Indiana Black Caucus's 2022 town halls will be mix of in-person, virtual

The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus’s annual statewide town halls this year will be a mix of in-person and virtual events.

During the pandemic, the Black Legislative Caucus town halls went virtual. Caucus Chair Robin Shackleford (D-Indianapolis) said getting back to in-person events is vital but said virtual town halls also have an appeal.

“Many more people were able to watch across the state," Shackleford said. "At one point, I think we had about 10,000 people that actually viewed the virtual town hall. So, we wanted to keep that concept to allow for more access.”

The Black Caucus uses the events to communicate directly with Hoosiers about their work in the previous year and gather input on priorities for the future.

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Shackleford said that’s particularly important heading into next year’s budget session.

“So, we will get a lot of topics concerning education funding or funding for their communities," Shackleford said. "So, it’s good to hear what their funding requests and priorities are.”

The first town hall – a virtual one – is Wednesday evening. In-person events will be held over the next few months in Indianapolis, Evansville, South Bend and Gary.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.