LeBron On Black Lives Matter: ‘In America … There Ain’t Been No Damn Movement For Us’
After his Los Angeles Lakers played against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday in an exhibition game, LeBron James spoke about Black Lives Matter, insisting, “When you’re black, it’s not a movement. It’s a lifestyle,” adding, “I don’t like the word ‘movement’ because, unfortunately, in America and in society, there ain’t been no damn movement for us.”
In November 2018, Forbes estimated James’ worth at $450 million, adding, “His career playing salary of $270 million, including this season, is tops among active players and has him fourth all-time behind Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.”
James stated, “It’s just heartbreaking. You guys don’t understand. Unless you’re a person of color, you guys don’t understand. I understand you might feel for us. But you will never truly understand what it is to be black in America.”
He continued, “A lot of people kind of use this analogy, talking about Black Lives Matter as a movement. It’s not a movement. When you’re black, it’s not a movement. It’s a lifestyle. We sit here and say it’s a movement, and, OK, how long is this movement going to last? ‘Don’t stop the movement.’ No, this is a walk of life. When you wake up and you’re Black, that is what it is. It shouldn’t be a movement. It should be a lifestyle. This is who we are. … I don’t like the word ‘movement’ because, unfortunately, in America and in society, there ain’t been no damn movement for us. There ain’t been no movement,” as ESPN reported.
“You know what’s going on now. Is that progress? I think we can all say that’s not progress. The conversations being had right now and how many people are really listening or just having the conversations of trying to make things happen, that’s progress. We got a long way to go,” James declared.
In late June, Deadline reported that James and his business partner Maverick Carter, who had based their media company Springhill at Warner Bros. since 2015, signed with ABC Studios, a part of Disney Television Studios. Carter stated, “SpringHill Entertainment makes the shows LeBron and I want to watch. We look at every project as a way to connect with our community and ask ourselves if it will entertain and empower them. We want our content to be insightful in every way. Disney is an incredible home for SpringHill’s future growth in scripted television. Disney’s variety of platforms, extensive reach, depth of talent, and diversity of audience opens up so much opportunity for us to keep creating great stories.”
Deadline added, “SpringHill Entertainment has been folded into the new and diversified The SpringHill Company, a global consumer and entertainment brand focused on empowerment, which has secured $100M in financial backing.”
James stated, “When we talk about storytelling, we want to be able to hit home, to hit a lot of homes where they feel like they can be a part of that story. And they feel like, Oh, you know what? I can relate to that. It’s very organic to our upbringing.”
