Indianapolis, IN
‘A woman of her word’: Sorority president talks getting VP Kamala Harris to Indianapolis
Watch VP Kamala Harris speak at Zeta Phi Beta convention in Indianapolis
Watch VP Kamala Harris speak at Zeta Phi Beta convention in Indianapolis
Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar
The energy that Zeta Phi Beta emitted when Vice President Kamala Harris visited the sorority’s national convention was massive, and Stacie NC Grant doesn’t see that waning.
The sorority, one of the country’s oldest historically Black Greek-lettered organizations, has plenty in store for the city of Indianapolis before it closes out its eight-day conference at the Indiana Convention Center.
When the presumptive Democratic nominee for U.S. president gave her keynote address on Wednesday, the sorority notched its latest first, said Grant, the international president and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.
“This is beyond historic. This moment is incredible for our organization of firsts. We have carved our name in history once again, as the first Black Greek-letter organization to host the first female of color presidential nominee that represents more than one culture and experience in this country.”
(Zeta Phi Beta was first Greek-letter organization to charter a chapter in Africa; it was the first to form adult and youth auxiliary groups; and it’s the first, and only, National Pan-Hellenic Council sorority to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity.)
Grant has been in Indianapolis since Thursday preparing for the July 23-28 meeting, with the address by the sitting vice president being a highlight.
VP Kamala Harris: Her visit to Zeta Phi Beta convention in Indianapolis
How Indianapolis became an early stop in the 2024 Kamala Harris presidential election bid
At the helm of the sorority since 2022, Grant had requested Harris participate in the organization’s 2023 Zeta Day on the Hill, an annual day of workshops, forums and meetings with congressional representatives on issues that affect minority communities across the U.S.
The notice was too short for Harris to make that September event though, so Grant asked if the vice president could attend the sorority’s 2024 convention, slated for the Circle City.
“You know how busy the vice president is, so we didn’t know if it would be possible and it takes a long time for them to navigate her schedule to get back to confirm any appearance,” Grant said.
The Zeta leader said she got word a couple of months ago that Harris was considering the sorority’s biennial convention — called the Grand Boule — as part of her scheduled appearances for July.
Then in early July, Harris’ office released the list of stops that included Zeta.
“I released to our membership that she would be coming, so everybody was like, ‘Oh, my gosh! The vice president is coming!” she said.
Harris appeared at Essence Festival in New Orleans July 6, and then was the keynote speaker on July 10 during the convention of her own Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority in Dallas.
Before the Zeta meeting though, U.S. President Joe Biden faced a deluge of calls from within his party to abandon his reelection bid. He bowed out Sunday and endorsed Harris for the party’s nomination.
Suddenly, the Zetas were preparing to host the likely Democratic nominee for president and the first woman of color in that position. Harris’ mother was born in India and her father had moved to the U.S. from Jamaica.
“Little did we know while I was here planning to kick off the week that the news would hit on Sunday about President Biden choosing to pass the baton. And everything changed — the excitement, the planning, the Secret Service needs, the White House conversations,” Grant said. “It was like ‘Wait, wait, wait, what happened?”
Was there a possibility that Harris would cancel the Indianapolis engagement?
Some questioned whether Harris would change plans and skip Indianapolis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was later scheduled to speak before the U.S. Congress at about the same time as the Zeta Social Justice Town Hall at which Harris had committed to speak.
“I did hear some rumbling of that, but she’s a woman of character and a woman of her word. And I know she was committed to being here,” Grant said. “And I’m so grateful that she kept her promise because that goes a long way with our constituency.”
Divine Nine: Black Greek-letter organization flexes political muscle as VP Kamala Harris runs for president
There are still days to go before the convention ends. During that time, Zeta will elect officers, participate in workshops and attend concerts and celebrate its best performing chapters. It also has had training for local women-owned startups.
This week, the sorority kicks off a nationwide initiative to help end period poverty through a partnership with Project Period, having raised $100,000 for the Indianapolis-based program that provides free menstrual hygiene products in underserved communities.
VP Kamala Harris: ‘There’s so much at stake in this moment.’
Watch VP Kamala Harris speak at Zeta Phi Beta convention in Indianapolis
Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar
Zeta Phi Beta leader on the 2024 presidential election
Founded in 1920 on the campus of Howard University, Zeta Phi Beta is one of the nation’s oldest Black Greek-letter organizations.
IndyStar spoke with the organization’s president and CEO, Stacie NC Grant about the 2024 U.S. presidential race.
The sorority, which has inducted more than 130,000 members, is meeting in Indianapolis and hosted one the first public appearances by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris since she became a candidate for president of the United States.
President Biden leaving the 2024 race
“It stopped my heart a little bit because I’ve had an opportunity to build a little rapport with him, as well. He has been an excellent leader for our country, and I know how much he loves the United States of America; and I know this was not an easy decision. But I could also understand that he might want to just take some time with family, take some time to enjoy the results of the work because he will go down in history as a president that has accomplished so much more than many or most. … I was a little sad, but I was excited to know that he has given America his best and he deserves to be celebrated for that.”
The country’s progress since President Barack Obama left the White House
“We’ve done an interesting navigational turn in some of the ways in which members of this country have not been properly respected. And from Obama to now, we’ve had reversals on what we never thought we would see reversals on, from the Supreme Court down. It’s very challenging to think how that can be forward movement when those original cases stood the test of time for so long and were reversed because of a shift in the changing of the guard.”
Supporting Kamala Harris for president
“As my individual personal self, I am jumping up and down. As the official self as president I am just happy that I can educate and provide opportunities for discourse and dialogue for my members to make their personal choices. … Speaking for my personal self, I was excited to see the work of Biden-Harris and I think it’s just going to be more exciting to see what else comes from this. … I wish I could do cartwheels. Because if I could still do them, I’d be flipping all over this stage right now. But I’m excited to be a part of witnessing this history.”
Choice running mate for Kamala Harris
“Picking a vice presidential running mate is a critical part in the political process of being able to extend across all aisles for what’s best for the country, so it’ll be interesting to see how the decision is made to move forward and to allow the country to have a full opportunity to engage on who they want to see lead this nation. I don’t believe in getting into all of the noise and the rhetoric. It should be on the facts. What can each candidate do to move this country forward? Period.”
Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson.
(A version of this story first appeared in 2020.)
When the Marott Hotel opened at Meridian Street and North Fall Creek Boulevard in 1926, it was a culmination of 30 years planning for George J. Marott.
Born in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England, Marott emigrated to the United States in 1875 at the age of 16 with his parents. He opened a shoe store in 1884 in Indianapolis, using money he earned from his $10 a week salary as a shoe clerk in a store his father operated, according to an obituary in the Indianapolis Star on February 16, 1946.
Eventually one shoe store became several. A consummate businessman, Marott also purchased electric and heating utilities in Kokomo and interurban lines between Kokomo and Marion and Kokomo and Frankfort, though he eventually sold those.
Marott continued to diversify, building the hotel that bears his name. He worked 12 to 15 hours a day all his life, juggling management of the hotel and his shoe business, his obituary said.
The hotel was his pride and joy; it wasn’t just a hotel, it was also a place where Indianapolis’ high society resided just as New York society did at the Waldorf-Astoria and the Plaza Hotel. Booth Tarkington, Meredith Nicholson and widows of Indianapolis’ long-dead tycoons all took up residence.
“I saw in this property,” Marott said, “the opportunity some to erect some kind of a monumental edifice to the city which I have loved so well and as the time draws near for the realization of a dream, I am convinced anew that my dreams to hold this property for the purpose to which it now is dedicated have been fulfilled.”
Limousines lined the property’s semi-circular drive as visitors in tails and minks arrived to be entertained in the Marott’s Marble Ballroom, Reef Room and Crystal Dining Room.
The hotel guest list over the years was as impressive as the structure itself: Clark Gable, Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, Bob Hope, Babe Ruth, Herbert Hoover, Helen Hayes and Lauren Bacall.
In 1932, Winston Churchill, then a member of British Parliament, arrived in Indianapolis by train with his daughter, Diana. They were given a hearty welcome by Indianapolis dignitaries, including Mayor Reginald Sullivan, then spirited away to the Marott Hotel where they stayed.
That evening Churchill spoke before a crowd of 1,200 at the Murat Theater on the “destiny of English-speaking peoples.” Churchill was still nursing wounds suffered in a car accident on New York’s Fifth Avenue just months before and did little Indianapolis sightseeing or socializing, but he was entertained by his fellow countryman, George Marott.
Churchill was so impressed with the hotel that he carried back to England a complete plan of the hotel. Marott and Churchill developed a friendship that lasted until Marott’s death in 1946.
A 1940 Indianapolis Star article noted Marott’s career attracted the attention of numerous authors who wanted to write a book about his life, which he found distasteful. Churchill was the most eminent author he refused. When Churchill returned to England, he sent Marott one of his books — an autobiography as proof of his writing ability. Marott cherished the autographed book, even though the text misspelled his name as “Marrot.”
Marott was also known for his generosity. Over the course of his life, he gave away more than $500,000, according to his obituary. Shortly before his death, he donated his shoe store empire to Butler University and his veteran employees, an Indianapolis Star story on January 27 of that year reported. About 20 years later, the employees bought out Butler.
At the age of 87, Marott died in his apartment in the hotel that bore his name. After flourishing for several decades, the Marott Shoe Company closed its downtown store at 18 East Washington Street in June 1978. A few years later, its remaining suburban stores closed as well.
By the 1970s, the Marott had gone through several owners and become low-income apartments. The Marott got a shot in the arm with extensive renovations, and today the Marott apartments are owned by Van Rooy Companies. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
INDIANAPOLIS — One person is in critical condition following a shooting on Indy’s near east side.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, around 8:10 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on reports of a person shot.
Upon arrival, police located a 50-year-old man with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.
He is currently reported to be in extremely critical condition.
No additional information has been made available at the time of this article’s publication.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on June 17 gave AES the nod to raise electricity rates enough to earn an additional $71 million each year, a decision that drew reproof from Indiana lawmakers who called it another blow to cost-burdened consumers.
The approved rate represents less than half of the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It’s also less than the $91 million increase proposed in an October settlement agreement between AES, the city of Indianapolis and major electricity consumers like Kroger and Walmart.
But the new rate is still significantly more than what the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the state agency representing ratepayers in the case, recommended in September. The OUCC’s proposal would have capped AES’s annual operating revenue at $21 million less than the current level.
The rate increase authorizes AES to earn a total of nearly $2 billion each year, or an estimated $384 million in profit.
The higher base rate comes as a double whammy for Indianapolis-area households, who are already paying more for electricity this summer after AES temporarily raised rates to account for higher-than-anticipated fuel costs during last winter’s storms. The increase also arrives against the backdrop of inflation, which rose to a three-year high last month, and surging gas prices due to the war in Iran.
Gov. Mike Braun wrote in a Wednesday post to X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the IURC’s approval of the rate increase.
“Hoosiers have spent years tightening their belts and making tough financial decisions,” Braun wrote. “It’s time for utility companies to do the same.”
The IURC’s decision also drew fire from the other side of the aisle. In a June 17 news release, five Democrats representing Indianapolis in the state Senate – J.D. Ford, Andrea Hunley, La Keisha Jackson, Fady Qaddoura, and Greg Taylor – chastised Indiana’s Republican supermajority for failing to rein in rising utility costs.
“Hoosiers pay more. Monopoly utilities collect more. And the leaders in the super-majority who promise affordability over and over again show those are just empty words,” the news release said. “Instead, they continue to defend a system that takes more and more out of our paychecks.”
The consumer advocacy group Citizens Action Coalition also slammed the rate increase. Ben Inskeep, CAC’s program director, said the decision left him “less optimistic that this commission is willing to do things differently and to actually hold utilities accountable.”
He said the IURC should have penalized AES for issues that plagued customers after the utility updated its billing system in 2023, including duplicated withdrawals for the same monthly bill.
The rate increase will take effect in two phases, with rates going up in July 2026 and January 2027. AES officials anticipate the hikes “will be less than $5 per month per phase” for a household that uses 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per month, according to a Wednesday news release from the utility.
“The IURC’s decision reflects a thorough, transparent process and balances the need for continued investment in the electric system with a focus on customer affordability,” the news release stated.
Under a state law that Braun signed in February, AES cannot ask for another increase to its base rate until January 2030 — though electricity bills could still go up for other reasons, like the fuel adjustment charge hitting consumers this month.
Three members of the five-member IURC signed off on the rate increase: Andy Zay, David Veleta, and David Ziegner. Commissioner Bob Deig dissented. Commissioner Anthony Swinger recused himself from the decision because he worked on the AES rate case for the OUCC before he was appointed to the IURC by Braun in January.
“None of this was taken lightly,” Zay, the IURC’s chair, said at the Wednesday hearing, adding that the commission and its staff had carefully weighed concerns about affordability. The commissioners did not go into further detail at the hearing.
But the commission’s order shows some of the debates that played out during the rate case. One point of contention was AES’s authorized return on equity — that is, how much the utility can earn each year in profits. Other disputes hinged on how AES forecasts its operating expenses.
The OUCC accused AES of including more than 100 “phantom hires,” vacant positions it did not necessarily intend to fill in its calculations. Last year, AES said that the rising costs of vegetation management, or trimming trees around power lines, also drove the need to raise rates. The OUCC recommended keeping vegetation management costs flat.
One factor that’s not driving higher prices? Data centers.
AES does not currently provide service to any data centers and did not include them in its calculations, AES president Brandi Davis-Handy said in testimony before the IURC.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
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