I believe that every powerful action begins with a small conversation. People and institutions must boldly challenge the status quo, recognizing that the widely accepted way of life, consciously and perhaps more powerfully unconsciously, benefits some while consistently harming others. In my experience, courageous conversations about race and social justice start with truth: truth about past injustice truth about how systems designed to help people live more fair and equitable lives have systematically often been underinvested in and therefore delivered the opposite of what they promised truth about how power and privilege operate – who has it, how it is experienced by those who do not, how is it maintained.Ĭourageous conversations must also focus on action that results in enduring change with the caveat that those most impacted by inequity must play an essential role in defining the actions that will improve their lives. Almost always my answer is “we are having courageous conversations about race and social justice issues at every level of the company.”

Rather, what I have observed is that everyone is interested in the steps we’ve taken - given the NBA’s powerful brand position – to conceive our social justice agenda and put it into action. To be clear, there is no pattern to be associated with who is or is not asking these questions. Invariably, the second question I am asked is “… but what can the NBA really do about these issues?” My retort is consistently the same each time. Most of these conversations sheepishly start out with the same question, “why is the NBA Foundation specifically focused on Black youth?” My response is often with basic data about the racial wealth gap – pointing to statistics about Black families holding approximately 15% of the wealth held by white families (Federal Reserve survey 2019) or how the systemic racism embedded in under-performing schools or limited access to quality healthcare predictably results in disproportionately poor life outcomes for Black youth and their families. Over the past year, my team and I have spent much of our time facilitating genuine conversations about race and social justice with NBA players, governors, league and team staff members, potential grantees, and leaders in business and philanthropy - essentially anyone that is interested in learning more about the Foundation’s explicit goal to improve the economic future for Black youth. However, in my view, the Foundation’s greatest accomplishment to date are the number and quality of courageous conversations about issues related to race and social justice that our work has sparked with people from all walks of life who are looking for tangible ways to make this country more equitable and just for all. I could proudly use this post to highlight the NBA Foundation’s accomplishments since last January when my team and I first began leading the organization in earnest - $11M granted to date 40 grantees (30 local and 10 national) funds awarded to some of the nation’s best programs focused on advancing workforce development, education and entrepreneurship outcomes for Black youth. The genesis of this bold move into philanthropy grew out of the league’s stakeholders recognizing that the NBA had a responsibility to take meaningful action illuminated by the country’s growing recognition of the systemic inequities facing under-resourced Black communities that were made plain by the tragic murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and countless others. Our mission is to drive economic opportunity in the Black community through employment and career development by funding programs that generate successful transitions from school to meaningful employment for Black youth.

A year ago, the NBA’s Board of Governors and the National Basketball Players Association joined forces to create the first-ever NBA Foundation.

Having courageous conversations