By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
July 16, 2025
At the culmination of the Indiana Black Expo Business Conference on Tuesday, Gov. Mike Braun recognized five minority community leaders and one staff member of the Indiana Civil Rights Commission for their achievements, saying they have made a “huge difference in Hoosiers’ lives.”
Braun presented the awards at the Governor’s Reception, hosted by the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, in partnership with Indiana Black Expo and the Indiana Department of Administration. The event, held in one of the ballrooms at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, has long been a gubernatorial tradition with previous Indiana governors also honoring minority leaders.
“These leaders have gone above and beyond,” Braun said of the six award recipients. “They’ve done something, yes, for their own career trajectory, but like many leaders, they’re actually helping many others along the way. The state of Indiana is very grateful for your service, and I want to thank all of you as well as your commitment to bettering our state, for being involved in your community, and setting out on your own course in terms of what might lie ahead.”
The reception was held less than a week after the governor’s office released its report on identifying and removing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from state agencies and departments across the executive branch. On Jan. 14, one day after he was inaugurated, Braun issued an executive order calling for a full review of policies, procedures, regulations and programming related to what the Republican governor has described as “the divisive, politically-charged DEI ideology.”
The report catalogs the individual agencies – including the Indiana Civil Rights Commission – and lists whether they have departments and employees dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives or mission statements related to DEI. Also, the document details employee training and public grants and programs that used such terms as “cultural diversity,” “multicultural competence,” “intentional inclusion,” and “equitable.”
In releasing the report, Braun said his administration has replaced DEI with MEI – which stands for merit, excellence and innovation – which the governor said has created “a level playing field where every single Hoosier has the chance to get ahead with hard work.”
The report highlights the effort to replace DEI throughout state agencies. In particular, it noted materials used in past presentations, newsletters and a blog post that all included references to DEI have been removed from agency websites, annual reports that mentioned cultural diversity have been archived, and staff positions and contractors who worked on DEI initiatives have been terminated.
During his remarks at the Governor’s Reception, Braun did not mention the report or MEI. Instead, he recounted his own journey, which started with graduating from Wabash College, earning an MBA at Harvard University and then foregoing plans to take a job on Wall Street in order to return to Indiana to build a business.
Braun said his entrance into politics came 21 years ago, when his wife, Maureen, was encouraged to run for the local school board. She was too busy running her own small business, so she suggested he vie for the seat. Braun mused that if he had not run for the school board, he probably would not be governor today.
“The journey of life changes all along the way,” Braun told the audience. “I always say, be careful when you pick those forks in the road and always be open to what that right decision might be.”
After the governor’s comments, the six recipients were presented with their awards. Each individual was introduced with a short bio and then called to the stage, where they all shook hands with Braun, accepted their plaques and posed for pictures.
The individuals and their respective awards are as follows:
The audience, seated at tables spread across the ballroom seemed subdued when Braun was speaking, greeting the governor with polite applause. As the award recipients were recognized, the crowd clapped and occasionally cheered for the honorees.
Following the governor’s speech and the awards ceremony, Alice Watson, president and CEO of Indiana Black Expo, downplayed the Braun administration’s shift from DEI to MEI. She described Braun as “a man of integrity” and said actions matter more than words. Entrepreneurs and small-business owners are facing many challenges, she said, including access to capital and the chance to prove themselves.
“DEI to me is a buzz word like MEI and it’s really, ‘What is the right thing to do when you take all the acronyms away? What is the right thing to do for the state of Indiana?’” Watson said. “So, hopefully, we’ll get back to those times where it’s not three letter acronyms, but it’s supporting Hoosiers and supporting businesses and supporting families because that’s the right thing to do.”
Morrell, who became the state’s first Black Republican mayor when he won the election in Marion in November 2023, credited his community with helping him earn the governor’s award. Dashing on stage for another photo with Braun, he did not express any concerns about the elimination of DEI from the governor’s administration.
“I think this shows that no matter what things are being called, what they’re titled or what’s going on, there’s still Black excellence happening all across the state of Indiana,” Morrell said of the ceremony and award recipients. “So I’m really appreciative of the governor, his administration for being able to support us and being able to get this award.”
An educator for 20 years and a member of the Indiana State Board of Education, Dilosa teared up as she talked about receiving the governor’s award.
“It means a lot,” Dilosa, who lives with her husband and their six children in northwest Indiana, said. “Education is a tough field to be in and it’s not flashy, it’s not shiny. … It is a profession that has to be within your heart for you to enjoy it and really want to do your best.”
Like Morrell, Dilosa said the governor’s awards show that even as the Braun administration removes DEI programs and initiatives, state officials still see and recognize people of color who have been working hard to make an impact in their communities. Also she said she is hopeful Indiana is at a point where it understands people matter and they should be acknowledged and cared for regardless of their cultural background or race.
In her work, she keeps her focus on children and that, she said, is her message to Braun.
“Keep Indiana kids first,” Dilosa said. “They have to be first always, because when we build them up, then our future opens up. It brightens up because they’re going to be the ones that are in the places that we’re in. So invest in them, encourage them, make sure they know that they matter, (and) make sure they understand … that we’re supporting them and we’re backing them.”
Watson was focused on the commonality between the attendees of the business conference and Braun’s background as an entrepreneur. She said she is hopeful that the governor will know the importance of supporting small businesses and understand the disparity that Black business owners encounter.
“At Indiana Black Expo, we’re going to continue to do what we do to support the (small business enterprises) and African American businesses,” Watson said. “It may be a little bit tougher challenge, but we’ve been doing this for 55 years. So we will continue to do it and we’ll figure out the resources of how to make sure that we stay in the space.”
Asked if she was confident that the Braun administration was going to support all small-business owners, Watson noted that anticipating the governor’s actions is difficult because he has been in office only a few months, but she said she knows a lot of good people in state government.
“I’m keeping a very open mind,” Watson said.
Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.
The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.
