The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) wants to make sure you “say her name.”
The phrase — a rallying cry to draw attention to women like Breonna Taylor and Sandra Bland, who were killed in incidents of police brutality — will appear on WNBA jerseys when players take to the courts later this month. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” will also appear on official WNBA attire, as well as on several courts.
The new gear is part of an effort called The Justice Movement, a collaborative effort between several WNBA players and leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement, Black Girls Rock! and other social justice initiatives. In addition to the jerseys, the council has proposed virtual roundtables and player-hosted podcasts to educate the masses.
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In a press release, the WNBA says its aim is “be a driving force of necessary and continuing conversations about race, voting rights, LGBTQ+ advocacy, and gun control amongst other important societal issues.” Through these and other actions, the collaborative seeks to address America’s “ long history of inequality, implicit bias and systemic racism that has targeted black and brown communities.”
The NBA will be taking similar steps, by painting “Black Lives Matter” on its courts and printing it on its jerseys, in addition to phrases like “How Many More” and “Justice Now.”
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