Expo organizers spread message on social media - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Faith Patrol volunteer Reverend Charles Harrison is not only on patrol almost every weekend to monitor young people downtown, but he is also on Facebook.

The Ten Point Coalition is using Facebook and Twitter to keep fights from breaking out during this year's Summer Celebration.

"We are using social media. We have teenagers monitoring that and some college students for us and kind of getting the message out to the kids," Harrison said.

It's all about respecting yourself, according to Indiana Black Expo coordinators like Amp Harris. The Indianapolis resident and young father is also talking to Indy youth during events. Harris' popular celebrity basketball game draws thousands of young people each year. He plans to candidly announce curfew reminders.

"Our biggest thing is safety. If you follow all the rules, you are going to have fun. You are going to go home and you are going to wake up the next morning," Harris said.

Black Expo hopes to impress Indy's youth with unique, first-time interactive exhibits, like the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" exhibit. The unique exhibit has only been featured in a few American cities. Organizers worked closely with JP Morgan Chase to showcase the exhibit in the Circle City for the first time ever.

"We think it's an opportunity for the children and families to come inside and really look at the history," said IBE president Tanya Bell. "You will see the rarely seen works of Dr. Martin Luther King."

Community leaders and Expo organizers are not only using social media and educational events to help keep the peace on the street, but also messages from celebrities, ranging from hip hop artists to athletes.

NBA star Dominique Wilkins, father of a 16-year-old son, also wants Indianapolis teens to realize a safe Expo is a matter of respect.

"You got to give that respect and this is here for you. It's not here for you to destroy, it's here for you to educate and learn something," Wilkins said.

Two-hundred volunteers, many parents, have signed up with the Faith Patrol to help police monitor the streets downtown this weekend. They will coordinate with about 400 local law enforcement officers to address any issues that may arise during Black Expo weekend. The goal is to repeat the 2011 Expo, when their efforts resulted in no major issues for Expo attendees.

Ten Point Coalition on Facebook