Black businesses have long been overlooked by customers, businesses, organizations and financiers. But over the last few years, the outlook for these businesses have brightened, particularly in the area of banking.
Last week, the NFL announced it was borrowing $78 million from Black and minority-owned banks, giving a boost to the industry.
“The NFL is thoroughly committed to improving diversity across all aspects of the League, and that includes doing business with diverse suppliers and partners,” said Joe Siclare, Executive Vice President of Finance and League Policy at the NFL. “We are excited that this program will help enhance the reach of these institutions while investing in the local communities that they serve.”
The NFL worked with Bank of America and the National Black Bank Foundation (NBBF) to identify financial institutions that provide capital and investments to diverse individuals, businesses and communities, the initiative aims.
The league borrowed from 16 Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and minority- and women-focused banks to support and expand business opportunities with a wide array of businesses across the country.
“Minority-focused banks, and especially Black-owned or operated banks, are trusted community partners that are more important now than ever given the challenges we are seeing across the country in banking,” said Ashley Bell, co-founder of National Black Bank Foundation. “The NFL’s decision to look for solutions beyond Wall Street and to the centers of hope along Main Street and MLK Jr. Drives will move the needle as others follow their lead.”
Working with NBBF was something that paid off for MLS.
The league has a strong commitment to diversity both on and off the field, and it’s a quality they’re extremely proud of.
“We have to be able to show up and show the diversity we talk about,” MLS EVP and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Sola Winley told me last year during our conversation about the league’s new partnership with NBBF.
In April 2022, MLS worked with Dr. Bernice A. King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King and an NBBF board member, to establish a $25 million loan secured through a group of Black banks to bring financial equity to communities of color across the country through lines of credit for home and small business loans.
It continues a mission started by her father 60 years ago, one he stressed again in his last speech in Memphis in 1968.
“We’ve got to strengthen Black institutions,” said Dr. King. “I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank [a Black-owned bank]—we want a bank-in movement in Memphis.”
The recent movement by organizations and companies to financially invest in Black America erupted after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
And that’s when the Atlanta Hawks first led the movement in sports to work with Black businesses.
In December 2020, the Hawks announced it was refinancing the $35 million construction loan for the Emory Sports Medicine Complex with a “syndicate of Black-owned banks.”
Per the release, the loan marked “the first time a professional sports franchise has had a significant loan underwritten exclusively by Black banks.”
The refinancing was led by NBBF, which helped bring the banks together and enable the Hawks to demonstrate the power and ability of Black-owned Banks.
Tony Ressler, Principal Owner of the Hawks at the time, said the deal reflected “our commitment to putting our values into action–by choosing to work with Black banks and drawing attention to the need for Black banks to thrive as they work toward addressing the lack of access to capital in Black communities.
“We always strive to ask ourselves how the Hawks can best help those in the community that are already helping others, and today’s announcement is another step in our commitment to use the Hawks as a positive agent of change. This is both good for the community and good business to empower new and existing Black businesses.”
It’s good to see two leagues and a pro team step up and financially commit to Black businesses that work with Black businesses, individuals and communities.
Black banks have long suffered from a lack of financial resources and access to opportunities so it’s great to see the sports world finally taking note of these institutions.
Now let’s see if the efforts of these institutions and the NBBF can expand the sports roster to involve more teams and leagues.
