Throughout February, the NBA is celebrating Black History Month, and the Utah Jazz announced today their plans to recognize and highlight it through education, empowerment, and engagement in their own Black Experience Month involving players, employees, and the Jazz community. A series of activations through the Jazz app, website, television/radio broadcasts, social media, and at Vivint Arena during games will include highlighting Black-owned businesses, facilitating an internal employee conversation with Dwyane Wade, and curating Jazz player videos and photos, plus activities related to NBA All-Star 2023.

“The Utah Jazz have a deep appreciation and respect for Black history and experience, and we embrace the opportunity to engage our fans, employees, and the community at large in conversations about the Black experience through our global platform as an NBA team,” said Chief Experience Officer Andrea Williams. “While we will feature different programming and initiatives throughout February to gain a better understanding of Black culture and its vast contributions, impact, perspectives, and achievements, we are committed to celebrating and honoring the experiences of our players, employees, and community members throughout the year.”

A new video and website are available at: www.utahjazz.com/bxm.

The Utah Jazz Black Experience Month programming will include:

• A panel discussion with four Jazz players – Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Collin Sexton, and Ochai Agbaji – about being an athlete, role model, and Black man in America will be aired in several segments starting Feb. 1. Jazz Digital Content Reporter Nayo Campbell moderated the player conversation that will be posted on the Jazz YouTube channel with segments shared on social media and during home games throughout the month.

• Nolan Baynes II, a photographic storyteller and current student at Howard University who previously interned with the Jazz, has captured portraits of Malik Beasley, Conley, Sexton, and Agbaji that will be featured on Jazz digital channels.

• The Utah Jazz App will highlight the services of more than a dozen locally owned Black businesses from Ogden to Provo, ranging from Amboseli Foods (niche international specialty foods) and Taste of Louisiana (southern favorites) to Makaya Caters (Haitian food), and many others. Fans will be encouraged to visit the businesses where they can scan a QR code to get badges for their patronage. Fans who collect five badges will receive a discount on merchandise at the Jazz Team Store.

• Hall of Famer and minority team owner Dwyane Wade along with Nikki Walker, a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging specialist, will be moderating a lunch-and-learn “Courtside Conversation” among Black employees of the Jazz with all staff members invited to attend to learn about their colleagues’ experiences and perspectives.

• The second cohort of Utah Jazz Scholars – a group of more than 80 students from underrepresented groups – has been invited to the Utah Jazz game on Feb. 25. These first-year students are pursuing their undergraduate degrees at Brigham Young University, Southern Utah University, University of Utah, Utah Valley University, Utah State University, and Weber State University. They received full, four-year college scholarships from the Jazz based on wins during the 2021-22 season.

The staging of NBA All-Star 2023 in Utah also brings related experiences, such as: 

• The Grambling State University and Southern University men’s basketball programs from Louisiana will play in the NBA HBCU Classic 2023 on Feb. 18 at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Center. NBA legends and school alumni Bob Love (Southern) and Willis Reed (Grambling State) will serve as honorary captains of the game.

• Eight Black-identifying early stage founders and entrepreneurs, including four from Utah – Morgan Williams, CEO of Blendyd; Kandi Tesen, founder and owner of Eats; Jenna White, owner of Empire Body Waxing; and Gladymir Philipp, founder and CEO of Kado – have qualified to participate in the NBA All-Star 2023 Pitch Competition through the NBA and NBA Foundation. Centered around the theme of “leveraging technology to drive innovation,” the entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to gain funding for their ventures and receive valuable input from influential business leaders across the NBA family.

The NBA’s celebration of Black History Month follows Martin Luther King Jr. Day and National Mentoring Month in January. For that celebration, the Jazz held an MLK Day educational workshop and basketball clinic for middle school students; hosted the Clean Slate Summit at Vivint Arena, which provided a free legal screening to check expungement eligibility for hundreds of Utahns; and partnered with Junior Achievement and Delta Air Lines to provide career mentoring for West High School students at a Jazz game and through an ongoing series of assemblies until May.