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COMMENTARY: FORGIVE MY LACK OF ENTHUSIASM FOR HOOP DREAMS

Bryan Fulford • Dec 18, 2020

Forgive my lack of enthusiasm for Hoop Dreams

 


December 18, 2020 -- Bryan Fulford, BCSN

Forgive me if I no longer get excited about things done "for HBCUs" like I used to.

Wednesday, Hollywood movie star Michael B. Jordan, star of mega-hits "Creed," "Creed II," "Fruitvale Station," and "Black Panther" recently announced plans to bring a HBCU basketball showcase to his hometown of Newark, NJ. 

The event titled, the "Hoop Dreams Classic" will feature Division I HBCU men's and women's basketball teams at Newark's Prudential Center on December 18, 2021. 

“This past year has been the tipping point for so many, including myself, in revving up support for Black people,” Jordan said in a statement. “As a Newark native, I am committed to bringing change to the community and am honored to be able to present The Hoop Dreams Classic as a way to celebrate the value of community, education, and Black college experiences. Through our shared love of basketball, I look forward to bringing the communal spirit of HBCUs to the city that helped shape me into the man I am today.”

Jordan and event organizers are hoping to bring the HBCU culture and entertainment experience to events surrounding this one-day doubleheader featuring men's teams in its first year, while future events may feature just women's teams or both.  Partial proceeds will be utilized to support organizations focused around advancing HBCUs and the local Newark community.

Forgive me if I no longer get excited about things done "for HBCUs" like I used to.

One day prior to Jordan's announcement, philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott, who is more than just the ex-wife of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, announced charitable gifts of about $4.2 billion to 384 organizations , including more than 30 colleges and universities over the past four months. Many of the schools were HBCUs, tribal colleges or community colleges.  

Schools such as Prairie View A&M ($50M), Morgan State ($40M), Winston-Salem State ($30M), Virginia State ($30M), and others reported their gifts as the largest single gift ever received!

This donation sits on top of the nearly $1.7 billion in donations Scott sent to 116 organizations, including Hampton, Howard, Tuskegee, Morehouse and Spelman College, and Xavier University of Louisiana in July.

The usage of these gifts will vary from each organization and school as they try to address the needs of their stakeholders and community that certainly have been affected by the pandemic. The HBCUs on the receiving end of these gifts will be challenged by their alumni and students to use the funds wisely and responsibly.

Forgive me if I no longer get excited about things done "for HBCUs" like I used to.

I think going forward every charitable gift or idea involving HBCUs should be categorized as wanting to do something "for HBCUs" or "with HBCUs."  And while being associated with, or linked to, helping HBCUs has become as much the thing to do for celebrities as zoom calls have become the new way to communicate with family across the country, every charitable act from celebrities that have made a living from the entertainment dollar of African-Americans should be stared at with that raised eyebrow a black mother shoots at their child when they come out the mouth slick.

Every dollar gifted by a celebrity, philanthropist, and alum is welcomed and appreciated. Nobody's turning down money offered. If Phil Mickelson wants to help raise $5.5 million during his celebrity golf event to support HBCUs, we should say GREAT! When Charles Barkley donates $500,000 to Jackson State because he knows Coach Prime, or to HBCUs in his home-state of Alabama, we should say GREAT!

Just don't ask me to get excited about a basketball showcase that might lose more money than it will earn and donate its first few years because HBCU basketball games/events, outside of the CIAA Tournament, don't draw like HBCU football classics.  

I've seen more stories in the past 24 hours from national media outlets about Jordan's Hoop Dreams than Scott's holiday gift. I find that sad and problematic of the athletic and entertainment engine we've participated in for others to benefit.

I hate to sound dismissive of Mr. Jordan's dream of using basketball to create opportunities for the  basketball players  and  community in his hometown, but Ms. Scott changed the game like an Allen Iverson crossover.  I would encourage him to lead his team back to the locker-room and come back out with a new game plan to do more "for HBCUs" than a college basketball game. The culture deserves more.

Forgive me for not being excited about things done "with HBCUs" like I used to.


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