This week, the NBA family will celebrate Juneteenth, a national holiday commemorating emancipation from slavery in the United States, with a variety of league and team programming, conversations and partnerships that encourage employees, fans and all members of the NBA family to further educate themselves on the holiday while also reflecting on past and present racial injustices in our county. The league will observe the holiday on Friday, June 18 with paid time off for all U.S. employees. Passed through the Senate and the House of Representatives, President Joe Biden will sign the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act this week to establish June 19th as a federal holiday.
As part of the celebration, all league and team employees have been invited to a virtual panel discussion on June 17, hosted by NBA employee resource team “Dream in Color.” The panel will feature the team behind “A Most Beautiful Thing,” a documentary executive-produced by NBA legends Grant Hill and Dwyane Wade, Seattle Storm President Ginny Gilder and GRAMMY award-winning artist Common that chronicles the history of the first U.S. African-American public high school rowing team. Grant Hill, director Mary Mazzio and Arshay Cooper, a rower and the protagonist of the film, will engage in conversation moderated by NBA TV’s Stephanie Ready around Arshay’s story, the origins of the film, Black history, Juneteenth and more.
Also hosted by “Dream in Color” was the first-ever Dream in Color Café, a live virtual event on June 16 for NBA employees to highlight Black excellence in art and culture. The event included live performances by award-winning saxophonist Trey Daniels and “America’s Got Talent” winner Brandon Leake followed by a moderated discussion on Juneteenth, creative process and each guest’s most fulfilling moment in their career.
Additionally, this week NBA players were invited to prescreen the new History Channel documentary executive-produced by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Fight the Power: The Movements That Changed America, which will premiere on Juneteenth. The one-hour documentary chronicles the key movements that have made a major impact throughout history including the labor movement of the 1880s, women’s suffrage and civil rights, as well as LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter movements.
WNBA players will wear warmup shirts honoring the league’s ommitment to social justice and teams will play Lift Every Voice and Sing, also known as the “Black National Anthem,” in arenas in celebration of the liberation and perseverance of Black people. The NBA G League will also launch an apparel collection designed by Brooklyn based artist Julian Alexander, a portion of the proceeds will benefit Facing History and Ourselves, an organization that uses lessons of history to challenge teachers and their students to stand up to bigotry and hate.
Throughout the weekend, the NBA family will recognize Juneteenth across all social and digital platforms and highlight the ways NBA teams are celebrating Juneteenth celebrations in their respective communities, including with the National Museum of African American History and Culture around the commemoration of Juneteenth, town halls and panel discussions, buy-Black initiatives, festivals and more.
Building on the league’s decades-long values of equality, respect and inclusion, the NBA is continuing its commitment to advance social justice and drive equality for marginalized communities through the NBA Foundation and National Basketball Social Justice Coalition. Prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on TNT, the NBA will also announce the inaugural winner of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award, a new annual honor that will recognize a current NBA player for advancing Abdul-Jabbar’s mission to drive change and taking collective action in their community.
