Michael Jordan donates $2.5 million to battle Black voter concealment

Michael Jordan, Jordan Brand declare $2.5 million donation to battle Black voter concealment As a part of a commitmen...

Michael Jordan, Jordan Brand declare $2.5 million donation to battle Black voter concealment

As a part of a commitment to donate $100 million over subsequent decade to fight systemic racism, Michael Jordan and Jordan Brand announced Wednesday that they're donating $2.5 million to 3 partners to combat Black voter suppression.

The NAACP Legal Defense and academic Fund, Inc. and therefore the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted People and Families Movement will each receive $1 million, while Black Voters Matter will receive $500,000. These organizations will specialise in areas within the U.S. where "Black people are underrepresented in registration and turnout numbers, relative to their share of the general population," Jordan and therefore the Jordan Brand said during a statement.


In the statement, which is posted on Nike's website, Jordan and Jordan Brand explained that they picked these organizations "based on their ability to require action which will create impact now."

"There could also be an extended history of oppression against Black Americans that holds us back from full participation in American society. We understand that one among the most ways we will change systemic racism is at the polls," Jordan said within the statement. "We know it will take time for us to form the change we might wish to ascertain , but we are working quickly to need action for the Black community's voice to be heard."

More than six million people aren't allowed to vote due to laws that disenfranchise people with felony convictions, consistent with a 2016 report by the Sentencing Project. Most of these facing voter disenfranchisement are Black, the report found.

On July 16, the Supreme Court ruled that Florida can legally prevent quite a million people from voting if that they had felony convictions and have outstanding court fines and costs .The state accounts for quite 1 / 4 of the disenfranchised voters within the country, consistent with the Sentencing Project.

Jordan announced his and his brand's $100 million commitment at the start of June, saying, "Black lives matter. this is often not a controversial statement."

Jordan Brand president Craig Williams said that the commitment "was just the beginning ."

"We are moving from commitment to action. Our initial partners can directly impact the social and political well-being of the Black community," Williams said. "We will have a disciplined specialize in social justice, economic justice and education, because the simplest ways for us to eliminate the systemic racism that's still in society."