the Past to Build a Future

As a history major, I know that we learn from the past to build a future. And to not acknowledge our history, whether it be family, just strictly family, whether it be social, whether it be business or economics, coming together for a common good and a common goal could make a huge difference in this area.

The city of Valparaiso, the city of Crown Point, the towns of Munster and Merrillville all have a responsibility to Gary. So many of these communities have grown as a result of what happened in Gary some years ago and there should be an allegiance to Gary to build it up and make it prosper once again.

Every community—South Bend supports the Michiana Area; Fort Wayne supports Northeast Indiana. Lafayette, Elkhart, Evansville, many others, they all have a city recognition. I’m not all that in favor of Northwest Indiana. I think it should be the Gary Area. I’m disappointed that the newspapers no longer carry the tag Gary Times or Gary Post-Tribune. What’s in Northwest Indiana? Well, it’s just a huge conglomeration of people and businesses that are trying to survive, whereas if they had a Gary perspective, they would have a relationship to something beyond themselves.

I think we’re still too much focused on race and segregation. I really believe that. I think the black economic culture is perceived to be poverty. It’s perceived to be indigent, and that’s not really totally true. There are successful black people, and rightly so. The economics of the African American culture is not the same as the economics of the white culture, and yet there’s a real need—and there could be a real appreciation if the two economic societies would come together, and support, and learn from one another. And in doing so, I really believe that once Gary starts prospering again, the whole area will just come alive and be a major economic and social force in Indiana and the nation.

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