WISH-TV to broadcast ‘Indy Day of Solidarity’ program

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — WISH-TV is proud to partner with Lilly to broadcast “Indy Day of Solidarity – We Stand Together.”

The unprecedented virtual event will air at noon on Saturday, June 13.

The program will include messages from Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, Indianapolis City-County Council member and Boys & Girls Club CEO Maggie Lewis, Kennedy King Memorial Institute Executive Director Darryl Lockett, journalist Angela Cain and Lilly Chairman and CEO Dave Ricks.

The “Indy Day of Solidarity” event follows weeks of protests in Indianapolis and around the country over abuse by police officers, and calls for justice reform.

“We live in a nation that you can have the police called on you for cutting the grass or selling Kool-Aid if you’re black and brown, for walking down the street you can be shot and killed by those who are supposed to protect and serve,” said Senior Pastor Jeffrey Johnson, of Eastern Star Church, in a video provided by Lilly.

Joy Fitzgerald, the Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Lilly also explained in the same video, “We can choose to respond, or not respond. We can choose to be silent, angry, uninformed, unbothered, unaffected. Or engaged, active, powerful, solution-driven, or on a mission for change.”

The company says the goal is to bring “new people and organizations together to acknowledge the trauma of racial injustice, understand its many forms, and create a call to action for lasting change.”

“We need policies to be changed. We need systems to be addressed, and that happens when we unite for work of ministry, to meet the needs of people,” Johnson said in the video.

“I choose to leverage my privilege, and influence to push the arc of injustice toward fairness, and equality for all,” Fitzgerald said in the video.

The program will also be simulcast by The Indianapolis Recorder and Radio One.

“The Recorder is honored to work alongside Lilly for its Day of Solidarity initiative, as their proactive and sensible approach during challenging times is an example for all of us to follow,” said Robert Shegog, President and CEO of Indianapolis Recorder. “Additionally, the way in which the Recorder, Radio One, and WISH-TV Channel 8 joined force demonstrates solidarity at its finest. Our respective entities are all independent Black-owned media companies. Having print, radio, and television outlets collaborate on such an important effort is incredibly powerful.”

“We stand together in solidarity, no matter the race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, ability and gender,” said Fitzgerald in the Lilly video.

Lilly is encouraging people to do the following for “Day of Solidarity”:

• Wear black to symbolize the dark time we’re living in – with a pandemic that is affecting minorities disproportionately and recent acts of deadly violence against African Americans.
• Take time to read, think and reflect on the kind of community you want – and what you can learn or change to help us get there.
• Reach out to someone different from you. Ask questions about each other’s journey through life: how are you similar, and how have your experiences been different?
• Speak out. Promote Indy Day of Solidarity – We Stand Together by sharing Lilly’s social media posts on your social media accounts.