Photo: Getty Images
The NAACP has launched a national campaign calling for Black athletes to boycott university sports programs in states where redistricting has diluted Black voting power.
The announcement comes in the wake of last month’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down a majority-Black voting district in Louisiana, weakening Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Since then, several Southern states — including Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana — have proposed new congressional maps that civil rights advocates say could weaken Black representation under claims of partisan gerrymandering. Georgia and Mississippi are also facing growing legal and political battles tied to future redistricting efforts.
The NAACP’s ‘Out of Bounds’ campaign blasts Southern states over such proposals and calls for Black athletes, their families, and alumni to “withhold athletic and financial support” from major public universities in these states.
“These actions happened in days, in some cases in hours, of a Supreme Court ruling that gives extremist lawmakers a playbook to erode Black representation,” Derrick Johnson, National President and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement. “The NAACP will not watch the same institutions that depend on Black athletic prowess to fill their stadiums and their bank accounts remain silent while their states strip Black communities of their voice.”
Johnson further noted that Black athletes have helped sports programs at these schools "generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue” and alumni donations.
The Associated Press noted that a widespread boycott could significantly affect powerhouse athletic programs across the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“Across the South, Black athletes have helped build some of the most profitable college athletic programs in America,” Johnson said. “Black athletes should not be asked to generate wealth, prestige, and power for state institutions while those same states strip political power from Black communities.”
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.