INDIANAPOLIS—This year, Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Eddie Melton (D-Gary) was selected as one of Brotha Magazine’s 50 Most Influential Men of the Year. The national magazine specifically targets African American males and is intended as an empowerment tool to provide resources to those dealing with complicated issues. This year, Brotha chose 50 Black Men in the country to recognize for exceptional work and commitment to uplifting communities.

Sen. Eddie Melton had the following response to being selected as one of Brotha Magazine’s 50 most influential men this year:

“It’s truly an honor to be included in Brotha Magazine’s first annual list recognizing Black men in our country,” Sen. Melton said. “In every stage of my life, I’ve made it a personal mission to do my part to contribute to the growth and prosperity of my community. I know that uplifting those in our communities who are most vulnerable, and helping them get the resources, help or support that they need to be successful, is how we all thrive. And it will always be a priority of mine to fight for the people and promote the collective success of communities like my hometown of Gary.

“I also think that this past year, especially, ignited additional motivation to step up and fight on behalf of my community—who were hit doubly hard with the pandemic and continued racial violence—and demand that real change be made. I came into this year’s legislative session with the vow to be about the peoples’ business and push for the policies that those in the community said were important to them.

“Thankfully, in Indiana we saw progress on criminal justice reform with the passage of House Bill 1006, which bans police chokeholds, requires de-escalation training and makes it easier to discipline officers who engage in misconduct. This was a proposal that I, along with members of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus, fought hard to see approved this session and it was historic to see it passed unanimously out of the General Assembly.”

Other notable people included on the national Brotha Magazine’s first annual 50 Most Influential Men of the Year List include: Congressman Jamaal Bowman, President of Paul Quinn College Michael Sorrell, CNN political commentator and politician Bakari Sellers and the first Black president of an NFL team Jason Wright.

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