Indiana Black Expo and WNBA All-Star Weekend Share the Spotlight

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Convention Center was listed under “Hot Spot Specifics” on the WNBA All-Star listing of events. During the five-day span, the building housed both WNBA LIVE and the Indiana Black Expo (IBE) Summer Celebration.

While there was a general admission cost to attend WNBA-related activities, the Expo, which began July 10, was mainly free and featured a film festival, business and education conferences, a health fair, a music festival, a gospel explosion, a Cultural Arts Pavilion, and a health and wellness basketball clinic for fathers and daughters.  

Was it coincidental that both events were planned for the same time, with the two-day scheduled WNBA event connected with the All-Star Game threatening to overshadow the Black-themed Expo?

“I don’t believe it’s a coincidence,” said Erin Brunson of Kroger, one of the many local vendors that had a booth at IBE. The Expo “is nothing new. It’s been established over 50 years,” he pointed out.

The IBE website says it was established in 1970 as “an effective voice & vehicle for the social and economic advancement of African-American youth and families.” The Summer Celebration is among several events that it sponsors during the year.

Pacers Sports & Entertainment manages the NBA’s Pacers and the WNBA’s Fever and the downtown arena they play in, along with a nonprofit organization that supports youth and community initiatives in Indiana. A spokesperson told the MSR that they often work with the Black community: They sponsored last Friday’s IBE corporate luncheon that honored broadcaster and retired WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike, actors Wendell Pierce and Alfre Woodard, and singer Deniece Williams.

“I think it’s for real,” surmised Brunson on Pacers Sports and other city-based organizations involving the Black community in such large events as last weekend’s All-Star Game. “I think they do a good job reaching out.”

All-Star takeaways 

The MSR once again was the only Minnesota media in attendance covering the annual WNBA mid-season classic. “Charles, you have been holding up for a number of years,” said Minnesota Lynx and All-Star HC Cheryl Reeve. “For you to come to these tentpole events, you are doing what the local media should be doing. They should be here. Thank you for making the investment to be here.”

The WNBA’s second half of the season began Tuesday — Minnesota is 20-4 and leading the league. “The grade for the first half was an A-minus,” guard Kayla McBride told me last week. “We have a lot of work to do. We had a tough stretch of games to finish out the first half of the season. I’m excited for the second half.”

An estimated 40 players met last week with league officials over the CBA negotiations.  Reportedly it didn’t go well.

“We will continue to push for everything that we earned,” New York’s Natasha Cloud told reporters, including the MSR, last Friday when a reporter asked about the meeting. “The word ‘earned’ should be something highlighted. Sometimes I think our intelligence is insulted in a lot of ways.  

“We are more than just basketball players,” Cloud stressed. “We understand economics and business models. We understand exactly where this league is heading. There has to be a common ground, but what’s been presented is a slap in the face.

“This is a very pivotal moment,” concluded the veteran player. “I think we have a huge, huge responsibility to make a transformational CBA not only for our generation now but the next generation that will come into this league.”

Charles Hallman welcomes reader comments to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.

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