Sep 11, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Injured Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) signs autographs before a WNBA game against the New York Liberty at Wintrust Arena. Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
This February marks the 50th anniversary of the first celebration of Black History Month. Black History Month was officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976, but its origins go all the way back to 1926, when historian Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week as a way to honor a history that before then hadn’t had a dedicated celebration. Over the last 50 years February has been a month to remember, educate on and celebrate all of the railroads and artists, thinkers and rivers, travelers and royals that make up the fabric of Black History. And while Black History Month has its place in books and schools, it is just as important on the court as in the classroom.
So. As Black History Month comes to a close, we thought we’d help answer a question some of you may be asking:
Why does Black History Month matter in sports?
From Serena Williams to Michael Jordan, from Naomi Osaka to Angel Reese, Black athletes have always influenced society and culture beyond the confines of their athletic endeavors. Black athletes have changed the way people wear shoes, do their hair, and the way they do business. Most importantly, they have pushed the boundaries on the confining narrative that Black athletes are simply athletes. This damaging idea extends to athletes of color at all levels (“You’re here on a scholarship to play! Just play!”), but also to Black people in all spheres of work and identity. The idea that certain roles in acting are limited to White/Black actors, or that only certain books will sell if written by a Black author. (White authors can write about pretty much anything, whereas Black writers are expected to write exclusively about suffering, racial issues or “the Black experience.”) To celebrate these changemakers during Black History Month is to celebrate key moments where history and minds have been changed.
Sports’ stadiums (and tracks and pools and slopes and rinks and courts and everywhere sports are played) are some of the biggest stages there are. Live sports continue to sell tickets year after year, and TV and media deals remain the most valuable part of any sports franchise. Along with being a moneymaker for leagues and owners and players, TV is one of the most accessible lessons in change that young people can get their hands on. When Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in 1968, we all saw it, and its echoes reverberate today. Imagine if that moment hadn’t been caught on film. From them, and countless others, we have learned resistance and seen the kind of bravery we should all aspire to. We also know that Black athletes don’t need to protest to effect change. Young Black hockey players could turn on their TV and see someone who looks like them wearing the Stars and Stripes for the first time at the 2026 Olympics. To see and accept Black excellence at the elite level of sports, all sports, is its own type of protest. And when we put it on TV? It can’t be ignored.
And vice versa. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Black athletes over history have done so much more than play sports. To try to separate out Black athletes from Black changemakers would be to rip crucial chapters out of the story. Whether it was Jackie Robinson crossing the MLB color line, or Wilma Rudolph becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics in 1960, Black athletes have done things, time and again, that simply have never been done before. They have insisted their way, found a way, and made new ways. Ever watched a US Open final played in Arthur Ashe stadium? Arthur Ashe was the first Black man to win Wimbledon in 1975. And while most of this history seems far in the past, it is a living, breathing thing. Anita DeFranz helped the US win a bronze medal in rowing at the 1976 Olympics, and remains the only Black woman to ever have won an Olympic medal in the sport. Just because doors have been opened doesn’t mean the fight is over to help others walk through them.
And where sports fails to go, society doesn’t go either. Over history we have seen that the problems that exist in society at large also exist in sports, and often it is up to sports stars to change the minds of society. Systemic problems of racial inequity persist across the world, but especially in the United States, and especially when it comes to the highest echelons: Leadership teams in all industries continue to hire and elevate unequally. In business, only 1.6% of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are Black. In the political sphere, for just the first time in American history, two Black women will be serving in the senate simultaneously. Black professionals’ share of leadership in sports mirrors these bleak statistics. In the NBA only 9 out of 30 head coaching positions are currently filled by Black men, despite over 70% of the players in the league identifying as Black. The WNBA has a similar percentage of Black players, but had only 2 Black head coaches (out of 13 jobs) and no Black female head coaches for the 2026-2027 season. As with players, when we elevate Black coaches we show society that Black people are deserving of every type of role. There are many more examples, but they all boil down to this: what we see in sports, on TV in our homes every weekend, has a real and proven impact on how we view people and the world we live in.
Looking for ways to celebrate the intersection of Black History Month and sports? You could donate to an organization that supports Black athletes like the Black Women in Sport Foundation, Black Players for Change, the Black Women’s Players Collective or the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation. Or, you could pre-order a book like Court Queens to celebrate Black female athletes across history. Tune in to some games that feature leaders like Dawn Staley. However you’re celebrating Black History Month, don’t forget to elevate and celebrate Black athletes. And as we move on from February, don’t forget that history is a living document: whenever we don’t like what we’ve seen, we get to write and rewrite until we get it right.
About Parity, a Group 1001 Company
Parity is the leading platform for professional women athlete partnerships. With a mission to close the gender income gap in sports and beyond, Parity connects brands with a diverse network of more than 1,400 women athletes from 85 sports. Through sponsorship activations, content collaborations, and strategic advisory, Parity helps brands authentically engage the most trusted voices in sports today. For more information, visit www.paritynow.co, or follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.