In recognition of Black History Month, the Cleveland Cavaliers will begin a multi-week Black Heritage Celebration (BHC) presented by Crown Royal Regal Apple. Themed after “Empowering and Inspiring One Generation to the Next” when the Cavaliers take on the Indiana Pacers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday, February 6 at 6:00 p.m. The 18th annual BHC is an expanded recognition platform to honor and remember Black history, as well as to recognize those who have personally and positively impacted the Black community from Cleveland and Northeast Ohio.
The Cavaliers will use home games in February and 2022 All-Star Weekend in Cleveland to showcase and amplify ongoing team initiatives that celebrate Black History and Culture, invest in Black Futures, highlight Black Business and Entrepreneurship and inspire the Racial Justice Movement. The team will recognize these efforts through special video presentations on the Humongotron, as well as on team social media channels, Cavs.com, in TV and radio game broadcasts and shows, as well as through an exclusive NFT launch.
There will also be several events and initiatives throughout All-Star Weekend that align with these areas of emphasis, including the Power of Sports Summit at Cleveland Metropolitan Conference Center, The Real Black Friday’s Black Business Expo at Tower City, the NBA HBCU Classic presented by AT&T at Wolstein Center and many others with additional initiatives still to be announced.
“This is a special season for the Cavaliers as we welcome the basketball world to Cleveland for NBA All-Star 2022 in The Land, which happens to also fall in Black History Month in February,” said Kevin Clayton, Cavaliers vice president of diversity, inclusion and community engagement. “This serves as a great platform and opportunity to celebrate and shine a light on the achievements and contributions of African Americans past and present. We have much planned throughout the month, including as part of the upcoming All-Star Weekend festivities. We couldn’t be more excited for this year’s activation around BHC, which is sure to be a memorable celebration and another powerful reminder that Black history IS American history.”
The Cavaliers will be changing some of their branding to match the colors of the Pan-African flag. |
In addition to Cleveland's game versus Indiana on Sunday, other BHC Cavs home games are:
- February 9 versus San Antonio Spurs
- February 26 versus Washington Wizards
- February 28 versus Minnesota Timberwolves
As a special promotion during the BHC, the Cavaliers Team Shop will feature an exclusive “Black History is American History” t-shirt that will be available for purchase online and in the Team Shop while supplies last in the month of February. A portion of proceeds will benefit the Urban League of Greater Cleveland’s chapter of My Brother’s Keeper.
As part of the recently introduced “My Cavs Locker” NFT Experience, the team will have several variants of exclusive BHC-inspired NFTs — a digital t-shirt and sneakers — available to purchase for fans who attend the February 9 home game versus the San Antonio Spurs. Fans are encouraged to visit mycavslocker.io to acquire their FREE NFT Locker, which will serve as a virtual showcase for these BHC items and all Cavaliers collectibles that are launched this season and beyond.
In addition, throughout the month at Cavaliers BHC games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the team will recognize local Black trailblazers as “Diff Makers” with a short in-game moment during a timeout. On Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, the team will honor Niké Olabisi-Green of the organization, Nola Movements. As the creator and chief movement leader at Nola Movements, Niké shares her contagious energy for movement through wellness coaching for women.
Then, on February 9 against the San Antonio Spurs, the team will recognize LaRese Purnell, founder of The Real Black Friday (TRBF) who will be hosting the before-mentioned Black Business Expo at Tower City during All-Star Weekend. TRBF is dedicated to building and bringing awareness to minority-owned businesses throughout Northeast Ohio. Additional “Diff Makers” will be honored at games in late February.
Fans can engage online and in social media throughout the month by visiting cavs.com/BHC and following the #CavsBHC hashtag on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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