Black Community

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Today, the Sacramento Kings announced the designation of a company-wide annual paid holiday to observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19, the oldest nationally celebrated holiday commemorating emancipation from slavery in the United States. The anniversary will provide team members an opportunity to pause, further educate themselves and participate in civic engagement.

“We are proud to celebrate Juneteenth, honoring Black history and further committing ourselves to creating positive meaningful change,” said Sacramento Kings Chief Operating Officer Matina Kolokotronis. “The Kings remain dedicated to working with our community to address racial inequity through sustained action.”

The team will continue to share educational resources online at Kings.com/Juneteenth and on social media platforms in the coming days including a video produced by the organization’s Black and Beyond employee resource group, whose goal is to support and promote the talent of Black team members through professional development and community service initiatives.

Kings team members will participate in the Black Child Legacy Campaign (BCLC) and Build.Black. “Week of Action” which includes community conversations and peace marches for these events, the team has donated 10,000 masks to event organizers for participating guests and volunteers.. The team will also support the 26th annual Juneteenth festival to take place this year virtually from June 19-28.

Earlier this month, the Kings developed and announced a “Pledge to Our Black Community” to help combat social and racial injustice and invest in meaningful change. The team also debuted a PSA calling for unity and action in the wake of George Floyd’s brutal murder at the hands of police, in collaboration with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lynx and Sacramento Area Youth Speaks. Additionally, on June 6, Kings players, coaches, executives and team members joined “A Peaceful Protest for Our Rights” that began at Golden 1 Center and ended at Cesar Chavez Plaza. Kings Assistant Coach Bobby Jackson helped to organize the peaceful community protest and tipped off the program calling for unity and justice. Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé addressed the crowd of thousands gathered, saying, “We have just one message – Black Lives Matter.” Kings forward Harrison Barnes also spoke about the importance of protesting to raise awareness and showing up at the voting booth.

The Kings have worked to addressed social injustices, including systemic inequality, through partnerships and programs aimed at creating safe spaces for Black youth in Sacramento, fostering open and honest conversations and reducing stigma around incarcerated individuals. Over the past two years, the Kings have partnered with the Build.Black. Coalition to deeply invest in Black youth locally, launched the Team Up for Change summit series to address issues of social injustice and participated as the first NBA team to host a Play for Justice game at Folsom Prison. To learn more, visit Kings.com.

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Sacramento Kings to Observe Juneteenth as Annual Company Holiday

Nikki Nicholson

Juneteenth (short for June nineteenth) commemorates the day when federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1865 to alert enslaved people they were finally free. The declaration was made more than two-and-a-half years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and its anniversary marks the official end of enslavement in the U.S.

The first Juneteenth celebration took place in 1866, and festivities throughout the U.S. have continued on the date ever since. In 1872, a group of formerly enslaved people put together $800 and purchased 10 acres of land in Houston, Texas, for the city’s annual observation of Juneteenth, and they named the space Emancipation Park, where the holiday continues to be recognized each year.

Today, Juneteenth celebrations continue to be held throughout the country, and often involve events such as picnics, barbecues, church ceremonies, parades, concerts and more. Traditionally, red drinks, such as strawberry soda, and red foods, like red velvet cake, are a must at the cookouts, as the primary color symbolizes resilience.

Juneteenth represents Independence Day for Black people in the U.S., and serves as a reminder for their continued fight for equity and freedom.

“Today's political climate is the result of a concerted effort over many years to teach individuals a revised history: that the system of slavery was related to state’s rights, when in fact it was a treasonous act that this nation must not revisit. One of the ways we can prevent another uprising of a treasonous act [like slavery] is to recognize milestones like Juneteenth,” says NAACP President Derrick Johnson.

“I think the significance and purpose of recognizing Juneteenth is something that all citizens should acknowledge because, if there is not a retelling or remembrance of the true history in this nation, we're doomed to repeat it.”

The Sacramento Kings are committed to the Black community and have announced Juneteenth as an annual paid company holiday. In the spirit of celebrating liberation, while also reflecting on the organization’s commitment to working with the community to continue to address racial inequity through sustained action the content herein will be routinely updated with additional resources.

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Juneteenth Celebration Reading and Resources

sacasingh

Today, in solidarity with communities across the country, the Sacramento Kings announced they will continue their commitment to utilize their platform to influence social and systemic change to address institutional racism. After extensive conversations over recent weeks, both internally and externally, the organization developed a “Pledge to Our Black Community” to help combat social and racial injustice and invest in meaningful change. Some of the steps outlined in the pledge include:

The Kings remain committed to fighting for racial equity and social justice, speaking up against police brutality and building upon this pledge until there is meaningful change.

View the Kings “Pledge to Our Black Community".

In addition, the team debuted a PSA calling for unity and action in the wake of George Floyd’s brutal murder at the hands of police, in collaboration with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Lynx and Sacramento Area Youth Speaks. The nearly two-minute video features players from both teams including Kings guards De’Aaron Fox and Bogdan Bogdanovic and forward Marvin Bagley III along with Timberwolves guards Josh Okogie and D’Angelo Russell. Kings Head Coach Luke Walton, Timberwolves Head Coach Ryan Saunders, Kings General Manager Vlade Divac, Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas and more are also in the PSA.

In March 2018, following the tragic killing of Stephon Clark by police in Sacramento, the team voiced a commitment to work alongside the community to prevent future tragedies. The Kings, together with the Boston Celtics, released a PSA, “Accountability. We Are One,” and separately launched a multi-year partnership with Build.Black., a coalition of community leaders that organized to support transformational change for Black communities in Sacramento. Over the last two years, Kings players, coaches, Legends and team members have participated in youth healing forums, STEM education and mentoring workshops, and a co-ed youth basketball league, all focused on using sport as an agent for change. Together with Build.Black., the team has held more than 40 events and hosted nearly 2,500 area youth associated with the coalition, impacting the lives of countless youth across the city. This partnership and the Kings leadership to create the Team Up for Change platform, a model for how sports teams can address issues of injustice in their respective cities, were recognized with the 2019 and 2020 NBA Innovation Inclusion Awards. The Kings were also recently named among the finalists for ESPN’s 2020 Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year Award.

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Sacramento Kings Pledge Action to Help Combat Social and Racial Injustice

In solidarity with communities across the country, the Sacramento Kings will continue our commitment to utilize our platform to influence social and systemic change to address institutional racism.

Below are some immediate next steps we will take internally and externally to promote understanding and diversity to impact change. We arrived at this plan after extensive conversations over recent weeks based on feedback from our community partners and team members.

We are dedicated to doing the work and remain focused to being a part of the solution through sustained action.

1. Activate Team Up for Change: We have partnered with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx on a PSA urging unity and action in the wake of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police. We will partner with the Timberwolves, Lynx and Milwaukee Bucks to host the third Team Up for Change summit in the near future to address issues of social injustice with the goal of working towards more equitable communities.

2. Ongoing Funding for Kings &amp; Queens Rise Youth: To support our ongoing commitment to investing in transformational change for Black youth in our community we will donate $75,000 to collaborate on a series of youth and young adult-led Kings and Queens Rise workshops, launch a virtual summer Kings and Queens Rise Co-ed Youth NBA2K League in partnership with Build.Black., and support the Black Child Legacy Campaign (BCLC) Youth Violence Prevention Program. We will provide BCLC Community Incubator Leads with NBA mental health resources and partner with Kaiser Permanente to host resilience and well-being sessions.

3. Empower Currently &amp; Formerly Incarcerated Individuals: We will continue to work with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC) to provide resources and mentoring to support career development for formerly incarcerated persons. We know that marginalized populations,
particularly Black individuals, are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. We pledge to work alongside ARC to empower individuals who have been impacted by the criminal justice system to thrive in our community.

4. Increase Support for the Local Black Community: We will increase our commitment to dedicating time in underserved neighborhoods by providing resources, volunteering, mentoring, and championing initiatives that support platforms and opportunity for our Black community.

5. Invest in Black-Owned Businesses: We commit to reviewing and assessing our diversity sourcing practices and pledge to foster economic equity in Sacramento by highlighting and partnering with regional small and large Black-owned businesses. Additionally, we will support financial literacy programs and career development for local Black youth.

6. Amplify Black Voices: We commit to building upon our amplification of Black voices, creators, and business owners on our social media channels and throughout our game programming year-round.

7. Ongoing Education: Learning is an essential step towards meaningful change, and we will continue to cultivate and share an evolving list of educational resources (books, articles, podcasts, movies, entertainment, and more) with team members and across our digital channels. In addition, we will equip team members with training and tools around communication skills and tactics to ensure we practice empathy in our conversations.

8. Engage in Uncomfortable Conversations: We commit, guided by our Diversity &amp; Inclusion Council, to meet regularly as an organization for open and honest dialogue. In addition, we will continue to team up with experts to further educate ourselves in an effort to combat implicit and explicit bias.

9. Further Accountable Hiring Practices: We commit to holding ourselves accountable for increasing the number of Black people who are represented at all levels, from interns to executives, and requiring all hires are sourced from a diverse group of candidates.

10. Rally the Vote to Make Our Voices Heard: We commit to mobilize civic participation by hosting voter registration workshops for our team members and community and providing employees with a paid day off for election days. We will continue to lead and relaunch a coalition of professional sports teams to encourage voter registration and turnout.

As an organization, we are committed to reviewing and updating our pledge to our Black community on an ongoing basis. We are hopeful about the future and dedicated to action today, tomorrow and until we see meaningful change.

Black Community

Sacramento Kings to Observe Juneteenth as Annual Company Holiday

Juneteenth Celebration Reading and Resources

Sacramento Kings Pledge Action to Help Combat Social and Racial Injustice

Sacramento Kings Pledge To Our Black Community