[News] FTW - Michael Jordan donates $2mil to help repair community relations with Police
Photo Carmelo Anthony held a community forum in Los Angeles to address social issues on Monday. Credit Ethan Miller/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES Carmelo Anthony followed through on his pledge to move forward with his growing interest in social issues by staging a community event here on Monday to address the recent spate of killings committed by and against police officers.
I think we created something today that will continue on, Anthony said.
The event, which was held at the Challengers Boys & Girls Club, included more than 200 people: young people from the community ages 13 to 23, local leaders, police officers and players from the mens and womens national basketball teams.
After an open forum, the participants broke into groups for smaller discussions about topics that centered on the police and race relations. The event lasted about two hours.
Some of the things that I heard, it brought a perspective that I didnt realize, Deputy Chief William Scott of the Los Angeles Police Department said. So it was a very powerful thing for me and apparently for everyone in my group. It gave us that space to have that dialogue necessary to drive change.
The event was not open to reporters; Anthony said he wanted the people involved to be able to speak without feeling restricted by the presence of cameras. Anthony later spoke at a news conference, where he was joined by community leaders and by Tamika Catchings of the W.N.B.A.s Indiana Fever.
The youth really, really spoke out today about how they feel about their community, how they feel about police officers, how they feel about relationships, and how we can mend these relationships, Anthony said, adding: We know that nothing is going to happen overnight. But what we wanted to do was create something that we start right now.
On the same day that Anthony organized his event, Michael Jordan made a rare foray into social activism. In a statement released to The Undefeated, an ESPN website dedicated to the intersection of race and sports, Jordan, the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets and perhaps the greatest player in N.B.A. history, said he was deeply troubled by recent violent episodes in places like Baton Rouge, La.; Falcon Heights, Minn.; and Dallas.
As a proud American, a father who lost his own dad in a senseless act of violence, and a black man, I have been deeply troubled by the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of law enforcement and angered by the cowardly and hateful targeting and killing of police officers, Jordan said in the statement.
Jordan also used the statement to announce that he was making separate donations of $1 million to two charitable organizations: the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the Institute for Community-Police Relations. (Jordans net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $1.1 billion.)
While the statement was consistent with Jordans reputation for being cautious when it comes to issues in the public arena, Anthony lauded him for speaking out.
I thought it was brilliant and about time that he stepped up, Anthony said. Because at the end of the day, amongst us, he is our face. Hes a very powerful African-American. So for him to step up in the midst of these times right now, it was very big on his behalf.
Anthony, who is preparing for his fourth Olympic Games, has decided to use his platform to bring attention to social issues that matter to him. If his public positions are not bold he has repeatedly emphasized the need for people to come together in the aftermath of so much gun violence his willingness to commit his time and energy has set an example for other athletes, some of whom are following his lead.
Catchings said she was planning to approach Paul George of the Indiana Pacers a mens national team member who participated in the event about leading a similar forum in Indianapolis, where they both play.
Catchings said that she had come away from the event feeling that it had made a difference both for the young people who shared their fears and for the police officers who listened.
We know were moving in the right direction, Catchings said.
Scott, the deputy police chief, said there was no denying the effect that high-profile athletes could have, especially when it came to dealing with teenagers.
I think it makes a tremendous difference, he said. The platform that these athletes have is worldwide. And this issue is an issue that needs attention. We need to have some dialogue, and we need to have some solutions to push it forward.
He added: A lot of these young folks would not have been in this room talking with police had it not been for what these athletes are doing. So thats a tremendous, tremendous benefit for this issue and for us in this city.
Continue reading the main storySource: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/sports/carmelo-anthony-michael-jordan-address-social-issues.html
