Monday marks Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and February is Black History Month. The NBA has been at the forefront of dramatic changes inching towards the “Dream” Dr. King spoke of in his groundbreaking speech on August 28, 1963 in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Today they released a video that mixes Dr. King’s rousing speech with those NBA moments that have kept the Association at the forefront of the change Dr. King dreamed about.
We got chills watching this. King’s speech continues to pack a punch, and when we see all the tiny moments that have transformed the NBA into the fully integrated collage of races and nationalities it is today, we thank God we get to write about the Association for a living.
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
[…]
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!”
Whether it’s Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton and Earl Lloyd as the first African-Americans signed to an NBA team, the illustrious Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Elgin Baylor and so many more becoming the dominant and proud African-American stars in the Association, Yao Ming bringing the game to the Far East, Robert Johnson becoming the first African-American majority owner of an NBA team and MJ continuing his legacy today, or Jason Collins proving how inclusive the league can be after becoming the first openly gay professional athlete in a major professional sport, the NBA continues to shatter barriers that separate us as a country and a people.
We freakin’ love this game, and this video provides a host of evidence why:
Why do you love the NBA?
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