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Page A8 Friday, May 29, 2026 INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER(317) 924-5143P.O. Box 18499, Indianapolis, IN 46218-0499newsroom@indyrecorder.comIndianapolis Recorder Newspaper encourages short, concise letters to the editor and opinion articles from the public. Letters and opinion articles will be used at the editor%u2019s discretion and are subject to editing. We will not guarantee publication of material received. We cannot guarantee dates of publication. Let,ters containing libelous or untrue statements will not be published. All letters and opinion articles must include a verifi able full name, address and telephone number. This information will not be published at the request of the writer. Letters and articles should be typed but will be accepted if handwriting is legible.George P. StewartFounderEditor-Publisher1895-1924Marcus C. Stewart Sr.EditorPublisher1925-1988Eunice TrotterEditor-in-ChiefPublisher1988-1990William G. MaysOwner/ Publisher1990-presentEDITORIALEditor-in-Chief...............................Camike Jones Technology Editor.....................Rupal Thanawala Arts & Culture Reporter................Chloe McGowanMulti-Media & Sports Reporter........Noral ParhamHealth & Environmental Reporter...........................................................................Hanna RauworthStaff Writer.....................................Malik SimonBUSINESSBusiness Offl ce/Legals......................CrystalffiDalton ADVERTISING/MARKETINGExecutive Sales Consultant....Robert Walker-SmithSenior Strategic Media Consultant.......Rita J. Wise Sales Representative.......................Michael FalkerPRODUCTIONProduction Manager.................Jeana M. L. OuattaraPresident/Chief Executive Offl cer............................................................................Robert ShegogEDITORIALBy LARRY SMITHThe NAACP has called on Black high school athletes to forego enrolling in universities in several Southern states. This boycott, which would primarily affect schools in the SEC and ACC athletic conferences, also asks Black college athletes to enter the transfer portal in favor of rival conferences, such as the Big Ten. The NAACP issued a press release on May 19th. It reads in part:%u201cThe NAACP today launched the%u00a0%u2018Out of Bounds%u2019 campaign, a national call for Black athletes, families, fans, alumni, and consumers to withhold athletic and financial support from public universities in states that have moved to limit, weaken, or erase Black voting representation in the wake of the Supreme Court%u2019s 6-3 ruling in%u00a0Louisiana v. Callais, which gutted what was left of the Voting Rights Act. The NAACP identified eight priority states %u2026 and targeted flagship public athletic programs generating more than $100 million in annual revenue that continue to recruit Black athletes while their state governments dismantle the political power of Black communities.%u201dWhile I believe that the call for the boycott is sincere, I%u2019m not sure that even the NAACP believes it will succeed. The obstacles standing in the way are numerous and substantial. For one, many variables attend the process of selecting the %u201cright%u201d school for an athlete, including competition for a particular position, preference for particular coaches, and size of scholarship offers (though NIL deals render that issue less important for elite athletes). In other words, the %u201cright fit%u201d tends to be very important to athletes, often more so than for non-athletes. Perhaps most importantly, even during the height of Jim Crow it was difficult to get African Americans to sustain boycotts for the year or more that would often be necessary to force lasting change. For example, the 13-month Montgomery Bus Boycott was the spark that ignited the Civil Rights Movement. That effort was incredibly successful in achieving its goal, but it was rife with logistical nightmares, countless acts of violence by whites who fought integration, and behind-the-scenes tensions between Martin Luther King, Jr. and some local Black leaders and organizations. The boycott initially was planned for just one day; the organizers knew that its efficacy was far from guaranteed.The NAACP%u2019s current quest for a national boycott of southern universities seems especially daunting given the differences in motivations and desired outcomes between the 1960s and now. For example, the involvement of teens and young adults was crucial to the Civil Rights Movement. Despite the boldness and creativity of youth activists today, many athletes don%u2019t necessarily embrace the notion that their actions could affect Black communities generally. Their drive to be excellent individually sometimes is a substitute for being actively engaged in %u201cuplifting the race%u201d (a phrase that was often used in former days).Moreover, while African Americans have never been monolithic in our beliefs, it is no longer axiomatic that boycotts or similar actions will appeal to 90% of the Black population. Thus, while a relatively small percentage of people actively participated in civil rights protests, it would have been exceedingly rare for the great majority of Blacks to oppose actions that were designed to, say, integrate lunch counters. Further, the end goal was time-tested and clear: keep sitting at the counter %u2014 with a willingness to be beaten %u2014 until segregationist laws and practices were changed. To be sure, there are encouraging signs that the collective fight for racial justice is not dead. In fact, in the last couple of years there has been at least one contemporary example of a successful national effort that is aimed at correcting what the vast majority of Black folks view as a grave misstep: the boycott of (or %u201cfast%u201d from) Target due to the retail chain dropping its DEI efforts. Though a prominent pastor who initially called for the boycott came under scrutiny a few months ago for allegedly %u201cselling out%u201d the boycott, it continues. Target%u2019s leadership has publicly acknowledged that the boycott has been a factor in slowing the chain%u2019s sales, though they point to %u201cother reasons%u201d as well.But suppose that a dozen or so %u201cfive-star%u201d football players from the class of 2027 very vocally decided to attend Penn State instead of LSU due to Louisiana%u2019s voting map redistricting. Would there be near unanimity among Blacks in affirming such a move? Probably not. More importantly, would Louisiana%u2019s legislature rush to undo its decision to eradicate its sole Black voting district? Not likely. It%u2019s one thing to ask people not to shop at a particular vendor; it%u2019s another thing to ask them to potentially harm their livelihood, especially when a high percentage of Black athletes come from low-income families. Thus, the NAACP%u2019s call feels more like a plea for emotional solidarity and reflection rather than a realistic action plan.To be clear, I strongly support the NAACP%u2019s aims in calling for the boycott. If it were the case that, say, 90% of Black athletes, especially elite ones, joined the Big Ten or enrolled in HBCUs instead of SEC and ACC schools, I have no doubt that the resulting pressure to force change in redistricting laws (not to mention anti-DEI practices) would be very difficult to resist. Still, I%u2019m skeptical that such will be the case. Thus, people of all races who take democracy and equality seriously (i.e., beyond lip service) must coalesce around principles and practices that will lead to reform. Given that there is no way for ordinary citizens to pressure a Supreme Court that has so zealously abrogated Black political power, we must organize to shake the Congress %u2014 and local legislatures %u2014 out of their anti-democratic and immoral stupor. And we must continue to put economic pressure on businesses that acquiesce to political leaders. In the inimitable words of Frederick Douglass, %u201cPower concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.%u201dContact community leader Larry Smith at larry@leaf-llc.com.Will it work?By CAMIKE JONESThe Trump administration, in yet another unprecedented move, has established %u201cThe Anti-Weaponization Fund%u201d for people claiming wrongful treatment by previous administrations.This fund was established as part of Trump, his family%u2019s and the Trump Organization LLC%u2019s settlement with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the Southern District of Florida %u201cfollowing the leak of their tax returns,%u201d according to a Department of Justice press release. Additionally, the plaintiffs, including his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, will receive a formal apology.In lieu of monetary damage, they have agreed to the establishment of this AntiWeaponization Fund, which will receive $1.776 billion from the judgment fund.%u201cThe machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department%u2019s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,%u201d Todd Blanche, acting attorney general said. %u201cAs part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.%u201dThe redress in question may include Trump supporters who feel like they were wrongfully investigated or prosecuted by previous administrations. The fund could also be used to compensate people involved with the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges, who were present at the riot are suing to block the creation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund. When Trump returned to the presidency, on his first day in office, he granted clemency to every person charged or convicted for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. If this fund moves forward, some of those people may also receive financial compensation. A five-member commission, appointed by Blanche, will review the claims.Redress or reparations?Some of the rioters lost jobs, went to prison or endured other undesirable outcomes. And what some call redress, others are referring to as reparations. Comedian D.L. Hughley said that if people unjustly treated by the government are receiving financial restitution, %u201cBlack people should be the first in line.%u201d Isn%u2019t there a bit of truth in comedy?If you begin at the beginning, Black Americans have endured centuries of mistreatment at the hands of the government. This is undeniable. The U.S. government, specifically the U.S. House of Representatives in 2008, formally apologized for slavery, but no compensation was offered for the descendants and communities of those affected by slavery%u2019s atrocities. But the mistreatment does not end with slavery.For centuries, enslaved people were not even allowed to read or write, a foundational step toward autonomy and liberation. Then, following emancipation, they were still not allowed to operate as equal citizens with full access to voting, higher education, property ownership and so on. Several decades after slavery ended, Hughley noted the many thriving Black communities that were massacred and destroyed due to systemic racism. If those communities (i.e. Tulsa, Seneca Village, Rosewood) do not deserve financial redress from the government, after ignoring their suffering for generations, then who does?Generational implicationsIn the Pulitzer Prize winning book, %u201cInvisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City%u201d by New York Times journalist Andrea Elliott, she explores the present-day face of child poverty. Elliott spent more than a decade following the central figure, Dasani, a Black girl living in New York, and her family. Throughout the years covered in the book, Dasani%u2019s family experienced substance abuse, interactions with the child welfare system and bouts of homelessness. Beyond just sharing the family%u2019s current financial status, Elliott recounts how they got there. She thoroughly researched the family%u2019s background and learned that Dasani%u2019s grandfather was a Buffalo Soldier. Where he should have been heralded for his service to this country, he returned to face one obstacle after another. After World War II, the GI bill allowed veterans to purchase homes in suburban areas, creating middle class neighborhoods. Unfortunately for his descendants, Dasani%u2019s grandfather was denied access to the GI Bill benefits. He was also denied higher-paying jobs at local companies because of his race. Subsequently, he came home from the war and became a janitor. These circumstances from decades prior, set this family on a pathway to poverty that they had not recovered from by the book%u2019s end in the mid-2000s. But that%u2019s just one family%u2019s story. Imagine the thousands, or hundreds of thousands of Black families who share a similar tale.The U.S. has already paid reparationsThis country is familiar with the practice of paying reparations. I%u2019ll share some examples.The U.S. paid reparations to Italy for Sicilians who were lynched in New Orleans in the late 1800s. A court case involving Italian immigrant defendants concluded in an acquittal due to a lack of evidence. Residents were encouraged by local newspapers to take matters into their own hands. A mob of people forcefully entered the prison and shot, mutilated and hung several Italian immigrants. Italy threatened to break diplomatic ties with the U.S. over the lack of resolution. Calling the incident, %u201cdeplorable and discreditable%u201d and %u201can offense against the law of humanity,%u201d President Benjamin Harrison paid $25,000 in reparations to the Italian government in 1891. This would be nearly $1 million today. The U.S. also paid reparations to people of Japanese descent following the World War II internment camps through the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, to the tune of %u201c$20,000 for each eligible individual.%u201dIf these communities were paid, and there is a strong possibility that the Capitol rioters (or should we now say protestors? Visitors?), will be paid, then what is still standing in the way of Black American communities receiving restitution?Over the years some have argued that handing out checks would not be the best way, nor would community investments or funding free higher education. The methodology has been debated incessantly. But what it boils down to is a decision of whether reparations are due to Black Americans at all, and that response has consistently been %u201cno%u201d or %u201cnot yet.%u201d It should be noted that the Anti-Weaponization Fund did not take centuries to decide. Neither did the two cases of reparations mentioned above. And, as Black Americans witness yet another case of redress for others, %u201cnot yet%u201d is surely taking far too long.Contact Editor-in-Chief Camike Jones at camikej@indyrecorder.com or 317-762-7850.Riots and reparations