The Oklahoma City Thunder organization will take part in a partnership to provide opportunities for Black high school and college students in the Tulsa area.
The team and the Creative Artists Agency Sports announced the Thunder Fellow Program on Tuesday.
Students from eighth to 12th grade and those in regional colleges and universities will see different areas of Thunder operations and work hands-on with organizational projects.
Thunder Fellow Program creators hope it will “unlock new opportunities in sports, technology, and entertainment for Black students in the Tulsa area,” the press release stated.
In the program, students will see different areas of Thunder operations and work hands-on with projects for the organization.
The partnership aims to help increase high school and college completion through mentorships and skill development.
African American eighth grade students have the lowest rate of math proficiency compared to any other demographic in the Tulsa area, according to Impact Tulsa’s 2018 report.
Of African American students who are economically disadvantaged, only 4% are proficient. Of those who do not face economically hardship, 15% are proficient.
These numbers are about half the rate of the entire student population as a whole, where 33% of those in normal economic situations are proficient and 10% who face economic disadvantages are proficient.
Once students get to 11th grade, many are not prepared for higher education. Twenty-two percent of African American students in that grade met college readiness levels for English, and only 7% met math standards.
This is compared to rates of 42% and 25%, respectively, for all students.
Only 19% of African Americans in Tulsa County have a bachelor’s degree, about half the rate of the white and Asian population who does.
This program will attempt to help rectify these shortcomings.
“Our goal is to effect long-term sustainable change in our entire state and provide future-proof skills that can be leveraged for economic empowerment and mobility,” said Thunder general manager Sam Presti in a statement.
The Thunder Fellow Program will launch in 2021, the 100-year anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
It will be located in the Historic Greenwood District.
There will be one board seat on the program reserved for a player on the Thunder very year.