Michael Jordan, owner of the Charlotte Hornets, takes part in a ceremony honoring the 2020 NBA All-Star game during a break in play as Team LeBron take on Team Giannis in the fourth quarter during the NBA All-Star game as part of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Feb. 17, 2019. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ATLANTA—Basketball great Michael Jordan and Nike’s Jordan Brand are giving $1 million to Morehouse College in Atlanta to boost journalism and sports-related studies.
The gift announced Friday will help enrich its journalism and sports program that was originally launched with a donation from director and actor Spike Lee. The school, in a news release, said the donation will help fund scholarships, technology, and educational programming for students in those fields.
“Morehouse is grateful to Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand for an investment in the education of talented men of color who will ensure there is equity, balance, and truth in the way sports stories are framed and the way the black experience is contextualized within American history,” said Monique Dozier, vice president for institutional advancement at Morehouse.
The donation is part of a larger philanthropic donation by Jordan and Jordan Brand called the Black Community Commitment, which has directed donations to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Ida B. Wells Society, among other organizations.
“Education is crucial for understanding the black experience today,” Jordan said. “We want to help people understand the truth of our past and help tell the stories that will shape our future.”
The program, which has focused on the lack of black leadership in sports journalism and athletics, has produced more than 80 graduates who now work in media and sports.
Lee, a 1979 Morehouse graduate, said there would be a “rich legacy of storytellers who will be supported by these programs.”
“Many people are influenced to think a certain way about black folks based on what they see on television and in Hollywood. We’ve got to tell our story,” he said.
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