FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2020
Indianapolis Urban League Statement Concerning the “Reprehensible” Facebook Meme of State Representative Jim Lucas
Indianapolis, IN – Indianapolis Urban League President & CEO Tony Mason decried the Monday, May 11th Facebook meme posted by State Representative Jim Lucas (Seymour) as “reprehensible and utterly insensitive!”
Mason stressed, “given Blacks comprise only 9.1% of Indiana’s population, Lucas’ meme clearly promotes racist notions and stereotypes!” The meme portrays young Black children dancing in underwear and quotes them as saying, “We gon’ get free money!” This was State Representative Lucas’ response to the COVID-19 Relief Assistance sent to most American households in April.
“Mason further stressed, with over 640,000 Hoosiers dealing with unemployment, and many facing life and death challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lucas’ meme is especially ill-timed. At a critical time for all residents of our state, a political leader such as State Representative Lucas should be using his position and platform to aid suffering Hoosiers; especially Hoosiers of Color, who have been disproportionately and fatally impacted by this health and economic crisis. Blacks are suffering over 16% of COVID-19 deaths and Hoosiers in general are struggling to survive economically. Now is not the time for partisan, racist memes that only serve the purpose of disparaging and dividing Hoosiers when so many of us are uniting, now more than ever, to aid struggling families. Hopefully, Republican leaders who have been disturbingly silent will condemn Representative Lucas’ actions.”
The Indianapolis Urban League urges those rightly offended to express their strong dismay to House Speaker Todd Huston and other Republican political leaders, including Governor Holcomb.
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Contact: Tony Mason, President & CEO, Indianapolis Urban League
(317) 693-7603 tmason@indplsul.org
About the Indianapolis Urban League:
Founded in 1965, the Indianapolis Urban League (IUL) is a nonprofit, non-partisan, interracial, community-based, human services agency dedicated to assisting African-Americans, other minorities and disadvantaged individuals to achieve social and economic equality. Annually, the IUL provides direct services and advocacy in the areas of: education and youth services, economic and workforce development, health and quality of life, civic engagement and leadership, and civil rights and racial justice empowerment. IUL is one of 90 affiliates of the National Urban League serving 300 communities in 36 states and the District of Columbia. For more information visit indplsul.org