NEW YORK, June 11, 2021 – The NBA today announced that Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony, Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes, Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday and Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson have been selected as the five finalists for the inaugural Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award.
Richard Lapchick, student activist Teyonna Lofton, National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía, Rise Founder and CEO Amanda Nguyen, and NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.
As previously announced, each finalist has selected an organization focused on advancing social justice that will receive a contribution on his behalf.
The winner will be announced prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT.
In 2020, he served as guest Editor-in-Chief for Slam Magazine’s Special Social Justice Issue and established the Social Change Fund alongside fellow NBA greats to focus on investing in organizations addressing critical and timely issues impacting the Black community including expanding access to voting and civic engagement, education, employment, housing, economic equity, and representation in leadership.
Through his STAYME7O banner, Anthony established the STAYME7O Propel Program in 2020 as a way to tap into the creativity of Black culture through fashion, art and design to develop intricate pieces that honor a vision of Black excellence and inspire a culture to create and move further, together.
As part of the NBA restart, Barnes dedicated each Kings game to a different organization supporting racial justice – including the Trayvon Martin Foundation, the Botham Jean Foundation, The Atatiana Project, Mothers Against Police Brutality, the Michael Brown Foundation, Tamir Rice Foundation, Champion in the Making and the African American Policy Forum – and contributed $25,000 to those created by the families of victims of police brutality and gun violence.
In October, he was named to the NBA Foundation’s inaugural Board of Directors, helping to guide its effort to further economic empowerment in the Black community and in February, Barnes announced his partnership with Goalsetter, a Black-owned finance app that provides an education-first banking experience, to open saving accounts for 500 youth from Build.Black.
This year, he awarded $300,000 to The Fund for the School District of Philadelphia to recruit teachers from HBCUs or diverse backgrounds – who are more likely to carry higher student loan balances following graduation – and provide relocation stipends to prevent barriers of quality Black teachers in the classroom.
Throughout 2020, Harris used his voice and platform to speak out against systemic injustice and racism, marching in protest of police brutality, calling for reform while in the NBA Bubble and reflecting on racial injustice in The Players’ Tribune.
Last summer, Holiday pledged the remainder of his 2020 NBA salary to create The Jrue and Lauren Holiday Social Justice Fund, which seeks to combat systemic racism and increase economic equality by providing funding and support to Black-led organizations and businesses.
Beyond financial support, the Holidays provide coaching for the JLH Fund grantees to expand funding opportunities and community engagement and work with Microsoft’s Nonprofit Tech Acceleration for Black & African American Communities so that all recipients can also receive technology and support services.
Toscano-Anderson participated in the Warriors’ VOTERS Win campaign – a PSA to encourage Black and Latino citizens to vote in the 2020 election and fill out the census – and led two Walk in Unity events in Oakland, bringing people together to combat oppression, police brutality and social injustice.
To create opportunity and empower young people of color this past year, he has discussed biases with 6th grade students in San Francisco, spoken to more than 3,000 African youth about his journey and overcoming obstacles and supported Digital Nest, a local nonprofit focused on empowering Latinx professionals, in a live Q&A where he discussed his childhood, basketball career and the pride he felt in playing with the Mexican National Team.
He has a national platform as a regular contributing columnist for newspapers and magazines around the world, including The Washington Post, Time Magazine and The Hollywood Reporter, where he shares his thoughts on some of the most socially relevant and politically controversial topics facing our nation today.
Lapchick brought his commitment to equality and his belief that sport can be an effective instrument of positive social change to University of Central Florida in August 2001, where he launched the DeVos Sports Business Management Program.
In 2020, she served as a member of the NBA All-Star Youth Leadership Council, where she co-produced and was featured in a short film about the stories, challenges and resilience that define the Auburn Gresham community.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Economics and African American Studies, he also holds a law degree from Georgetown University.
She worked with Congressman Slattery for seven years before joining the Clinton administration, where she served for six years as a deputy assistant to President Clinton, including deputy director of legislative affairs.
In recognition of her work, Amanda is a Heinz Laureate, Nelson Mandela Changemaker, Forbes 30 Under 30, Foreign Policy 100, Time 100 Next, Frederick Douglass 100 and Marie Claire Young Woman of the Year.
Prior to joining the NBA, Tatum worked for Major League Baseball in Corporate Sponsorship and Marketing, the Clorox Company as a Regional Sales Manager, Pepsi-Cola Company in its Sports Marketing department and Procter & Gamble in sales management.
They finalists were determined by a selection committee composed of 7 leaders including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr.
Richard Lapchick, Teyonna Lofton, Marc H.
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