Three African-American leaders in Des Moines plan to launch a community calendar next month to improve communication among the city’s black residents.

“The connectedness thing we can do right away,” said Jerald Brantley, publisher of the Iowa Bystander.

Brantley, Ako Abdul-Samad and Wayne Ford have joined forces to tackle the serious problems facing blacks, such as the state’s high black incarceration rate, while helping residents improve their lives and neighborhoods. The men and their well-known non-profit agencies, located within one mile of each other north of downtown, are long fixtures in the black community.

Brantley is executive director of Spectrum Resources. Abdul-Samad is founder and CEO of Creative Visions, and Ford is founder and executive director of Urban Dreams. Both Abdul-Samad and Ford also serve as Iowa legislators.

“You all as leaders who have access to the information, get it to those of us who don’t,” said Dawn Thomas, who attended the first community action meeting organized by the three leaders last Thursday at the Polk County Senior Center. “We’re not all on your email list.”

Others agreed. Jamel Kirby said he has been frustrated in the past with lively community meetings where little was accomplished. “My challenge for the men at the front is to pool their resources and knowledge together to create a central clearinghouse, a group or consortium where information is gathered,” he said. 

The calendar “will give us a good catapult into this thing and in keeping the momentum,” Brantley said.

Residents last week cited a myriad of concerns, including the state’s incarceration rate of blacks, which is 13.6 times that of whites, according to a national study. They also cited high suspension rates of black students and a dearth of after-school programs, jobs and programs for ex-offenders. They also said they lack information about the many community programs and projects already under way. Others said some events are scheduled in conflict with each other, which weakens support. A community calendar could help fix that, Brantley said.

Audrey Cheatom, 17, asked: “What kind of programs are there for kids who graduate early?”

Community activists, college officials and others at the meeting provided Cheatom with information about the third annual College Prep Day from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 3 at Drake University’s Olmsted Center. They also reiterated the need for better communication among blacks.

Brantley told the audience that he has spent 15 years helping ex-offenders stay out of prison and wants to expand programs. Ford said he has helped get state money for programs that benefited blacks, spearheaded studies of the state’s high black prison rate and runs a national model after-school program. Abdul-Samad said he’s working on the prison issue, school suspensions and youth programs.

The three men admitted they didn’t always get along but said they have set aside their differences to help the community.

The second meeting will be held next month and will include a progress report. The date and time of that meeting has not been set, but the meeting likely will continue at the Polk County Senior Center, Brantley said. 

Several of the 40 meeting-goers volunteered to work with the leaders.

Here is a sampling of comments from the community action meeting:

Dawn Thomas, said: “If you’ve been to prison and you get out . . . it is very hard to get a job and maintain a job. Yeah, we can get warehouse jobs. We can get jobs at McDonald’s, we can get things, and I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with those jobs, but if they go to school and they change their life and haven’t been in trouble, you still have employers that look at you and say there is nothing I can do for you because ‘10 years ago, you did this, or 15, 20 years ago, you did that.’ That’s a long time to hold somebody accountable for something when they’ve changed.”

Akil Jabbar, an ex-offender and former gang member who served six years in prison, said: “You can’t blame it on the system. You can’t blame it on racism. You can’t blame it on drugs. You have to blame it on yourself. Tell these people in the streets what time it is.”

Allen Spencer, said: “We have to be able to save our own babies. We have to quit being lax with our own families.”

Claudia Hawkins, said: “On your list of things, where are the after-school programs and funding for teenage activities?”

Wayne Ford, said: “I’ve seen a lot of white people come up there and lobby to save birds – and we save birds. If you want to understand the game, you’ve got to come up here.”

Carol Mandziara, of Miracle Life Family Church, said: “Parents haven’t been mentioned