Nipsey Hussle memorial basketball court unveiled in Crenshaw
A school now bears Hussle's image across a 78 foot basketball court.
A school in Crenshaw recently unveiled a 78-foot basketball court bearing Nipsey Hussle's image with a special dedication ceremony.
The Crete Academy Charter School dedicated the court in Hussle’s honor this Sunday, with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony and family fun day.
The school is just a few blocks over from where Hussle was murdered in front of his store.
Children and attendees wore custom spray painted t-shirts with Hussle’s portrait and mantra “The Marathon Continues.”
A young boy honors Nipsey Hussle’s memory during a basketball court dedication in Crenshaw on Sunday, April 14, 2019.. (Photo: Natasha S. Alford/theGrio)
“For us it represents hope, aspiration leadership community development entrepreneurship generosity, all of the things that I feel like that Black people were told were not [a part of] in society,” Hattie Mitchell, founder of Crete Academy, told theGrio.
Mitchell says Hussle was more than a rapper to the children of her school— many of them actually got the chance to meet him through his community service and he made an impression on their young lives.
“Every single day our kids are walking literally toward the mural…
They are walking towards their healing and processing this.”
– HaTTIE MITCHELL, SCHOOL FOUNDER
A young dancer practices before a performance at the Nipsey Hussle Basketball Court Dedication on Sunday, April 14, 2019. (Photo: Natasha S. Alford/theGrio)
“One of purposes that this courts serves is an opportunity to process,” Mitchell said. “Every single day our kids are walking toward the mural as they enter our school and they get to see someone who represented leadership, loyalty and hustle. A person who looks like our kids.”
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 22: Nipsey Hussle greets kids at the Nipsey Hussle x PUMA Hoops Basketball Court Refurbishment Reveal Event on October 22, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jerritt Clark/Getty Images for PUMA)
“They are walking towards their healing and processing this, and at the same time, they’re being inspired. They’re being encouraged. They’re being uplifted to do something that someone like them who had the same neighborhood experiences did before them.”
The event was complete with free food, local performances and a special display of a collection of L.A. style low-rider cars as DJ’s spun West Coast hip-hop classics.
And the Hussle continues
The basketball court dedication is just one of many special remembrances in honor of Hussle that took place throughout Crenshaw over the weekend.
The first group of players on the Nipsey Hussle Basketball Court in Crenshaw play a game in his honor on Sunday, April 14, 2019. (Photo: Natasha S. Alford/theGrio)
Days after Hussle’s funeral, hundreds still gathered at The Marathon Clothing store where he was gunned down. Visitors took photographs in front of the makeshift vigil, and in front of the new murals of Nipsey Hussle which have been painted throughout the Crenshaw neighborhood over the past week.
Despite reports from LAPD of a drive-by shooting after Hussle’s funeral procession in a neighboring area, theGrio witnessed peaceful and orderly gathering of mourners looking to simply pay their respects.
A recent analysis of Hussle’s community work, estimated that the total projected value of his investments outside of rap music resulted in a whopping $210,413,500 including the number of people he hired, influenced, and the value of his investments.
