Award recipients and event organizers pose at the conclusion of the 2024 Governor’s Reception on June 25, 2024, in the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission honored six Black Hoosiers for their efforts to advance diversity and equality.
(Mia Hilkowitz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
The Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) honored six Black leaders for their efforts to advance diversity and equality in the state during its Governor’s Reception on Tuesday.
The ICRC partnered with the Indiana Black Expo — a nonprofit that promotes social and economic progress for Black Hoosiers — and the Indiana Department of Administration to host the event. The ICRC presented six awards recognizing the recipients’ efforts in education, health care, leadership, business, community engagement and government.
“[The awards] recognize those, I say, unsung heroes who are serving the community, who are doing the work,” ICRC Executive Director Gregory Wilson Sr. told the Indiana Capital Chronicle. “They’re not looking for any reward. They do it because it’s the right thing to do. It’s all about humanity.”
In a pre-recorded video message played during the event, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said the award winners have empowered Hoosiers to “achieve their full potential right here in Indiana.”
“You all are busting barriers and building up Hoosiers all over this state,” Holcomb said in the message. “Thanks so much for your personal testimony — it encourages all of us to come together to celebrate Black Americans’ vibrant heritage, rich in history, and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead.”
Award recipients
Noah Shelton, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s (DWD) chief unemployment officer, received the ICRC’s Next Level Leadership Award. Prior to starting his position at the DWD, Shelton worked at the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, where he helped branches decrease customer wait times. Shelton also works on the “cultivating community initiative” for the Living Word Baptist Church in Indianapolis and is on the Indianapolis Urban League Board of Directors.
Renee Thomas, associate vice provost for diversity, inclusion and belonging at Purdue University, was honored for her work at the university with the Achievement in Education Award. In this role, Thomas has advanced philanthropy and community engagement efforts, as well as focused on helping Black students at Purdue succeed. Previously, she served as the director of Purdue’s Black Culture Center for 25 years.
“I am a firm believer that education has the capacity to transform lives, and that it is fundamental to our success,” Thomas said while accepting her award. “I feel extremely blessed to have an opportunity to share about African American culture and history and how it is a precious commodity worthy of study. We learn about our past, and we acquire the power to construct a better future.”
Award recipients and event organizers pose at the conclusion of the 2024 Governor’s Reception on June 25, 2024, in the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission honored six Black Hoosiers for their efforts to advance diversity and equality. (Mia Hilkowitz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)
U.S. Navy Veteran Dr. Russell Ledet received the Achievement in Health and Wellness Award. Ledet co-founded “The 15 White Coats,” a Black physician-led nonprofit that aims to increase diversity in medicine across the country. The organization has partnered with hospitals and medical schools across the country to provide scholarships and education resources. The organization is named after a 2019 viral photo of 15 Black medical students from Tulane University who posed in their white medical jackets in front of a former slave quarters at a plantation in Edgard, Louisiana.
Robert Shegog, president and CEO of the Recorder Media Group, received the Achievement in Business and Entrepreneurship Award. The Recorder Media Group is a minority-owned communications company that publishes and operates the Indianapolis Recorder and Indiana Minority Business Magazine. Shegog is also on the Indianapolis Urban League Board of Directors.
The ICRC awarded Dr. Tom Brown, a pastor at Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, its Community Engagement Award. Brown hosts the radio show “Operation Breadbasket Presents Harambee” which has episodes addressing a variety of civil and human rights topics. Brown also helped lead training and protest efforts in the South during Freedom Summer, a 10-week push to register Black voters in 1964.
Honoring its own
Each year, the ICRC also gives an award to one of its employees — this year it went to Debra Bluitt. She serves as an alternative dispute resolution mediator for the commission, and helps parties settle discrimination complaints. She has worked for the state for 20 years.
A graduate of Martin University, Bluitt has served as a member of the university’s alumni board, a Bethel A.M.E Cathedral Church Trustee Board member, and New Life Development Ministry Re-Entry Program Committee member, among other outreach positions. Bluitt thanked her family, colleagues and friends for “believing in me and my ability to help eradicate discrimination.”
“This award is not just a reflection of my own efforts, but also a testament to the incredible team of individuals I’ve had the privilege of working with and alongside,” Bluitt said. “It serves as a reminder of the importance of perseverance and the value of striving for excellence in everything you do.”
Brooklyn Marrs, a communications consultant for the ICRC, said the department received 15 nominations for the awards this year and that a selection committee chooses the recipients based on a rubric for each award. Marrs said nominations for next year’s awards will open on the commission’s website in the upcoming months.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
SUBSCRIBE
Indiana Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Indiana Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Niki Kelly for questions: info@indianacapitalchronicle.com. Follow Indiana Capital Chronicle on Facebook and X.
