#NNPA BlackPress
Free program teaches youth how to gain Dollars and Sense
INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER — Getting ahead in 2019 requires financial wisdom, so local chapters of 100 Black Men, including the Indianapolis chapter, offer Dollars and Sense: a free 16-week financial literacy program. The program transforms how youth such as Turnipseed view money.
By Ben Lashar
When Nate Turnipseed’s mother first enrolled him in 100 Black Men of Indianapolis’ Dollars and Sense program, he initially wasn’t happy to spend his Saturdays learning about investing in the stock market. Then he developed a passion for it.
During his second year in the program, Turnipseed won second place in the local chapter’s stock portfolio pitch competition despite his partner dropping out at the last minute.
“I was really nervous,” Turnipseed said. “I was kind of sick at the same time. I remember my nostrils were flaring up. … Apparently, I did really good.”
Getting ahead in 2019 requires financial wisdom, so local chapters of 100 Black Men, including the Indianapolis chapter, offer Dollars and Sense: a free 16-week financial literacy program. The program transforms how youth such as Turnipseed view money.
“We’ve seen students work on Wall Street as a result of the program,” Andre Givens, chairman of Dollars and Sense at 100 Black Men of Indianapolis, said. “… That’s a huge moment. When I see the outcome of the hard work, that pays dividends.”
The lesson plans are a combination of coursework from the University of Phoenix and lessons created by 100 Black Men. Volunteer instructors lecture, mentor and assign projects. There is also a pre and post-test to measure participants’ progress. Givens said the average score of the first test is 34% and the second test’s average score is 79%.
The program also changes students’ philosophies about money. Givens said when most students begin the program they only see money as a way to buy material items like clothes. Through learning about investing and portfolio building, students learn they can do more than spend money at a store. They can save and invest for the future.

TJ Daniel, a senior at Brownsburg High School, presented an investment portfolio in the Dollars and Sense financial literacy investment competition in March. The 100 Black Men of Indianapolis offers the free course as a way to improve the financial knowledge of youth.
“That’s the attitude we have to break before we can dive into the core of the program because as long as our students have this false perception of wealth, our community will still be in disparity,” Givens said.
Givens said the program teaches personal finance lessons such as saving and budgeting and places a large emphasis on investing in the stock market. Students get to experiment with an app called Student Stock Trader where they invest a fictional $100,000 in a stock market simulation that follows the same changes as the actual stock market. Seeing what causes their virtual stocks to rise and fall is a good way for students to learn both the do’s and don’ts of the stock market and how quickly investments can change.
“Last year when the market took that 800-point drop, next Saturday the class was chaotic,” Givens said. “Students were like, ‘What’s going on? I lost half my portfolio.’ That gave us a critical moment to explain what happened in the market.”
At the end of the program students compete in groups of two to pitch potential investment portfolios. They win scholarship money based on how they rank. Students who perform well, such as Turnipseed, compete at the national level. Last year, the Indianapolis group Turnipseed competed in took first place.
“It really felt good because lots of hard work came to fruition, and it shows you can do anything as long as you stick to your task and keep working hard,” Turnipseed said.
The next Dollars and Sense course will begin Oct. 26. While Turnipseed will not attend because he’s now a freshman at Ivy Tech Community College, he’s excited a new group of students will learn financial literacy.
“I really wish they teach stuff like that at school because I feel like you are actually going to use that later in your life,” Turnipseed said. “… It gives you discipline, and if you know how money works and how to use your money properly you’ll definitely gain more wealth.”
Contact staff writer Ben Lashar at 317-762-7848. Follow him on Twitter @BenjaminLashar.
SIGN UP FOR DOLLARS AND SENSE
Next month, 100 Black Men of Indianapolis will host the next Dollars and Sense course.
When: Oct. 26-March 7
Where: University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Ave.
Registration: Apply at 100blackmenindy.org by 11:59 p.m. Oct. 20.
Support the program
Dollars and Sense is free because of donations to 100 Black Men of Indianapolis. For more information on how to support the program, email financialliteracy@100blackmenindy.org.
This article originally appeared in The Indianapolis Recorder.
#NNPA BlackPress
Chavis and Bryant Lead Charge as Target Boycott Grows
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises.

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent
Calling for continued economic action and community solidarity, Dr. Jamal H. Bryant launched the second phase of the national boycott against retail giant Target this week at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises. “They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,” Bryant told the packed sanctuary. “Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.” The town hall marked the conclusion of Bryant’s 40-day “Target fast,” initiated on March 3 after Target pulled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments. Among those was a public pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025—a pledge Bryant said was made voluntarily in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.“No company would dare do to the Jewish or Asian communities what they’ve done to us,” Bryant said. “They think they can get away with it. But not this time.”
The evening featured voices from national movements, including civil rights icon and National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who reinforced the need for sustained consciousness and collective media engagement. The NNPA is the trade association of the 250 African American newspapers and media companies known as The Black Press of America. “On the front page of all of our papers this week will be the announcement that the boycott continues all over the United States,” said Chavis. “I would hope that everyone would subscribe to a Black newspaper, a Black-owned newspaper, subscribe to an economic development program — because the consciousness that we need has to be constantly fed.” Chavis warned against the bombardment of negativity and urged the community to stay engaged beyond single events. “You can come to an event and get that consciousness and then lose it tomorrow,” he said. “We’re bombarded with all of the disgust and hopelessness. But I believe that starting tonight, going forward, we should be more conscious about how we help one another.”
He added, “We can attain and gain a lot more ground even during this period if we turn to each other rather than turning on each other.” Other speakers included Tamika Mallory, Dr. David Johns, Dr. Rashad Richey, educator Dr. Karri Bryant, and U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby. Each speaker echoed Bryant’s demand that economic protests be paired with reinvestment in Black businesses and communities. “We are the moral consciousness of this country,” Bryant said. “When we move, the whole nation moves.” Sixteen-year-old William Moore Jr., the youngest attendee, captured the crowd with a challenge to reach younger generations through social media and direct engagement. “If we want to grow this movement, we have to push this narrative in a way that connects,” he said.
Dr. Johns stressed reclaiming cultural identity and resisting systems designed to keep communities uninformed and divided. “We don’t need validation from corporations. We need to teach our children who they are and support each other with love,” he said. Busby directed attendees to platforms like ByBlack.us, a digital directory of over 150,000 Black-owned businesses, encouraging them to shift their dollars from corporations like Target to Black enterprises. Bryant closed by urging the audience to register at targetfast.org, which will soon be renamed to reflect the expanding boycott movement. “They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,” Bryant said. “And now, we move.”
#NNPA BlackPress
The Department of Education is Collecting Delinquent Student Loan Debt
BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt.

By April Ryan
Trump Targets Wages for Forgiven Student Debt
The Department of Education, which the Trump administration is working to abolish, will now serve as the collection agency for delinquent student loan debt for 5.3 million people who the administration says are delinquent and owe at least a year’s worth of student loan payments. “It is a liability to taxpayers,” says White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at Tuesday’s White House Press briefing. She also emphasized the student loan federal government portfolio is “worth nearly $1.6 trillion.” The Trump administration says borrowers must repay their loans, and those in “default will face involuntary collections.” Next month, the Department of Education will withhold money from tax refunds and Social Security benefits, garnish federal employee wages, and withhold federal pensions from people who have defaulted on their student loan debt. Leavitt says “we can not “kick the can down the road” any longer.”
Much of this delinquent debt is said to have resulted from the grace period the Biden administration gave for student loan repayment. The grace period initially was set for 12 months but extended into three years, ending September 30, 2024. The Trump administration will begin collecting the delinquent payments starting May 5. Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough, president of Talladega College, told Black Press USA, “We can have that conversation about people paying their loans as long as we talk about the broader income inequality. Put everything on the table, put it on the table, and we can have a conversation.” Kimbrough asserts, “The big picture is that Black people have a fraction of wealth of white so you’re… already starting with a gap and then when you look at higher education, for example, no one talks about Black G.I.’s that didn’t get the G.I. Bill. A lot of people go to school and build wealth for their family…Black people have a fraction of wealth, so you already start with a wide gap.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, https://educationdata.org/average-time-to-repay-student-loans It takes the average borrower 20 years to pay their student loan debt. It also highlights how some professional graduates take over 45 years to repay student loans. A high-profile example of the timeline of student loan repayment is the former president and former First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama, who paid off their student loans by 2005 while in their 40s. On a related note, then-president Joe Biden spent much time haggling with progressives and Democratic leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer on Capitol Hill about whether and how student loan forgiveness would even happen.
#NNPA BlackPress
VIDEO: The Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. at United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
https://youtu.be/Uy_BMKVtRVQ Excellencies: With all protocol noted and respected, I am speaking today on behalf of the Black Press of America and on behalf of the Press of People of African Descent throughout the world. I thank the Proctor Conference that helped to ensure our presence here at the Fourth Session of the […]

Excellencies:
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post Endorses Barbara Lee
-
Activism4 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of March 28 – April 1, 2025
-
Activism3 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of April 2 – 8, 2025
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Trump Profits, Black America Pays the Price
-
Activism2 weeks ago
Oakland Post: Week of April 9 – 15, 2025
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Harriet Tubman Scrubbed; DEI Dismantled
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Lawmakers Greenlight Reparations Study for Descendants of Enslaved Marylanders
-
#NNPA BlackPress3 weeks ago
Trump Targets a Slavery Removal from the National Museum of African-American History and Culture