Among other painful
reminders, the last few months have highlighted how divided we are as a city. From the pandemic to the protests, Indy residents have split along old racial and ideological lines. Masks have become a political position. Depending on your point of view, the activists downtown were either freedom fighters or criminals. The harmony Robert F. Kennedy called for in his famous 1968 speech here seems farther away than ever.
And yet. As the magazine’s staff set out to interview 200 Indy residents for the 200th anniversary of the city this month, we discovered many of them shared the same joys and frustrations. Sure, there were the inevitable disagreements about the wisdom of the Red Line and the raising of the minimum wage. But there was an almost universal desire for more public investment in the roads. We all want IPS to be better. Just about everyone misses Atlas Supermarket.
What follows was created in the weeks before the civil unrest in late May, so none of the participants speak to that directly. In the responses given by many people of color, though, it’s easy to see the hurt and anger that led to the demonstrations. The last question we asked in every interview was, “What will Indy look like in 20 years?” In his answer, Haughville chef Corey McDaniel put it best: “The racial divide here—somehow, that has to be overcome.”
What has the coronavirus crisis taught you about the people of Indianapolis?
