Ready to change Wichita? Make a pledge and get a free BlackOutICT flag

Janelle King wants Wichita to move forward.

Lots of other people do, too, she says. She hears them talking or griping or dreaming or commiserating. She knows they have ideas, but maybe they don’t know where to go from there.

The next step starts tonight, King said.

BlackOutICT — a new initiative designed to inspire Wichitans to channel their civic pride into meaningful change — will begin with a kickoff celebration at 6 p.m. Friday at The Workroom, 150 N. Cleveland.

King, who owns The Workroom and is one of the area’s most well-known purveyors of Wichita flag merchandise, partnered with The Chung Report to launch the effort.

Here’s how it works:

Individuals, businesses or groups will be encouraged to make a public commitment to do something specific to improve Wichita. It could be something big or small, short-term or long. It could focus on igniting the economy, fighting negative perceptions, recruiting or retaining talent or just making your neighborhood a better place.

The statement will begin, “Because I love Wichita, I pledge . . .” Participants will be encouraged to share their pledges on social media using the hashtag #BlackOutICT.

Those who pledge online at www.blackoutict.com or in person at The Workroom will get a free black and gray Wichita flag to fly or a pin to wear during the month of October to raise awareness and encourage others to make their pledges.

Why a black flag? Because it’s the opposite of surrender, King said.

The idea started after a recent meeting with economist James Chung, after which King and some other community leaders walked away feeling discouraged, frustrated and exhausted.

“That weight of responsibility was too great on too few people,” she said.

“I just took away from it that we have . . . a community that is ready and braced for moving forward, but everyone’s maybe unsure how to do it, what to do. And they’re kind of looking to other people to carry that burden,” King said.

“You know how they say, ‘All ships rise with the tide?’ Well, I’m like, ‘That doesn’t do us any good if we only have one boat out there on the water.’”

Pledges will begin Friday, but one local company already has planned to give employees a paid day off to work on their BlackOutICT commitments, King said.

Another person plans to assemble 50 care kits each month — bags or boxes filled with toiletries and other supplies — and donate them to a homeless shelter.

“What we need is more people doing more things,” King said. “It doesn’t need to be huge things. It can be a million little things, but that’s how we’re going to start moving forward.”

This story was originally published September 27, 2018 at 4:38 PM.