ATLANTA – Michael Jordan and Nike’s Jordan brand will donate $ 1 million to Morehouse College to advance journalism and sports-related studies.
The donation announced Friday will help enrich its sports and journalism program that was originally launched with a donation from director and actor Spike Lee. The school, in a press release, said the donation will help fund scholarships, technology and educational programming for students in those fields.
“Morehouse thanks Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand for an investment in the education of talented African American men who will ensure fairness, balance and truth in the way sports stories are framed and in the way the African American experience is contextualized. within American history, “said Monique Dozier, Morehouse’s vice president of institutional advancement.
The donation is part of a larger Jordan and Jordan Brand philanthropic contribution called the Black Community Commitment, which has directed donations to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and the Ida B. Wells Society, among other organizations.
“Education is crucial to understanding the African American experience today,” Jordan said. “We want to help people understand the truth of our past and help tell the stories that will shape our future.”
The program, which has focused on the lack of African-American leadership in sports journalism and athletics, has produced more than 80 graduates who now work in media and sports.
Lee, a 1979 graduate of Morehouse, said there would be a “rich legacy of storytellers who will be supported by these programs.”
“A lot of people are influenced to think a certain way about African Americans based on what they see on television and in Hollywood. We have to tell our story,” he said.
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