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Michelle Obama’s voter registration and engagement initiative is making a push to get Black voters to the polls for this November’s midterm elections. The former first lady and Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul teamed up for a video released Friday — timed to coincide with National Black Voter Day, which was launched in 2020 by BET and the National Urban League — encouraging Black voters to get registered and head to the ballot boxes.
Over the summer, the NBA was active in assisting with education and enrollment around vaccine trials. The league worked with partners at the National Urban League and UnidosUS to help spread awareness and solicit vaccine trial participants in underserved communities. Additionally, the league took a first step last week when its health and safety protocol were updated to include provisions about vaccines. In the guidance, the league told players it would work with the National Basketball Players Association about whether taking a vaccine would be required if it's proven safe. Or if not required, whether there would be separate protocols for players who were not inoculated.
BET announces the next phase of its nonpartisan #ReclaimYourVote campaign, which declares the inaugural National Black Voter Day to be recognized on September 18, 2020. In partnership with the National Urban League and an expanding list of over 40 key partners, BET will launch various initiatives and provide content to inform, empower and mobilize Black Americans’ participation in the November election.
Blake Griffin (six-time NBA All-Star), Caron Butler (NBA Champion), Desmond Meade (President, FRRC/Voting Rights Activist), Dwane Casey (Champion Basketball Coach), Erica Campbell (Recording Artist), Jaren Jackson, Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies center), Jonica T. Gibbs (Actor, BET’s Twenties), Marc H. Morial (President & CEO, National Urban League), MAJOR. (Grammy Nominated Musician), Morgan DeBaun (Founder & CEO, Blavity, Inc), Mignon Von (Actor, Tyler Perry’s Sistas), Offset (Rapper), Rapsody (Recording Artist), Soledad O'Brien (Journalist/Producer), Stacey Abrams (Founder, Fair Fight Action), Ms. Tina Knowles Lawson (Co-Founder, Where Art Can Occur), Udonis Haslem (three-time NBA Champion), Vivek Ranadivé (Sacramento Kings Governor) and more are lending their voices to this powerful campaign with original PSAs that will be dispersed across BET’s platforms and by impact partners to their constituents.
In part seeking to aid the NBA’s ongoing efforts in and around Black empowerment and economic and social justice, DoorDash has created the new #PlayItForward Challenge. The company will donate $1 to the National Urban League for every order placed through the DoorDash platform to a Black-owned restaurant, up to $100,000. DoorDash will also offer $0 delivery fees from all merchant partners in its program to support Black-owned businesses.
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Behrens said the NBA has not yet calculated how much the league and its partners have paid for these programs. All participants already sense, however, the programs’ impact. "My outlook is that this is a bridge to a vaccine," said Marc Morial, the president and CEO of the National Urban League. "If people know they have the virus, they can self-quarantine and they can get treated."
That was ignited Tuesday by a Wall Street Journal story about the rising cost of sneakers that said the latest LeBron James basketball shoe is expected to retail for $315. Nike has not announced the price, though it has showcased the shoe on its website with a teaser about the high-tech features built into the sole. The Nike+ Basketball technology uses motion sensors that will track and measure performance, such as how fast the wearer moves, distance traveled and height of jumps, which can be accessed by an app on a smartphone. Already the National Urban League has weighed in with a protest, calling for parents to resist spending on such an “empty status symbol.”
According to the foundation's federal tax reports, other local organizations that have benefited from James' philanthropic efforts include Summa Health System, the Akron Community Foundation, the Akron Pee-Wee Football Association and the Northeast Ohio Basketball Association, based in Fairlawn. More than $50,000 has been reported to provide Thanksgiving turkeys to needy families. Nearly $200,000 has been donated to the Akron Area YMCA and more than $130,000 to the Akron Urban League. James also gave the Kia crossover SUVs he received when honored with the NBA's 2009 and 2010 MVP awards to the Urban League and Summa Foundation.
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