Baron Davis: an NBA Player and Humanitarian

You don't hear more stories like this...From Truthdig:



Truthdig tips its hat this week to Baron Davis, not just because he played a crucial role in steering the Golden State Warriors to their first NBA playoff victory in 16 years, but, more important, because he has used his celebrity status to draw attention to key issues such as the underrepresentation of African-Americans at top-notch universities. Davis’ concern about declining black enrollment at his alma mater, UCLA, led him to co-found the “We Should Not Be the Only Ones” campaign with fellow UCLA alum and Chicago Bears linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo. The mission of the “movement,” as Davis and Ayanbadejo describe it on their site, is “to promote the adequate representation of California’s diverse population at one of the state’s premier universities—UCLA.”

Specifically, the two athletes are pushing for UCLA to reach out to African-American high school students, cultivate their academic talents and recruit them for reasons other than their athletic prowess. The university’s 2007 enrollment figures were alarming. According to the Los Angeles Times’ J.A. Adande, “This year’s UCLA freshman class had fewer than 100 African-Americans—the lowest number in 30 years—among the 4,700 new students.” Adande notes that while 60 percent of the UCLA basketball team is black, only 3 percent of the student body is, which sends the message, “intentionally or not ... that African-Americans are welcome on the court but not in the classroom.”

Good luck Mr. Davis and the Golden State Warriors...