Sports and activism have been linked throughout time, and what better time than Black History Month to celebrate this rich history. On February 25th, Fight For Children brought together the leaders of four DC-based nonprofits for a discussion about the social justice movement, positive youth development, and activism through sports. Starting with examples of racism, bias, and privilege from their personal lives, these leaders shared insights on how they see themselves, their programs and their organizations in the social justice movement that is still gaining momentum across the country.
For the roundtable participants and many others, values like giving back, community service, and volunteerism were principles embedded in them by example, through family, community, and lived experiences. From that standpoint, “social justice” was simply about helping others. “The most human thing you can do when you see a person in need is recognize a need and then act on it,” explained Donald Curtis, Executive Director of SOUL. But at some point, whether through the sports setting or elsewhere, the world’s biases and inequities began to show themselves and “social justice” began to mean something different.
Monica 
Stephenson, Head of School SE Campus The Washington School of Ballet, was raised in a household that was “rooted in Blackness,” but because she chose an activity that was uncommon in the Black community, throughout her childhood she found herself pushing against low societal expectations. “My brother fell in love with tennis, and I fell in love with classical ballet. My parents still tell stories about how my brother was expected to lose, and how I was the only Black face at my ballet auditions. You could hear comments. It was such a dichotomy.”
The sense of isolation that comes with being the “first one” or the “only one” is often where the social justice odyssey starts. Trailblazers like Jack
Johnson, Althea Gibson, and Jackie Robinson not only had to overcome overt racism while competing at the highest level, but they also had to become successful enough to keep the door open so others could follow behind. For Stephen Hocker, Executive Director of Teens Run DC, that moment came early in his career, when he worked for Special Olympics, first as the Director of International Basketball, then as the CEO of the DC office. “For 25 years I was the only Black or Brown leader in 50 states. And I was not quiet about having to go through that experience.”
But even with these types of lived experiences as common ground for developing an activist mindset, the definition of “social justice” has evolved over time, and it still means many different things to different people. For Steve and Monica, it started with a desire for greater representation. “I see [leading the School at The Washington Ballet] as my opportunity to ensure equal opportunity. There are financial barriers to participation, there might be a lack of supports in the home that can be barriers, and it’s always been developed in me to work to remove those barriers.”
Donald views social justice through the lens of equal access – “addressing the achievement gap by closing the knowledge gap and the information gap,” he explained. For John Borden, 
President & Chief Executive Officer of the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation, it’s a matter of taking the leap from equality – equal treatment under the law – to equity, which is focused on ensuring justice in how the law is interpreted and enforced. “I think you become aware of social justice because you start to observe inconsistencies,” he said, citing the disproportionate response of law enforcement to the Capitol riot versus the Black Lives Matter rally in DC last summer. You have to ask yourself, why are there two different responses?”
Skeptics might question how one would combat injustice with a tennis racket or a basketball, but there are many features of the sport setting that make it an ideal platform for social activism. As Donald points out, sport is a powerful, unifying force. “There’s a saying that goes, ‘the most integrated day in Alabama is Saturday, and the most segregated day is Sunday.’ Meaning that sport is even more powerful than Christianity in bringing black and white people together.” Sports also give professional athletes widespread visibility and connects them to a broad audience that extends well beyond the field of play. “LeBron James can go to Barack Obama to get advice on how playing in the NBA bubble through the pandemic could help the movement out.” Steve said. “I think that’s terrific.”
Economic mobility is another aspect of social justice through sports. Not only can it turn a young athlete from a low-income family into a millionaire, it can also be an economic boon for depressed communities. “We took a team to Akron for a tournament,” Donald said. “The Firestone and Goodyear factories are shut down, there’s nothing there. But for this one weekend, every hotel room was booked, and every restaurant was full. That town brought in millions of dollars, just because teams want to play in LeBron James’ tournament.”
Nowadays, Black athletes like LeBron, Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, and Michael Jordan are realizing and fully actualizing the power of their personal brands, giving them influence both in and beyond the multibillion-dollar sports industry. “They understand the economic proposition of them playing,” said John. “They recognize that the cash register isn’t ringing when they’re not in the stadium or on the golf course.” While supernovas like Tiger and Jordan are not publicly vocal on social issues, both donate millions of dollars to the causes that matter to them.
But not every child is destined to become the next Misty Copeland, another great athlete who actively uses her platform to dismantle systemic racism in classical dance. And precious few young people choose a sport because they think it will help them become the next great Black activist. Knowing that many (if not most) young people will eventually move on from athletics at some point in their lives, it is essential to these nonprofit leaders that their programs instill values and life skills in young people that will help them regardless of what paths they take.
“It’s not just about going from the projects to a mansion,” John explained. “The next step in social justice is recognizing that as an athlete, you have agency, the ability to say, ‘I have the capacity to make decisions that I want to make and not be dictated by a system that doesn’t care about me.’ But I wasn’t thinking about that as a ten-year-old, I arrived at those things is as an adult.”
“Most people aren’t going to become a professional ballet dancer,” Monica added. “The odds are about the same as a young person making it to the NFL. That’s why it’s so critically important for us to teach other things, that we’re not just teaching ballet technique or how to do a step. It’s about work ethic, discipline, commitment, perseverance, and falling in love with the art form, because you may be that audience member or teacher of the art form one day. That’s one of the reasons why, as educators, it’s such a responsibility to try to make young people successful as a people and citizens.”
Steve recognizes the sports setting as a place where young people learn to believe in themselves, simply because their coaches believe in them. At Teens Run DC, he employs coaches who are trained and certified in sports-based youth development, which allows them to use the sports setting to intentionally develop positive, mentoring relationships with young people while helping them develop social and emotional skills. At SOUL, only 20% of the organization’s expenses are sports-related, with the other 80% covering activities such as mentoring, enrichment, and college preparation. In essence, these programs are instilling a sense of agency in young people that will allow them to define their own set of social justice principles, which they will draw upon to navigate their lives. “Our goal at WTEF is equipping students with as many tools as possible to define success for themselves,” said John. “People talk about Kobe Bryant and the ‘Mamba Mentality,’ and what that really is, is the habits. The motivation, the commitment.”
A handful of our most defining moments can sometimes summon a lifetime of readiness and purpose. John summed this up well by saying, “[Social Justice] is about recognizing the moment and being prepared to act. I don’t see myself as an activist, I’m just prepared for the moment. Which right now means getting the kids in our community ready to meet the next series of challenges.”
More than 90% of Fortune 500 CEOs were athletes growing up, proof positive of the ability of sports to develop leaders. These four roundtable participants are examples of many others in the nonprofit sector for whom athletics was a springboard into leadership, and now they are continuing the legacy of “giving back” by preparing the next generation. They closed the 90-minute conversation by sharing their visions for a sports-based youth development movement where they work across organizations and sectors to promote and advance a broader social agenda through collaboration, partnerships and thought leadership. Thanks to them and many others, the future of the fight for social justice is in good hands.