It’s bigger than money: NBA All-Star donations to HBCUs is icing on the cake
When Dr. Harry Williams assumed the role as president of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) four years ago, the first board member who contacted him was former NBA commissioner David Stern.
Stern was deeply involved with the TMCF, a nonprofit that supports and represents 47 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). He was an active board member who participated in meetings and donated over $2 million of his own money.
So it’s no surprise the NBA has continued its support of HBCUs in the 2021 All-Star Game, especially given the widespread player support for HBCUs across the league, like Suns star Chris Paul, who spent last season wearing sweaters from different Black colleges to his games.
But the league wanted to do more, and the money it is donating to HBCUs as part of this year’s All-Star weekend is just the icing on the cake for a league that has pledged to support Black colleges more than ever before.
Williams said he received a phone call from Todd Jacobson, the league’s senior vice president of social responsibility, asking how the NBA could amplify all 100-plus HBCUs. Jacobson and Williams got on the phone with United Negro College Fund president Dr. Michael Lomax and Lezli Baskerville, president of the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).
“This thing just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger and bigger,” Williams said in a phone interview with the Daily News. “This weekend is gonna be something that’s never ever happened in terms of the NBA wrapping their arms around HBCUs.”
The result is the biggest showing of NBA support for Black colleges: The league has pledged more than $3 million to support HBCUs and Black communities reeling in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that $3 million, $2.5 million will be split between the TMCF and UNCF, another organization that supports 37 HBCUs across the country, with each of the two All-Star teams set to represent one of the Black college funds.
The UNCF and TMCF are aligned with how they will be spending the money they receive from the NBA’s All-Star events: The millions will go to bolster student emergency funds, helping provide relief for struggling students who need help.
“Emergency student aid averages about $2,000 and it helps a student with emergency problems: I’ve gotta get home, I need transportation, I need some rent, I need food,” Dr. Lomax told the News. “I don’t have an iPad, I need an iPad, I don’t have WiFi, it’s usually those types of things. So we’ll use it for emergency student aid, but what I think is really important is we’re reaching an audience we don’t normally reach.”
It’s bigger than the dollars: The UNCF has 159,000 new donors
on direct mail over the last 12 months, with an average gift of $150. Their online donations increased 300% last year alone. On the mail donations, Dr. Lomax says, donors often write “in memory of George Floyd.”
More than the money is the platform the NBA is giving Historically Black Colleges and Universities: The All-Star basketball court is HBCU themed, each AllStar team will wear their organization’s logo on their jerseys, HBCU students will sit courtside — and some will receive scholarships on the spot — and HBCU bands will perform at every All-Star event (including the Three-Point Contest, Skills Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest).
“The dollars make such a difference and in this case we’ll get money, yes, but I think what we see happening with these kinds of things is they usually inspire other people to give,” said Dr. Lomax. “We’re gonna reach 10 million people in one evening. Now shame on us if we can’t figure out how to tell our story effectively behind that.
“It’s really the exposure to this global audience because HBCU has become a global brand. People know it everywhere and the more recognition we get, the greater support we get.”
There is a little bit of gamesmanship between the two organizations. The winner of the All-Star Game stands to net $1.25 million from the event alone. The loser will receive $500,000, plus additional funding from different events and donors. Dr. Lomax is happy UNCF is represented by Kevin Durant because Durant’s mother, Wanda, has supported the organization through her D.C.-Maryland-Virginia based foundation.
Dr. Williams, however, is happy to be represented by LeBron James, because he thinks James’ team gives the TMCF a better shot at winning.
“I love Michael and I think the UNCF deserves it, but we deserve it more because we’ve got more people that we need to give,” Dr. Williams said. “We’ve got more we need to feed. That’s why I’m happy we’ve got Team LeBron. I want LeBron to do his thing just like he’s done winning championships these past few years.”
Still, this is only a moment in time, just like the outcry after George Floyd’s killing in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor’s killing in Louisville, Jacob Blake’s shooting in Wisconsin, and the other Black causes and efforts that have been briefly amplified only to fall back on deaf ears. The UNCF has received an outpouring of support in the aftermath of each of those tragedies but seeks the staying power they hope to find through an NBA player pool that is more socially conscious in 2021 than ever before.
“I don’t think they’re (players) just gonna view themselves in terms of how much money they’re gonna make,” Dr. Lomax said. “They’re also gonna be asking, ‘What kind of impact can I have?’ And I think that gives Black colleges and Black universities a chance, and opening.”