Jordan Brand’s $100M pledge to Black community continues with more grants

Jordan Brand has announced three new grant recipients as part of its $100 million pledge to organizations benefiting the Black community. Multi-year, targeted grants will go to The National Museum of African American History and Culture, Morehouse College, and the Ida B. Wells Society. With the money, Jordan is seeking to increase education and awareness of the Black experience for all people.

Education and awareness are key areas where Jordan Brand is focusing, along with social and economic justice. In the first round of donations, $500,000 or $1 million was given to each of the following: the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Formerly Incarcerated & Convicted People and Families Movement, and Black Voters Matter.

“There is a long history of oppression against Black Americans that holds us back from full participation in American society,” Jordan said upon announcing his brand’s first donations. “We understand that one of the main ways we can change systemic racism is at the polls. We know it will take time for us to create the change that we want to see, but we are working quickly to take action for the Black community’s voice to be heard.”

What the new grants will go toward — In announcing the three new grants, Jordan Brand has specified where exactly the money will go within the three organizations. For the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the grant will go toward expanding its Talking About Race web portal. The platform is designed to foster conversations around race and includes a Let’s Talk speaker series tailored toward supporting discussions surrounding race, slavery, and history within the classroom.

At Morehouse, the grant will go toward expanding the college’s Journalism & Sports Marketing course. Scholarships will be provided by Jordan Brand, as will stipends to support field reporting assignments. Additionally, the college’s digital media lab will undergo an expansion.

The final recipient in this round, The Ida B. Well Society, is based at Jordan’s alma mater, The University of North Carolina. Its mission is to bring attention to and more opportunities for investigative reporting by journalists of color and to hold accountable reporting on racial justice. With the grant, the organization will seek to further increase opportunities for such reporting and provide professional development programs for investigative reporters.

June will mark the one-year anniversary of Jordan Brand’s $100 million pledge, which is slated to continue over a ten-year period. So far, the brand has already pledged millions of dollars to key organizations — and it shouldn’t be long until we see the program continue to expand.