Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown Takes On Racial Wealth Gap in Boston

June 28, 2024 

2024 NBA Finals MVP and social justice advocate Jaylen Brown is on a mission to use his platform to tackle the racial wealth disparity in Boston, Massachusetts. According to the Samuel Dubois Cook Center on Social Equity, the median wealth of a US-born Black household in Boston is just $8 as compared to $247,500 for a white household.  

After securing a five-year, $304 million contract in 2023 - the biggest in NBA history last year - the two-time NBA All-Star with the 2024 Champion Boston Celtics declared that he wants to bring “Black Wall Street” to the city. Black  Wall Street references the early 20th century Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma which had been one of the wealthiest and most self-sufficient Black communities in the country. In 1921, white mobs attacked and destroyed the neighborhood - looting, burning and killing - in what is known as the Tulsa Race Massacre. Following his successes this month, discussion about his plans rose once again.

Brown’s plans include investing in the community, building infrastructure and changing lives through initiatives that focus on creating new jobs and businesses and democratizing resources. His vision is for a Boston Black Wall Street that is self-sufficient and serves as a model for Black economic empowerment globally. 

“I think through my platform, we’re going to partner with selected leaders, government officials, people in this room so that we can come together and create new jobs, new resources, new businesses, new ideas, all that could highlight minorities and also stimulate the economy and wealth at the same time," he said during a 2023 press conference. "Shrinking the wealth gap could actually be something that could be better for the entire economy.”

Giving back has always been Brown’s intention, and he’s placed an emphasis on leveling the playing field for Black and Brown communities through his 7uice Foundation. The Foundation partners with institutions, organizations and social change leaders to bridge the opportunity and resource gap for youth in traditionally underrepresented Black and Brown communities. Programs focus on access to education, extra-curricular opportunities, the Arts and digital literacy. 

“I think that being an athlete, you have a lot of influence in your community and if you use it responsibly you can make the world a better place,” he told CBS News. “Communities need people to represent them... They feel discluded, so being from those communities, just because I escaped those barriers that allowed me to make it to the NBA, doesn’t mean I’m going to forget about the groups I came from.”

The Foundation’s primary initiative is the Bridge Program, which is designed for Black and Brown youth in the 8^th to 12^th grades. The multi-day educational and leadership initiative is held across various cities and offers an engaging educational experience that aims to bridge the systemic barriers experienced by these youth. 

It also addresses the need for racial equity by fostering community and connecting students with potential career paths, community leaders and mentors across four key areas: Entreprenuership and Financial Literacy, Health and Wellness, Leadership and Activism and Sustainability and Technology. 

"[E]ducation is one of the most powerful devices that we have and is one of the ways our social mobility is being controlled at a very early age. Being able to have my students there who are participating in my MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] program, to get to learn directly from MIT professors, MIT scientists, NASA astronauts, you get to directly benefit from those stories and life lessons," said Brown. "My goal is to build the next leaders, the next generation of leaders for the world. I feel like with the Bridge Program, that's what I'm doing." 

The 27-year-old Celtics' star comes from a family of educators. He studied at UC Berkeley before going pro, was the youngest person to ever lecture at Harvard, has a fellowship at MIT's Media Lab and was offered an internship with NASA.

Sources: Black Stars, Finurah