Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand announced Friday a $100 million donation over the next ten years to organizations fighting to end racial inequality. The NBA legend and the Jordan Brand released a joint statement explaining their commitment to helping ensure justice and equality.
“Jordan Brand is us, the Black Community,” reads the statement, which was posted on the Nike News website. “Jordan Brand is more than one man. It has always been a family. We represent a proud family that has overcome obstacles, fought against discrimination in communities worldwide and that works every day to erase the stain of racism and the damage of injustice. The will, the work, the excellence the world has come to know is the result of one generation after another, pouring their dreams into the next.”
Although the statement doesn’t specify which organizations or initiatives will receive funding, Jordan’s spokesperson tweeted that the $100 million will go to “organizations dedicated to ensuring racial equality, social justice, and greater access to education.”
Joint Statement from Michael Jordan & Jordan Brand regarding $100m donation. pic.twitter.com/yYXWh5eBZl
— Estee Portnoy (@esteep) June 5, 2020
Earlier this week, Jordan, who notoriously remained silent on political and social justice issues throughout his NBA career, released a statement in response to the death of George Floyd. “I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry,” read Jordan’s statement about Floyd, who died by the hands of Minneapolis police officers last week. The incident was recorded on video and sparked a wave of protests and riots across the calling for a stop to police brutality. “I see and feel everyone’s pain, outrage and frustration. I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people in our country. We have had enough.”
Jordan’s donation comes the same day that Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser commissioned city employees to paint a giant “Black Lives Matter” sign on 16th Street in Washington, D.C., which leads to the White House. That particular section of 16th Street was also renamed “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
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