Two Years Later in Minneapolis

Local News:

Community members gathered to honor George Floyd last Wednesday, marking the two-year anniversary of his murder. A street sign was unveiled at the intersection where Floyd was killed to reflect the intersection’s new name, “George Perry Floyd Square”. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey was in attendance, escorted by members of the Minnesota Freedom Fighters, a group self-described as ​​“the bridge to link the police and the community together”. Frey’s attendance was met with protest from some community members at the memorial on what was otherwise a day of community healing. Prayers with Floyd’s family, a water ceremony, and the creation of new artwork for the Square were among some of the other events during the day. The official renaming of the intersection, which has been known by the community for two years as George Floyd Square signifies a continued awareness of racial injustice, one that hopefully extends past the symbolic.

Mike Shelton, a prominent face behind Heritage Youth Sports Foundation in Minneapolis, is helping make sports accessible to young people in the Twin Cities. The organization seeks to bring representation and access to youth that otherwise may not have the opportunity to take advantage of both sports and sports careers available to them. All sports except basketball are free to youth through a “serve to play” model where youth are expected to serve their community for one hour either before or after a game. 

BIPOC News:

“Hope Chicago,” a nonprofit organization, provides over 4,000 students with debt-free college scholarships. Philanthropist and Hope Chicago founder Pete Kadens says the organization aims to get 30,000 Chicagoans (students and parents) to college and vocational programs in the next decade. The initiative so far involves five Chicago-area high schools, with more in view in the coming years. The schools and neighborhoods that encompass them have a high BIPOC population. Before Hope Chicago, Kadens started a similar nonprofit in his hometown called Hope Toledo, helping fund the college education of 200 students and parents in Ohio.

Nike’s Jordan Brand will outfit Howard University’s athletic teams when their current partnership with Under Armour is up in the summer. Howard is the first HBCU (Historically black colleges and universities) to sign with the Jordan Brand since the late 1990s, when North Carolina A&T became one of the original three Jordan-sponsored schools. This deal signifies an increasing investment of the Jordan Brand in HBCUs and their athletic teams. 

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