The nation’s oldest civil rights organization is asking Black athletes and fans to take a stand against state laws that dilute Black political power.

Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, announced the launch of the "Out of Bounds" campaign during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol. The initiative urges current and prospective Black athletes, their families, alumni, and fans to withhold their athletic talent and financial support from major public universities in states that have moved to limit, weaken, or erase Black voting representation.

The campaign specifically targets public institutions in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. Johnson noted that these flagship universities rely heavily on Black talent to build highly profitable athletic programs that generate hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, television deals, and merchandise sales. He argued that these institutions should not benefit from Black athletes while the states they reside in strip political power from Black communities.

If widely adopted, the boycott could significantly impact the rosters of powerhouse football and basketball programs across the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The push comes in response to a wave of redistricting maps drawn by Republican-led state legislatures following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that narrowed a key provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Civil rights activists have been searching for economic and social pressure points to challenge these new congressional maps, which they argue eliminate majority-Black districts.

Capitalizing on this momentum, the Congressional Black Caucus also increased pressure on collegiate sports leadership. The caucus sent a letter to SEC and ACC commissioners, as well as NCAA President Charlie Baker, stating that members will oppose the SCORE Act—a federal bill aimed at standardizing athletes’ contracting and name, image, and likeness rights—unless conference leaders publicly oppose the redistricting efforts. CBC leaders stated that institutions that profit from Black talent have a responsibility to stand with those communities rather than remain silent.

Representatives for the ACC, SEC, the University of Alabama, Florida State University, and several HBCU conferences did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the campaign.