Indianapolis' black community is hurting.

Nearly 30% of the city's population identifies as black or African American, according to U.S. Census estimates.

They're living in a state ranked fifth worst in the U.S. for black homicides. A city where black men make up most of the homeless population. A community facing a shortage of mental health care professionals.

Indianapolis' black community is hurting, and some of its leaders are demanding action.

In the final weeks of the mayoral race, several prominent leaders of African American organizations have successfully pushed Democratic incumbent Mayor Joe Hogsett and Republican challenger state Sen. Jim Merritt to confront disparities in the black community and present plans on how to address them.

Hogsett promised police reform: 2 years later, African Americans are still waiting

Mark Russell, Director of Advocacy & Family Services for the Indianapolis Urban League, said the black community has been talking about these issues for years — but talking isn't going to solve anything.

“Conversation is insufficient in the midst of all the challenges occurring,” Russell said. “Conversation has to occur with action, and a plan. It has to be intentional, and it has to be a priority.”

What is a black agenda?

Joseph L. Tucker Edmonds, an assistant professor of Africana studies and religious studies at IUPUI, said pushes for black agendas have been happening in the U.S. for five or six decades, while equity agendas have emerged within the last decade.

"Equity often means, however, that additional services, additional tools, additional resources may be provided to particularly marginalized or under-resourced communities," Edmonds said, "because of historical or systematic biases or oppression."

While an equity agenda would focus on addressing the root causes of issues facing the black community, changes in policy would affect the greater Indianapolis community, not just minority residents.

Groups in cities across the country have developed similar agendas, including Cincinnati, Chicago and Birmingham. South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg has rolled out his own version on the 2020 presidential campaign trail.

In Indianapolis, the Central Indiana Community Foundation in April announced a multi-year effort to dismantle systemic racism in Marion County, something Hogsett pointed to when asked about bridging equity gaps during an Aug. 29 debate.

Drawing from some of these examples, the African American Coalition of Indianapolis on Oct. 8 released an agenda outlining issues and goals — including community violence, homeownership and affordable housing and education.

More:Read the coalition's agenda in full, via the Indianapolis Recorder

An IndyStar analysis of 2018 homicide data revealed that young black men under the age of 25 were four times more likely to be the victims of criminal homicides in Indianapolis, and they were overwhelmingly dying of gunshots.

A 2018 Brookings Institute study showed black-owned homes in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson metro area are devalued by about $18,000, and that neighborhoods are fairly segregated — more than 60% of the white population would need to move to a different neighborhood for the white and black populations to be evenly distributed.

Standardized testing data released by the state demonstrates a stark achievement gap between white and black students in Indianapolis Public Schools. Only 6.7% of black IPS students passed both the English and math sections of ILEARN, compared to nearly 32% of their white peers.

Several members of the coalition and affiliated groups acknowledged that the coalition’s agenda isn't meant to be comprehensive. But with 15 member organizations signing on, it's a start to the conversation.

Willis Bright, chairman of the African American Coalition of Indianapolis, said these conversations won't end on Election Day. Members of the coalition will continue to engage with residents to get a full picture of the issues they face.

"Our focus is, quite frankly, on identifying key issues, potential solutions," Bright said, "so that we can talk not only to mayoral candidates but to other institutions within the community that will have either the authority or the resources to help address those concerns."

The candidates respond

For months, members of the African American Coalition, the Concerned Clergy of Greater Indianapolis and the Baptist Ministers Alliance have pushed Merritt and Hogsett to release plans to tackle racial inequities in our city.

When the topic was broached during a press gaggle following an Aug. 29 debate, Merritt was the first to commit to releasing a black agenda, and eventually did so on Oct. 15.

Jim Merritt:What he'll do to address racial inequities in Indianapolis

Hogsett said his policies were designed to benefit all residents — including marginalized communities — and has since danced around the subject.

In a Monday afternoon meeting with members of the Concerned Clergy and the Ministers Alliance, Hogsett sought to clarify his earlier statement, saying city leaders "absolutely" need a black agenda.

Joe Hogsett:The details policies and programs considered to be his black agenda

Hours later, during a debate hosted by the coalition at Arsenal Technical High School, he stopped short of saying he definitively had a black agenda.

"We can't leave anybody behind," Hogsett said. "And, as a result, I think the mayor's obligation, ultimately, is to pursue policies that lift all boats ... and while I think particular issues affect different people different ways, which is something the mayor always has to keep in mind, I think the mayor ought to be pursuing policies that lift up all of Indianapolis."

At the end of the debate, Bright encouraged the people gathered in the Arsenal Technical High School auditorium to turn out to the polls.

"It is irresponsible for us," Bright said, "in light of the history of our people, for people not to register and not to vote."

'We don't have a choice'

By population, Indianapolis' black population would make up the third largest city in the state, said Marshawn Wolley, policy director for the African American Coalition. He says it's past time for action to be taken to address their needs.

"I think we've reached a point — particularly when you think about both the physical death, in homicides, our spiritual and financial deaths that are occurring — that we don't want to see this continue to go that direction," Wolley said.

Wolley, who has been vocal about the need for a black agenda on social media and in essays for the Indianapolis Business Journal and Indianpolis Recorder, said he's been "overwhelmed" at times by the scale of the task.

"I cry about this stuff," he said. "And it hurts."

Bright added that he's "outraged" at the current challenges faced by black and brown youth.

"But if I'm only outraged and eat myself up, both with anger and frustration, but don't try to channel that in ways that try to mobilize other people to do something about it, I'm not only being ineffective," he said, "I'm harming them."

The Rev. David Greene, president of the Concerned Clergy of Greater Indianapolis and senior pastor of Purpose of Life Ministries, knows that conversations about race are uncomfortable.

Not everyone is in favor of the current conversation regarding a black agenda for Indianapolis. Bill Benjamin, Merritt's quasi-running mate and would-be police chief, expressed skepticism at the idea, telling IndyStar he believed it was created in response to political pressure.

But Greene asserts that if he and his colleagues weren’t pushing for these conversations outside of their homes, churches and community centers, they might not be happening.

"If we don't address it, things won't change," Greene said. "Somebody has to, quote-unquote, take the bullet and drive the conversation. That's what we're attempting to do."

Coming up next

Fox59 anchor Dan Spehler will moderate a debate at 7 p.m. Oct. 28 at the MSD Wayne Township Chapel Hill 7th and 8th Grade Center, 7320 W. 10th St.

Election Day is Nov. 5.

Stay in-the-know:Sign up for IndyStar's Hoosier Politics newsletter

Early voting:Here's where and when you can vote before the Nov. 5 municipal election

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at 317-444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.