"I am deeply saddened, truly pained and plain angry," the basketball legend wrote in a statement this week, following the death of George Floyd in police custody. "I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough."
Michael Jordan Is Committing $100 Million to 'Protecting and Improving the Lives of Black People'
Jordan Brand, the company owned by former NBA star Michael Jordan , has announced plans to donate $100 million to various racial equality organizations over the next 10 years, amid country-wide protests against systemic anti-Blackness and police brutality.
Jordan Pledges $100 Million to Black Communities
The company confirmed on Instagram that it will be committing $100 million to "protecting and improving the lives of Black people through actions dedicated towards racial equality, social justice and education."
"The Jordan Brand is us, the Black community," the post reads. "We represent a proud family that has overcome obstacles, fought against discrimination in communities worldwide and that works every day to erase the stain of racism and the damage of injustice. The will, the work, the excellence the world has come to know is the result of one generation after another, pouring their dreams into the next."
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"It's 2020, and our family now includes anyone who aspires to our way of life. Yet as much as things have changed, the worst remains the same. Black lives matter. That isn't a controversial statement. Until the ingrained racism that allows our country's institutions to fail is completely eradicated, we will remain to protecting and improving the lives of Black people."
A number of high profile figures have made donations this week , with the immediate goal of paying the legal expenses of Black Lives Matter protestors who have been arrested. Singer John Legend, actress Gabrielle Union-Wade, rapper Noname, actress and musician Janelle Mone, actor Don Cheadle and many others all gave to the Minnesota Freedom Fund. Meanwhile, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick , who famously protested police brutality during his 2016 season, launched the Know Your Rights Legal Initiative to provide resources to demonstrators.
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