More Than A Vote released a new podcast on COVID-19 vaccine

‘More Than A Vote’ teamed with Jemele Hill and Bakari Sellers to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine in the Black community.

Among the several things that LeBron James has going on, including working on getting back to playing shape after missing the past month with an ankle injury, James is becoming even more involved in the political sphere.

In particular, his voting rights advocacy group, More Than A Vote, is using its power to promote awareness and provide clarity on the COVID-19 vaccine.

Earlier this month, More Than A Vote released its first foray outside of the electoral sphere as they teamed with Jemele Hill and Bakari Sellers to produce a two-part podcast about the COVID-19 vaccine and the Black community.

The goal is to provide historical context to potential hesitations about the vaccine, while also presenting facts about vaccines to encourage a quicker end to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disproportionately affected Black and brown communities.

“While Black Americans are no more skeptical of taking the COVID vaccines than any other population group, those who are hesitant have an incredible amount of history to point toward to justify their position,” said More Than A Vote Chief Communications and Content Officer Michael Tyler. “Our goal is to fully unpack that history and demonstrate that even as vaccine distribution hits full speed, the racist nature of the American healthcare system is not a relic of the past but a current burden that stands in the way of justice for our community and a full and equitable recovery from the current pandemic.”

Part 1 of the podcast is on the feed of the “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered” podcast while Part 2 is on the feed of “The Bakari Sellers Podcast.”

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More Than A Vote has been partnering with Lyft for Georgia runoff

LeBron’s ‘More Than A Vote’ is teaming with Lyft to help increase transportation and voter turnout during the early voting period.

December 31 is the final day for early voting in the state of Georgia for the Senate runoffs scheduled for January 5. And as they did in the first election, LeBron’s nonprofit ‘More Than A Vote’ is figuring out ways to positively impact voter turnout during the early voting period.

Since December 18, ‘More Than A Vote’ has partnered with the ride-sharing app Lyft to provide free rides to the polls for people looking to vote in the early voting period. Both Senate seats in Georgia are up for grabs in the election.

More Than A Vote is investing $50,000 into the local organizing efforts of Black Voters Matter Fund, a nonprofit based in East Point, GA dedicated to increasing power in marginalized, predominantly Black communities. More Than A Vote’s funds will supplement BVM’s canvassing program, mobilization text message campaign, and volunteer training throughout the early voting period in key counties throughout the state. BVM is a powerbuilding organization that is currently organizing millions of Black voters in Georgia.

More Than A Vote is also continuing its partnership with Lyft for the Georgia runoff election. More Than A Vote and Lyft are providing access to free rides (up to $15) to any early voting locations  in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, Savannah, and Warner Robins through December 31.

Any person with a Lyft account in these cities can use the code MTAVGA* for up to $15 off a one-way Lyft ride to early voting locations during hours of operation. Visit more.vote/gameplan for early voting dates, times, and locations and to make a transportation plan to the polls.

The early voting period ends today.

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LeBron James named Time Magazine’s ‘Athlete of the Year’ for 2020

The Los Angeles Lakers star player and founder of More Than A Vote was recognized for his greatness both on and off the court.

During a year where he won a championship and form a coalition of the nation’s most famous athletes to use their celebrity to fight voter suppression, LeBron James is being rightfully recognized for all he has done in the past year.

Earlier this week LeBron James was named one of Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson’s of the Year for 2020 and on Thursday, Time magazine announced LeBron James as their 2020 ‘Athlete of the Year.’ The reasons were that among LeBron’s moves to help make it easier for Black citizens to vote in a variety of American cities, James also dispelled the notion that caring about such things is in any way a “distraction,” according to the profile’s author, Sean Gregory.

It was James, heir to Jordan on the court and in the boardroom, who established a new paradigm, in which commercial clout exists alongside political principle. He remains one of the world’s top pitchmen, endorsing Nike, AT&T, Walmart and other major brands. And he has laid waste to the dated notion that political and social engagement is some sort of distraction for athletes. In 2020, James led the NBA in assists, for the first time in his career, before winning the NBA championship and his fourth Finals MVP award, at age 35. Athletes can now bring their full humanity to their games, insisting that their identities be recognized and rejecting the notion that their athleticism is all that matters.

James has been incredibly successful both on the court and in the business world in 2020, but the biggest reason he has received as much recognition as he has is that he’s used those successes to look out for people who once struggled in life as he did.

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LeBron James thanks Black people for voter turnout in GA, PA for Biden win

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has spent the better part of this year trying to mobilize the Black vote in American cities.

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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has had plenty to celebrate over the last 30 days and this weekend’s news that Joe Biden  has won the United States Presidential election over Donald Trump, that celebration continued over the past few days, as the jubilation of a Lakers championship, a Dodgers World Series and the defeat of Trump, who had LeBron had crashed with before, has gotten LeBron’s posting juices flowing.

LeBron was active on social media once Pennsylvania and Georgia were called for Biden, including using a couple of photoshopped memes involving James, such as his iconic block on Andre Iguodala in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals. But James also wanted to share a creative post from someone else on social media, using a scene from ‘Bad Boys 2,’ in which the characters played by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, go undercover at a KKK rally. James used it to make sure that Black people, in particular, were shouted out for the work they did to win the election for the Biden-Harris ticket.

 

 

LeBron James aims to make a difference in election. How’s it going?

The Electoral College could validate LeBron James’ next great feat. He has won four NBA championships, started his own elementary school, built a business empire and, now, is taking on the 2020 election. Having sought to combat voter suppression and …

The Electoral College could validate LeBron James’ next great feat.

He has won four NBA championships, started his own elementary school, built a business empire and, now, is taking on the 2020 election.

Having sought to combat voter suppression and mobilize voters through his group called “More Than a Vote,” James is testing his influence during this election season.

But will James’ work have a meaningful impact, specifically on the election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden?

“Yes, of course,” said Larry Huynh, an expert in digital campaign strategy and partner at Trilogy Interactive. “There are a number of states that are coming down to the wire here. … The work to mobilize important groups of voters in the Black community can have real impact on the race.”

LeBron James has tried on and off the court to get out the vote this year.

Although James has not publicly endorsed Biden, Ethan Scheiner, a professor of political science at the University of California at Davis, said James’ “More Than A Vote” could make a difference in races throughout the country, and not just in battleground states such as his home state of Ohio.

“Let’s put it this way,” said Scheiner, whose expertise includes the interplay between sports and politics, “if Biden is winning as much as the polls seem to be suggesting, it means all of the sudden Biden is competitive in states that ordinarily he wouldn’t be. And the things that LeBron’s group have been doing could help push Biden over the edge in those states.”

That wasn’t the case four years ago for James, the 35-year-old basketball superstar and social activist.

In 2016, he endorsed Hillary Clinton and held a rally for her in downtown Cleveland two days before Election Day. However, Black voter turnout in Ohio fell almost 10% from 2012 and Clinton lost Ohio to Trump.

Nationally, Black voter turnout dropped 6% and for the first time in 20 years, and there was no question which presidential candidate suffered.

During every presidential election since 1964, at least 82% of Black voters have cast their votes for the Democratic nominee, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies & Pew Research Center.

“It’s not enough for a famous person just to say, ‘Go vote,'” said Shermichael Singleton, a conservative political consultant who has worked on presidential campaigns for Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Ben Carson. “Sure, a famous person can be engaged and we can utilize their face and their likeness. But there has to be continued, proactive engagement and targeting of said group in order to see serious movement among potential voters of that group.”

Getting off the sidelines

James’ new plan began to take shape in February, when Maverick Carter, who runs James’ business empire, met with Addisu Demissie, who has run successful campaigns for U.S. Senator Cory Booker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

The talks were tabled and resumed May 25 after George Floyd was killed by a white police officer in Minnesota. On June 22, “More Than a Vote,” a nonprofit organization, announced its birth via Twitter, with Demissie having been named executive director.

“Change isn’t made by watching from the sidelines,” the organization tweeted that day.

James already was off the sideline, playing a key role in getting Dodger Stadium and 23 NBA teams to open their arenas or practice facilities to be used as polling sites. The facilities are giving voters the ability to maintain social distance and reduce COVID-19 risks.

Then his organization got to work.

Since June, “More Than a Vote” has recruited 40,000 poll workers in partnership with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, helped to register Florida voters with felony records and directed resources into swing states.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CGXrSAFJ7WF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

During the NBA playoffs, which ended with James and the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA title, he explained part of his group’s mission is to help young people understand the importance of their voice and vote.

“It’s hard as hell, because they just don’t believe it,” James said. “They don’t believe that their vote or their message or their minds or their voices matter. But that’s where my energy is, on continuing to push the envelope in my community, continue to let them know that they are the future, they are the reason why there will be change.”

He has the ability to reach those voters at a pivotal time, said Patti Solis Doyle, who served as an advisor to the Obama-Biden campaign during the 2012 presidential election.

“We see through some polling that it’s not African-American women that are not showing up in the early vote right now,” Doyle said. “It’s younger African-American men, and so approaching them or talking to them through people who they respect and admire, (it’s) a smart tactic.”

Chris Towler, an assistant professor of political science at California State University at Sacramento and founder of the Black Voter Project, said his data shows how James could aid Biden.

The Black Voter Project involves public opinion surveys that include a minimum of 1,200 Black respondents and the most recent survey focused on James, according to Towler. He said 60% of the respondents felt positively toward James and 57% felt positively toward Biden.

That difference grew starker among Black Americans who said they had not voted in the last presidential election, Towler said. Of the non-voters, only 35% had warm feelings toward Biden but 55% had warm feelings toward James.

“It’s hard to say how much his voice and platform, what he actually says, influences people,” Towler said. “But my research suggests it does, and more work needs to be done to understand this better.”

More than LeBron

Rather than rely on James’ celebrity, “More Than a Vote” has drawn on musical artists and athletes from the NBA, WNBA, NFL, Major League Baseball, soccer, tennis, softball, including NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Odell Beckham Jr.

“We’ve been very careful to make clear that LeBron was certainly the driving force behind the formation of ‘More Than A Vote,’ but the organization is more than him,” Demissie said. “One of the key ways he has participated actually is bringing other athletes with their own networks, with their own strength in the communities in which they live or play, to the coalition. From WNBA players to baseball players to tennis players, you name it, we’ve brought them and he’s certainly helped with this.”

There is a team behind the scenes, too.

“More Than a Vote” includes seasoned political operatives such as Jocelyn Benson, the Secretary of State of Michigan; Frank LaRose, the Secretary of State of Ohio; and Stacey Abrams, who in 2018 was positioned to become the first Black female governor of Georgia before running a competitive but losing campaign.

“The bottom line is LeBron just won a championship with the Lakers by playing a team game, and he recognizes to win in politics he needs the same thing,” said Huynh of Trilogy Interactive. “He has the right team around him to actually execute what he wants to execute, which is to increase access to voting for Black voters specifically.

“It’s smart, it’s focused and they’re not just using his celebrity as the only asset that they have. They’re actually building an army of workers to go out there and increase access to the vote for the Black community.”

So can LeBron James impact the outcome of the presidential election?

“I think ‘More Than a Vote’ already has,” Demissie said. “Let’s put it that way.”

Bronny James to face Emoni Bates in showcase game sponsored by Danny Green

Bronny James and Sierra Canyon will face off against the highest-rated high school player in the country, Emoni Bates in late November.

With the NBA’s owners apparently uniting around the pursuit of a 2020-21 season around Christmas, the rest of the basketball world is getting ready to start in the late fall like they usually do. Included in the rest of the basketball world is high school basketball at some levels, including Bronny James and the Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers. As one of the highest-ranked teams in the nation, they will take the court again soon and they will have a highly-anticipated showdown against the most hyped high school basketball player in some time.

Adam Zagoria reported for Forbes that Bronny James and the Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers will face off against No. 1 ranked high school player Emoni Bates and Ypsi Prep (Michigan) in the Green and Gold Level Sports & Entertainment Showcase in Dallas, Texas, sponsored by LeBron’s Lakers teammate Danny Green. Green told Forbes he hopes he and LeBron can both attend the game.

“I think so since we’re not playing, we don’t have much else going on,” Green, who has won NBA titles with the Lakers, Raptors and Spurs, said in a phone interview. “It would be nice, I hope we will both be able to make it out there.”

Sierra Canyon advanced to the State Final in 2020 but the final game was stopped due to the coronavirus.

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LeBron’s SpringHill Company agrees to multi-project deal with Audible

The SpringHill Company is working on multiple projects, starting with a ‘More Than A Vote’ themed feature.

The ever-expanding catalog of entertainment created by LeBron James and Maverick Carter’s The SpringHill Company is embarking on a new endeavor: spoken word programming, through a multi-project deal with audiobook giant Audible.

Audible and The SpringHill Company announced the partnership this week, which will kick off with a nod to another LeBron and Maverick project, the voting rights coalition ‘More Than A Vote,’ with a program called More Than A Vote: Our Voices. Our Vote, hosted by Tiffany D. Cross and Wesley Lowery. It will also feature a collection of athletes, artists, and others, including LeBron himself.

  • Leon Bridges, Grammy-winning Artist
  • LaTosha Brown, Co-Founder, Black Voters Matter
  • Andra Day, Grammy-nominated Artist
  • Addisu Demissie, Executive Director, More Than A Vote
  • Rutha Mae Harris, Freedom Singer and Civil Rights Legend
  • LeBron James, Co-Founder, More Than A Vote
  • Martha S. Jones, Professor History, Johns Hopkins University
  • Desmond Meade, President, Florida Rights Restoration Coalition
  • Jalen Rose, ESPN Analyst and More Than A Vote Member
  • Amanda Seales, Actress and Comedian
  • Tommie Smith, Olympic Athlete
  • Octavia Spencer, Oscar-winning Actress
  • Maria Taylor, ESPN Analyst and More Than A Vote Member

The ‘More Than A Vote’ special will premiere on Audible on October 28. According to the press release, there are two other SpringHill Projects already in development.

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‘More Than A Vote’ has helped recruit over 40k poll workers nationwide

The voting rights coalition started by LeBron James has helped recruit 40,000 poll workers nationwide for the general election.

Earlier this month, the voting rights coalition started by LeBron James, “More Than A Vote” has made a push for young people to volunteer as poll workers during this year’s election and they had already recruited 10,000. LeBron James recently spoke with Astead W. Herndon of the New York Times about his push to increase voter turnout in the Black community this year. In the feature on LeBron, there was an added detail that they have seen a massive increase in volunteer poll workers, up to 40,000.

‘More Than A Vote’ has increased its messaging efforts over the past week as early voting is occurring all across the country, heading into the Nov. 3 Election Day. LeBron wants everyone, especially the Black community to know how important their vote is.

“Because a lot of us just thought our vote doesn’t count: That’s what they’ve been taught, that’s how they’ve been educated, that how they’ve always felt. They’ve felt kind of institutionalized. But I want to give them the right information, I want them to know how important they can be.”

LeBron has also been pretty active on social media during the debates, including last night’s presidential debate.

 

 

 

Desus and Mero help ‘More Than A Vote’ combat misinformation in a new ad

The Bronx comedy duo narrated a new video from More Than A Vote and Win Black about how to combat misinformation when it comes your way.

Early voting is already taking place across the nation but with the election cycle heading into the home stretch before the Nov. 3 general election deadline, LeBron James’ nonprofit organization ‘More Than A Vote’ is kicking things into overdrive with their messaging, making sure everyone gets their vote out before Nov. 3. And one of the biggest things they are looking to combat in these final weeks head into the election is the issue of disinformation online.

Burner accounts, fake stories, and other things have inevitably become a part of elections in the social media age. So, More Than A Vote called in the Bronx comedy duo, Desus, and Mero aka The Bodega Boys, to narrate a new ad campaign geared towards helping combat misinformation and how to discuss it with those closest to you. The new More Than A Vote campaign was done in conjunction with Win Black, which is a movement created to counter digital misinformation.

In the coming weeks, Win Black will help More Than A Vote find what they believe are the most dangerous stories of misinformation online in an attempt to flag them before the election.

“We’re less than two weeks out from the end of this election cycle but decades into the fight against the suppression of the Black vote,” said Andre Banks and Ashley Bryant, co-founders of Win Black. “Harmful disinformation is being weaponized to block the voices and votes of Black Americans — but we have the power to stop it. Through this partnership, Under Review will urgently flood the zone with the facts we need to counter the targeted attacks coming from bad actors at home and abroad.”

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Desus and Mero help ‘More Than A Vote’ combat misinformation in a new ad

The Bronx comedy duo narrated a new video from More Than A Vote and Win Black about how to combat misinformation when it comes your way.

Early voting is already taking place across the nation but with the election cycle heading into the home stretch before the Nov. 3 general election deadline, LeBron James’ nonprofit organization ‘More Than A Vote’ is kicking things into overdrive with their messaging, making sure everyone gets their vote out before Nov. 3. And one of the biggest things they are looking to combat in these final weeks head into the election is the issue of disinformation online.

Burner accounts, fake stories, and other things have inevitably become a part of elections in the social media age. So, More Than A Vote called in the Bronx comedy duo, Desus, and Mero aka The Bodega Boys, to narrate a new ad campaign geared towards helping combat misinformation and how to discuss it with those closest to you. The new More Than A Vote campaign was done in conjunction with Win Black, which is a movement created to counter digital misinformation.

In the coming weeks, Win Black will help More Than A Vote find what they believe are the most dangerous stories of misinformation online in an attempt to flag them before the election.

“We’re less than two weeks out from the end of this election cycle but decades into the fight against the suppression of the Black vote,” said Andre Banks and Ashley Bryant, co-founders of Win Black. “Harmful disinformation is being weaponized to block the voices and votes of Black Americans — but we have the power to stop it. Through this partnership, Under Review will urgently flood the zone with the facts we need to counter the targeted attacks coming from bad actors at home and abroad.”

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