The EPD and NAACP Discuss Race Relations in Evansville [Listen]

As communities across the country continue to mourn the tragic death of George Floyd, it seemed like only a matter of time before the outrage and anger surface here in Evansville. And now that we are starting to see more protests/marches/gatherings, we felt it was the right time to give some air time to prominent members from both groups at the center of this debate.

For this week's Be MY Guest segment, we were joined by Billy Bolin, the Chief of the Evansville Police Department, and by Reverend Gerald Arnold from the Evansville Branch of the NAACP. We wanted to hear their thoughts on the rising tension between law enforcement and the African American community, both personally and professionally, and their reactions to the protesting in our city and around the country.

According to his bio on the EPD website, Chief Bolin "has served on the Evansville Police Department since 1998.  He has been assigned to various positions on the department during his career, including Patrol, Juvenile Detective Office, Crime Prevention Officer and Patrol Sergeant. He is a graduate of the Police Executive Leadership Academy.  Chief Bolin won the National 2005 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award for Outstanding Public Service and was the 2009 Indiana Association of Chiefs of Police, Police Officer of the Year."

Reverend Arnold is an absolute joy to be around. Considering all of the things that he has witnessed and experienced, you can't help but get drawn in and hang on his every word. In addition to being the leader of the Evansville branch of the NAACP, the 76-year-old is also the Pastor at Independence Missionary Baptist Church, which has been serving Evansville's west side for 145 years. Reverend Arnold grew up in Monroe, Louisiana in the 1960's and has seen, first-hand, the racism and hatred that has plagued our country for decades.

I can't think of two people better suited to bring our community together than Chief Bolin and Reverend Arnold. Please do yourself a favor and listen to what they have to say.