Hundreds of fans gathered in Downtown Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 15 for a draft to hear league commissioner Cathy Engelbert utter those sweet words: with the first pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Indiana Fever selected Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark.  In October of last year, Clark sat down with Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston for an interview where they discussed many things, including Clark and Boston potentially becoming teammates in the pros.  “The Indiana Fever could have the first pick, so people may or may not have the duo [of Boston and Clark]; it ..read more

This week, during the Indianapolis Recorder’s Money Smart Week, we’ll share daily articles about financial wellness. We’ll focus on topics including how to discuss money with your partner, create a budget, pay down your debt, prepare your kids for financial success, and improve your credit score. By the end of the week, you’ll be better prepared for your own financial journey! Money is one of the toughest topics for couples, but communicating openly about finances is a crucial part of having a trusting relationship. Here are six tips to help guide you through the conversation: 1. Plan the disc ..read more

Check out some of these amazing photos of the Charleston Battery versus Indy Eleven soccer match on April 13! INDIANAPOLIS, IN – April 13: Indy Eleven forward Douglas Martínez (42) battles to get control of the ball with Charleston Battery defender Nathan Dossantos (62) during a USL soccer match between the Indy Eleven and the Charleston Battery on April 13, 2024 at IUPUI MIchael A. Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Jeff Brown/Indianapolis Recorder)INDIANAPOLIS, IN – April 13: Charleston Battery midfielder Aaron Molloy (6) battles with Indy Eleven forward Sebastián Guenzatti (13 ..read more

Brightwood Community Center was awarded $393,946 to increase employment training initiatives and specialized services among Black residents. The employment initiative programming will include career services through Brightwood Community Center (BCC), and training through Hoosier occupational training Services, Star Training, Second Helpings, and the Indiana Plan for Equal Employment. “We proposed to help train and find employment for approximately 100 Black people between the ages of 18-35, women included,” said BCC Executive Director Shonna Majors. RELATED: ‘We’ll meet you where you are’: Loc ..read more

In the last game of the regular season, The Indiana Pacers stormed the Atlanta Hawks 157-115. Check out some photos below! Indiana Pacers forward Jalen Smith (25) and guard Ben Sheppard (26) in the paint while Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic (13) gets airborne during their NBA matchup at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana on April 14, 2024. (Photo/Walt Thomas)Indiana Pacers mascot Boomer prior to the Pacers – Hawks NBA matchup at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana on April 14, 2024. (Photo/Walt Thomas)Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) goes ..read more

By CAMIKE JONES Angel Reese’s characterization has far less to do with who she is and much more to do with the spectator’s insatiable need to place people in distinct categories. Hero and villain. Good guy versus bad guy. Or in this case, good girl versus bad girl. What we do know about both Reese, who was a forward at Louisiana State University, and Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark, the hero to Reese’s anti-hero, is they are both collegiate-level athletes. This means they both had the will and skill to make it into this elite league. Both have worked for years perfecting their game. Both have att ..read more

I spent the majority of my childhood living a stone’s throw from 34th and Emerson. For the uninitiated, that area is one of the myriad Indianapolis enclaves that are usually referred to, without malice aforethought, as “the inner city”. The area is sometimes referred to, somewhat more benignly, as “the near east side”. It is also referred to, more pejoratively, as “the hood”. In the 1970s and 80s, the families who populated my stomping grounds generally fell along a socioeconomic spectrum ranging from working class to upper middle class. (I would note that the meanings of those terms are far f ..read more

Hundreds of guests dressed in their Sunday best attended the Steward Speaker Series Annual Gala at Lucas Oil Stadium in Downtown Indianapolis on April 11. Ready to soak up all the knowledge and inspiration from world-renowned athletes and business executives, the gala’s guest of honor was former NFL player and current college football coach, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders. President and founder of Steward Speakers, Matthew Steward developed the series of events while he was a student at Indiana University Bloomington. He was responsible for inviting notable guest lecturers like Harry Belafonte, D ..read more

Indiana University-Indianapolis hosted a guest panel Thursday, April 11 to discuss the infant and maternal health care issues modern Black American women face. Taking place during Black Maternal Health Week, the town hall featured panelists Dr. Jill Inderstrodt, Rep. Vanessa Summers, Lauren Lancaster and Kaley Liang. Lauren Lancaster All well-known in their respective fields, the panelists discussed a wide range of topics from the disparities Black women face when breastfeeding to the much higher maternal mortality rates that Black women experience. Specifically in Indiana, as mentioned by Lan ..read more

The head of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus said he’s disappointed Republicans ignored the caucus priority bills on housing this session. Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) is the chair of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus. Lauren Chapman / IPB News But Rep. Earl Harris Jr. (D-East Chicago) also said he and his colleagues are playing the long game on trying to improve access to affordable housing for Hoosiers. The Black caucus’s focus on housing issues included bills to create a down payment assistance fund, prohibit foreclosures based on medical debt, and ban discriminati ..read more