Michael Jordan to Join NBC Sports' NBA Coverage as Special Contributor

Michael Jordan, a six-time NBA champion and a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, will join NBC Sports’ coverage of the NBA as a special contributor when the 2025-26 season begins in October. The announcement was made earlier today during NBCUniversal’s Upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

“I am so excited to see the NBA back on NBC. The NBA on NBC was a meaningful part of my career, and I’m excited about being a special contributor to the project. I’m looking forward to seeing you all when the NBA on NBC launches this October.”

— Michael Jordan, six-time NBA champion and a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

“Michael’s legacy both on and off the court speaks for itself,” said NBC Sports President Rick Cordella. “We’re incredibly proud to have him join our coverage.”

Six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls

Six NBA Finals MVP awards

Five NBA regular-season MVP awards

14-time NBA All-Star

10 NBA scoring titles

Nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team

All-time NBA career points per game leader (30.1)

Elected to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (2009)

NCAA championship with the University of North Carolina (1982)

Two-time Olympic gold medalist with Team USA

Off the court, Jordan is a successful businessman, investor and philanthropist. His Jordan Brand (a division of NIKE) has been a leader and innovator in athletic shoes and apparel since its creation in 1997. Jordan is also the first former player to become the majority owner of an NBA franchise, the Charlotte Hornets. In the fall of 2020, along with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, he launched a NASCAR team, 23XI Racing.

A strong believer in giving back, Jordan has long supported many charitable causes that provide opportunities for at-risk youth, help kids with disabilities and illnesses, support teachers and provide disaster relief. Novant Health’s Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics in North Carolina provide critical health services to thousands of patients. Jordan has served as Make-A-Wish’s Chief Wish Ambassador since 2008 and has been a wish granter for 35 years.

Congressional Black Caucus Statement on Firing of Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden

Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement on the firing of Dr Carla Hayden, The Librarian of Congress:

“On both sides of the aisle, Dr. Carla Hayden is widely respected and considered an exceptional leader and steward of one of our nation’s most historic and prized treasures. During her tenure at the Library of Congress, the People’s Library, Dr. Hayden was committed to safeguarding our nation's history and intellectual legacy.

“President Trump’s callous move to dismiss Dr. Hayden is not to be taken lightly. This decision is the latest move in the Trump Administration’s ongoing war against truth and our democratic values. To make matters worse, the administration will likely attempt to replace Dr. Hayden with an unqualified sycophant who is more committed to Donald Trump than the independence of the institution.

“We cannot allow the Trump Administration to whitewash our history and replace facts with fiction. This decision cannot stand without explanation. We are calling on every Republican to stand up and defend the integrity of the Library of Congress.”

Rep. Shomari Figures, Alma Adams Introduces Legislation to Protect Federal Funding for Land-Grant Institutions

Reps. Shomari C. Figures (AL-02) and Alma Adams, PhD (NC-12) introduced the Land-Grant Institution Parity Act, a bill to protect federal funding for land-grant colleges and universities, including the 19 historically Black 1890 land-grant institutions. 

“Earlier this year, the Trump Administration suspended funding for historically Black land-grant colleges, but did not pause the same funding for the predominately white land-grant institutions,” said Rep. Figures. “That is simply wrong, and that decision sent a clear message about the vulnerability of programs designed to uplift underserved communities. Under this bill, funding for land-grant institutions will be treated equally and funds cannot be paused, cut, or eliminated without congressional approval. I’m committed to protecting our HBCUs and the students that they serve.”

“The Land-Grant Institution Parity Act is an important step to protect funding for our land-grant HBCUs and build equity in higher education,” said Congresswoman Adams. “1890s schools have always punched above their weight and provided outsized benefits to their students, their research, and their communities. They know how to do more with less, but they shouldn’t have to. It’s time we ensure these institutions of excellence always receive the funding they deserve.”

Under this legislation, federal officials are prohibited from reducing, eliminating, or suspending funding for 1890 land-grant institutions without explicit authorization from Congress. The 1890 National Scholars Program, established in 1992, is a scholarship program for students attending historically Black colleges and universities studying agriculture, food, or natural resource sciences. This bill aims to ensure long-term stability and equity for HBCUs and other land-grant institutions that serve underserved communities.

The original cosponsors for this bill include Reps. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Cleo Fields (LA-04), David Scott (GA-13), and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37).

OneUnited Bank Announces 15th Annual "I Got Bank" Contest for Youth

OneUnited Bank, an award-winning Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and America's largest Black-owned bank, is proud to announce its 15th Annual "I Got Bank!" National Financial Literacy Contest, where ten children will win a $1,000 savings account. To make financial literacy a core value for children, the Bank is offering a free "I Got Bank" E-Book.

Children between the ages of 8 and 12 are encouraged to read a financial literacy book of their choosing, and either write a 250-word essay or create an art project to show how they would apply what they learned from the book to their daily lives. Submissions must be emailed or postmarked by June 30, 2025. The Bank will choose ten winners and award each winner a $1,000 savings account at OneUnited Bank by August 31, 2025. For more information, please visit: www.oneunited.com/book.

Teri Williams, OneUnited Bank President and author of "I Got Bank! What My Granddad Taught Me About Money", wrote the book when she discovered that there weren't enough books geared toward educating urban youth about finances. "We did a survey of previous I Got Bank participants and found that 100% of them found the experience valuable to extremely valuable and 100% stated the experience increased their financial awareness," states Williams. "We want to thank the parents and schools for encouraging their children and students to participate in the contest. We continue to advocate for financial literacy to be taught in K-12 schools across America!"

The 2024 winners are Alana Williams, 10, Charlotte, NC, Dylan Prakash, 11, Duarte, CA, Malia Spurlin, 12, Cerritos, CA, Zora Rae Darby, 11, Baldwin, NY, Serenity Earth, 12, Burlington, NJ, Carter M. Lang, 8, Los Angeles, CA, Laila Zellers, 10, Los Angeles, CA, Grant Booker, 11, Gardenia, CA, McKinley Sabrina Murphy, 10, Baldwin, NY, Kali Baker, 10, Hawthorne, CA.

"I Got Bank! What My Granddad Taught Me About Money" is published by The Beckham Publications Group, Inc. (Beckham House). For more information about the official contest rules, please visit: www.oneunited.com/book.

Carnegie Mellon University Professor Edda L. Fields-Black wins 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History

Carnegie Mellon University Professor Edda L. Fields-Black on has won a 2025 Pulitzer Prize in History for her book “Combee: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom During the Civil War.”

Fields-Black is a professor of history and director of The Humanities Center at CMU’s Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Pulitzer judges named two books as winners in the History category this year. The other winner is “Native Nations: A Millennium in North America” by Kathleen DuVal, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

“Combee” was published in 2024 by Oxford University Press. The publisher describes the book as “the story of the Combahee River Raid, one of Harriet Tubman’s most extraordinary accomplishments, based on original documents and written by a descendant of one of the participants.”

The Combahee River Raid was an operation in the Civil War. “On June 2, 1863, Tubman and her crew piloted two regiments of Black U.S. Army soldiers, the Second South Carolina Volunteers, and their white commanders up coastal South Carolina’s Combahee River in three gunboats. In a matter of hours, they torched eight rice plantations and liberated 730 people,” the text from the publisher reads, noting that Fields-Black’s book focuses on an aspect of Tubman’s life that doesn’t get much attention: “During the Civil War, hired by the Union Army, she ventured into the heart of slave territory — Beaufort, South Carolina — to live, work, and gather intelligence.”

The Combahee River Raid was meant “to attack the major plantations of Rice Country, the breadbasket of the Confederacy.”

Fields-Black has made her academic career at CMU, joining the university in 2001 after completing her Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. She became a full professor in the Department of History in 2024, assuming the leadership of the Dietrich College Humanities Center at the same time.

Check out COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War here: https://amzn.to/4iMX30Y