Former five-time NBA All-Star and TNT analyst Chris Webber will transform his life experiences into a new course which he’ll be teaching at Morehouse College called “Activism in Sports and Culture.”
According to The Undefeated, the course, which will be hosted on the online education provider Coursera, will look to inspire and instill activism amongst a new generation of athletes while giving context to veteran athletes.
“What I aim to do hopefully is to honor guys like John Carlos and Spencer Haywood, to let guys know there would be no Kobe Bryant, LeBron [James] if Spencer Haywood didn’t go to the Supreme Court,” Webber told The Undefeated.
“I want to honor them, to make sure they stay relevant, to spark conversation, to inspire someone to take those messages and see that, ‘Listen, I can get over that. If they’ve gone through this, I can get through it.’ ”
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The course will explore the evolution of athlete’s protests over time with explanation of the circumstances while also highlighting the rise of social media and the role it plays within the movement.
“When I grew up there were only three to five TV channels, and because of institutional racism you didn’t have a shot of getting your narrative out,” Webber said. “I love how LeBron has empowered himself with technology and said, ‘I have this many followers, I don’t need this station. I can get this message out.’”
On Instagram, Webber shared the news of his new course and how it’ll feature “sports icons and experts who have made major impacts on race relations and human rights.”
“By the end of the course, you’ll have a better understanding of historical and contemporary protest moments, and be able to create and apply new ways of thinking about the activism within the world of sports in history and today,” Webber said.
Read More: Morehouse College creates online program to help students with some credits finish degree
In the lengthy caption he mentioned his “goals in this labor of love” which will:
1. Provide insight into how sports — its principles and practices — influence the human condition.
2. Provide exposure to firsthand narratives of major sports figures who have experienced discrimination and exploitation and, in many cases, influenced the national conversation about these issues.
3. Provoke thought and argument about the place of sports in our economy and civil society.
4. Recognize how sports have influenced our attitudes and those of others in regard to race, gender, class, and other important societal issues.
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