The Los Angeles Lakers announced the hiring of Dr. Karida Brown as the Director of Racial Equity & Action to help the team in their efforts to promote change within the community.
Brown is an assistant professor of African American Studies and Sociology at UCLA and also serves on the boards of The Obama Presidency Oral History Project and the Du Boisian Scholar Network.
Brown has a master’s and a doctorate in sociology from Brown University and a master’s in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
In addition to her status as a Fulbright Scholar, she has also written two books detailing instances of racial injustice in the United States and is currently working on a third book titled “Separate and Unequal,” that will center on the history of segregated school systems and the impact it continues to have today.
It is safe to say that Brown is well-equipped to provide the Lakers with a sense of direction when it comes to tackling the issues of systemic racism. As a result, she will be taking on an integral role within the franchise in order to help it come to fruition.
“We are very happy to have Dr. Brown join the team,” Lakers COO & president of business operations Tim Harris said.
“She will play a key role in implementing educational programming on race and racism for our employees and helping us focus on racial equity in our day-to-day functions, as well as empowering the organization to identify ways to be more active participants in affecting real change.”
Lakers teammates active in seeking change
Avery Bradley and Dwight Howard have played a central role in voicing the concerns over restarting the 2019-20 NBA season amid the efforts being made to combat racial injustice and usher in police reform. They are hoping players and owners alike will continue to put an emphasis on the real issues at hand in order to spark true change.
Danny Green recently joined peaceful protestors in downtown L.A., and LeBron James is spearheading a voting rights organization that is focused on using the voices of professional athletes and entertainers to combat voter suppression and support African-American voters in their communities.
Among the notable topics Bradley has touched on is his desire for the league to improve the representation in front offices to better reflect that of the players. Fortunately, the Lakers have since put the onus on themselves to answer the call by doing just that with the hiring of Brown.
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