NFL’s 2021 Opportunity to Diversify Team Ownership
By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. President and CEO, National Newspaper Publishers Association
Published February 4, 2021
As we approach the 55
th NFL Superbowl next Sunday in Tampa, Florida amidst the continued national spread of COVID-19, I believe that the time has come for the close-knit group of team owners in the National Football League (NFL) to take the necessary steps to open the door to African American business leaders who hope to join that exclusive club of owners.
Given the large number of outstanding African American players today on NFL teams and the growing racial and ethnic diversity of NFL fans and supporters in all the cities where NFL teams are located, the ownership of NFL teams should begin to become as diverse as its fan and support base. Today, nearly 70% of NFL players are African American but there are no African American NFL owners. I see this as an opportunity for the leadership and owners of the NF
St. Augustine honors Martin Luther King Jr. amid COVID-19 pandemic
As a Black child growing up in North Carolina, Benjamin Chavis Jr. knew that checking out a book from the public library wasn t allowed in his community.
But, at 12 years old, inspired by a preacher who shared that all people are made in God s image, and with a thirst for knowledge and change, Chavis decided that he would do what it took to get a library card ― instead of accepting the hand-me-down, tattered books supplied to the Black annex.
Chavis approached a librarian, who attempted to stifle his efforts to check out a book and get a library card. The police were called, he was told that his parents could lose their jobs over his actions.