African American Museum Gets Lucky With $5m Michael Jordan Donation

“His gift will enable our visitors to explore how sports were used to break barriers as a way to gain full participation in American society,” Museum Founding Director Lonnie G. Bunch III said in a statement.

NBA basketball icon and legend, Michael Jordan, continues to show his indifference towards people of color and police brutality. He fulfilled that by donating $5 million to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

The National Museum of African-American History & Culture, opening at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. next month shall serve as the haven for African-American artifacts. Jordan’s gift is the largest gift to the museum since its inception in the year of 2003.

As a kind and memorable gesture to the NBA icon, the museum will name a section of its sports gallery after Jordan. As humble as it was, the former Chicago Bull donated a jersey from the 1996 NBA Finals to the museum’s collection.

In a statement to express his gratitude, Jordan said, “I am grateful for the opportunity to support this museum. I also am indebted to the historic contributions of community leaders and athletes such as Jesse Owens, whose talent, commitment and perseverance broke racial barriers and laid the groundwork for the successful careers of so many African Americans in athletics and beyond.”

Michael’s donation should be highly motivating to all African-Americans to donate and support the members of the community. Same should be done with the Black banks where people are encouraged to invest and support Black businesses. It is only wise to note that once we invest into our own community, it goes a long way to making us live in prosperity.

It was just not a mere statement when Malcolm X said that “We should own and operate and control the economy of our community”. We, therefore, have to become involved in a program of re-education to educate our people on the importance of knowing that when you spend your dollar out of the community in which you live, the community in which you spend your money becomes richer and richer; the community out which you take your money becomes poorer and poorer”.

It is worth knowing there are just a few historical sites preserved to commemorate Black history. Out of the 412 National Park Service sites in the United States , only 25 (or 6 percent) are specifically devoted to it. It is further disheartening to note that per the records of the Institute of Museums and Library Services, there are 35,000 museums in the United States but only about 300 (or less than 1 percent) of these are specifically devoted to Black personalities or history.

We give Jordan thumbs up and call on all African-Americans to do the same. A few dollars can make a great difference in the Black community.

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