( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) Michael Jordan, Along with Jordan Brand, has Pledged a Ten-Year Plan of $100 Million to the Black Community
ENSPIRE Contributor: Tyler Burns
Michael Jordan, along with the Jordan Brand, is pledging to donate $2.5 million toward combating Black voter suppression across the United States. This is all part of a $100 million, 10-year pledge that Michael and the Jordan Brand announced on June 5th to “impact the fight against systemic racism.” This 10-year pledge is focusing on three specific areas: economic justice, awareness, and education.
Of this $2.5 million, one million is being donated directly to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. Another one million is going to the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement. Lastly, $500,000 is being donated to the Black Voters Matter organization. This was all released in a press statement by the Jordan Brand on July 30th.
“We understand that one of the main ways we can change systemic racism is at the polls,” Jordan said in a statement.
“We know it will take time for us to create the change we want to see, but we are working quickly to take action for the Black Community’s voice to be heard.”
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc., The Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement, and Black Voters Matter all were chosen because of the lasting and immediate impact they can have on communities across the country. This sentiment is reflected in the statement, it said: “support reformative practices that drive real change in the Black community.”
“The $100 million commitment was just the start,” Jordan Brand president Craig Williams said. “We are moving from commitment to action. Our initial partners can directly impact the social and political well-being of the Black community. We will have a disciplined focus on social justice, economic justice, and education, as the most effective ways for us to eliminate the systemic racism that remains in society.”
The press statement said that these organizations will be coordinating and focusing their efforts on cities where Black people are underrepresented in turnout numbers and voter registration, relative to their proportion of the overall population.
