By STAFF
Last month, the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper welcomed LaTasha “Tasha” Boyd “Jones” to the team. In her role as the health and environmental reporter, Boyd Jones will cover some of the issues and concerns that are most relevant to the Recorder readers and the Indianapolis community.
This Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Tell our readers a little about yourself. Who is Tasha Jones and what brought you to the Indianapolis Recorder?
LaTasha Boyd Jones: For a long time, Indianapolis knew me as a poet or a teaching artist. But I would say I am a conduit. I consider myself a child of the Most High, passing through this world to build, uplift and impact. I can do that in many ways — through teaching, art, poetry, modeling, acting and writing, which I believe is at the core of my being.
I am the proud daughter of Kay Jones and Reginald L. Jones. My father was a community leader, educator, humanitarian and activist whose life was deeply rooted in service to Indianapolis. His legacy has shaped how I understand community, responsibility and the power of being present.
Camike Jones (no relation), the editor-in-chief, guided me to the Indianapolis Recorder through a fellowship. After my father passed, she created a lane for me to continue his legacy as the Reginald L. Jones Fellow. Through that fellowship, I had the opportunity to keep my father’s legacy alive while returning to something central to me: writing.
I wrote about culture, community, health and education, art and music. The fellowship gave me a place to write, but it also gave me a place to rediscover myself as a poet and writer.
What first attracted you to journalism?
Boyd Jones: My attraction to journalism was through the fellowship. Over the three years, I wrote more consistently — something I had not done in a while — and it slowly helped me return to writing.
For a long time, I considered myself a teaching artist, and as such, I was able to introduce writing in a different capacity. Because I was connected to a prestigious media outlet, the Indianapolis Recorder, my students approached their classroom assignments and essays differently. They submitted their work with a determined effort to see themselves as published writers. They could see that their words had a place beyond the classroom.
Recently, it became harder for me to neglect the artist in “teaching artist.” The stress began affecting my health and my ability to be productive. After careful consideration, I decided to step away from teaching and accept the role of journalist at the Indianapolis Recorder.
Journalism reminded me that writing is part of who I am.
Why is the Indianapolis Recorder the right place for you?
Boyd Jones: The legacy of the Indianapolis Recorder is part of the reason I chose this place. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of the 131-year history of a revolutionary, trusted lifeline that continues to chronicle Black history as it happens? Yes, the Recorder is the right place for me — a writer who is not afraid of inquiry, innovation and creativity.
Additionally, Camike cultivated my talent and handled my artistry with care. She was open to how I look at the world: language, memory and culture as infrastructure. She welcomed my voice, acknowledged my perspective and trusted my opinion.
The Recorder gives me the opportunity to think deeply about the stories I tell while remaining accountable to the people and communities those stories are about. The Recorder also allows me to be who I serve.
Why did you choose the health and environmental beat?
Boyd Jones: My decision to become the Health & Environmental Reporter is personal as well as professional. My father died of cancer, so questions of health, environment and the conditions that shape how people live have always carried meaning for me.
The Marion County Community Health Assessment identifies mental health and well-being as a top priority, along with access to health care, housing, trauma and injury prevention, and infant mortality. Those are not abstract issues. They affect people’s homes, families, neighborhoods and futures.
Environmentally, I am particularly interested in the pockets of Black Indianapolis that have historically been overlooked and the ways environmental conditions shape health. Our communities have endured the heat-island effect, with large portions of our neighborhoods covered in pavement, roofs and buildings and lacking the trees, parks, green spaces, and water that would help cool them.
That interest means asking questions about sidewalks, greenways, bike lanes, parks and safe infrastructure — in the 46218, 46219 and 46229 on the East Side, along places such as Shadeland Avenue, 30th Street and 21st Street. I want to use data, reporting and the experiences of residents to examine how the environment people live in affects their health and quality of life.
What do you hope your coverage will focus on?
Boyd Jones: My reporting will focus on the places where public health, environmental issues and everyday life intersect.
I’m interested in the questions that matter to people in their homes, neighborhoods and communities — and in helping readers understand not only what is happening, but why it matters, who is affected and what people are doing about it.
I learned early that community is not simply something we cover. It is something we have a responsibility to listen to and understand.
So, I’m here to inquire, listen and report.
Again, I believe language, memory and culture are infrastructure. That belief shapes the way I approach journalism and the questions I ask. I want to understand the history behind an issue, listen to the people experiencing it, learn from the people doing the work and make complex health and environmental issues accessible to our readers.
What do you want readers to know, feel or be able to do differently after reading your stories?
Boyd Jones: I want readers to know something they did not know before they read my work. I want to surface perspectives that may have previously gone unheard or unwritten and expand the way people see an issue.
I want readers to feel informed, but also connected. I want them to recognize themselves, their neighbors and their communities in the reporting — and to understand that their experiences are worthy of examination.
I want them to ask another question.
I want them to look at the street they drive down every day differently. I want them to question why one neighborhood has trees and another does not; why one community has access to certain resources, and another does not; or why a decision made in a boardroom or government office matters to someone’s health at home.
Most of all, I want readers to trust that I have done the work behind the story. I have listened. I have asked questions. I have examined the evidence. I have sought perspectives that might otherwise be missed. A strong point of view should never come at the expense of fairness, and beautiful writing should never obscure the reporting.
If I have done my job, a reader should finish a Tasha Jones piece knowing more, seeing something different and feeling moved to action.
What role should accountability journalism play in your coverage of hospitals, government, agencies, corporations and other institutions that affect the community and health environment?
Boyd Jones: Accountability is at the center of health and environmental journalism because the institutions that make decisions about our health, our neighborhoods and our environment hold power.
My job is not simply to report what an institution says. It is to ask what happened, how the decision was made, who made it, who benefits, who bears the consequences and whether the institution is doing what it says it is doing.
That means following the data, examining public records, asking difficult questions, talking to the people affected and giving institutions an opportunity to respond. It also means following a story beyond the announcement. If a hospital makes a commitment, if an agency establishes a program, if a corporation promises remediation or if the government allocates money to address a community problem, I want to know what happens next.
Accountability journalism should not be about being adversarial for the sake of being adversarial. It should be about responsibility.
People deserve to know how decisions that affect their bodies, homes, schools, neighborhoods and environment are being made. They deserve to know when systems are working, when they are failing and when the people in power are not answering the questions the community is asking.
For me, accountability is part of being a conduit. I am not the story. I am helping create a path between information, institutions and the people who have a right to understand what is happening around them.
What would you say to readers who have a health or environmental issue in their neighborhood that they believe the Recorder should investigate?
Boyd Jones: Tell me.
If something is happening in your neighborhood that you believe is affecting your health, your family, your environment or your quality of life, I want to hear about it.
Tell me what you are seeing. Tell me how long it has been happening, who you have contacted and what response you received. If you have documents, notices, photographs, data or other information, share those as well.
But most importantly, tell me why you believe it matters.
A reader’s concern may be the beginning of a larger question. One person noticing something can lead to discovering a pattern affecting an entire neighborhood.
I cannot promise that every tip will become a story, but I can promise that I will take the concern seriously. I will ask questions, look for evidence, seek out the people affected and determine whether there is something that warrants further reporting.
The community should not have to wait for a reporter to discover a problem before its concerns are heard. I come from the Ubuntu philosophy: “I am because you are.”
As editor-in-chief, why did the Indianapolis Recorder make health and environmental reporting a dedicated area of coverage, and why is this important now?
Camike Jones: Prioritizing this coverage confirms the Recorder’s commitment to amplifying concerns around health disparities for marginalized communities and seeking solutions.
We don’t want these concerns to be swept under the rug. Community members should have access to information about the health concerns they may face and where to go for help. Stakeholders should have access to which issues matter to the people they serve and lead. Keeping these issues at the forefront is vital toward bringing attention to the community and to the stakeholders who, together, can work toward solving the problems.
What do you believe Tasha brings to the newsroom and to Recorder readers?
Jones: What Tasha brings to the table is a relentless curiosity paired with a sincere and deeply held passion for this community. That combination will serve to illuminate issues that are specific to our readers and neighbors while advocating for change and accountability.
She cares about what happens to the people who live here. She cares about holding decision-makers accountable. She also believes things can and should get better.
What do you want this beat to accomplish for the communities the Recorder serves?
Jones: I really want the focus on health and environmental issues to inform, educate and to hopefully be a catalyst for positive change.
We’re doing our part to make sure these issues stay on the community’s radar so that the people who can make a difference will make a difference.
