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After announcing that Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand will donate 100 million dollars over 10 years in the fight against systemic racism in 2020, they’ve announced the three recipients of the Black Community Commitment Grants for 2021.
The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture ($3 million over three years), Morehouse College ($1 million over two years), and the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting ($1 million over two years).
The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016, which memorializes African-American history from enslavement to the present day. The grant will help expand the Museum’s “Talking About Race” web portal and “Let’s Talk” speaker series, helping millions of online visitors talk about race and racialized identity.
The Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting was founded in 2016 by award-winning journalists Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ron Nixon, Topher Sanders, and Corey Johnson with the mission to help reporters and editors of color in the field of investigative reporting. It provides a membership network, training for aspiring and current journalists, and a year-long fellowship in racial justice reporting. With the grant, it’ll help fund more opportunities and college students of color who want to pursue a career in investigative reporting and expand the reach of the program.
HBCU Morehouse College is also a recipient of the Black Community Commitment Grant. The Journalism and Sports Program was created 15 years ago to help address a lack of Black leadership in athletics and sports journalism. The grant will help expand the course offering of Journalism and Sports Marketing and provide scholarships, upgrades to the digital media lab, and stipends to assist field report assignments and other journalistic work.
“These grants will be well-spent,” says Spike Lee, Class of ’79 Alumnus of Morehouse College. “There’s going to 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.”
“Education is crucial for understanding the Black experience today,” says Michael Jordan. “We want to help people understand the truth of our past, and help tell the stories that will shape our future.”
Kevin Young, Andrew W. Mellon Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture 
Nikole Hannah-Jones, journalist, academic, and co-founder of the Ida B. Wells Society 
Spike Lee, film director, producer, and ’79 graduate of Morehouse College 
