LeBron James Proves Being Rich Doesn’t Protect You from Racism

Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James is well aware that his wealth and superstar status are no match for racism in America.

“I’m a Black man with a bunch of money, and having a crib in Brentwood and having the word n—– spray painted over my gate [last year], that lets you know I ain’t too far removed,” he said on Uninterrupted’s “Rolling with the Champion” web series Thursday, Feb. 15. “And I still got a lot more work to do. And no matter how far money or access or how you become in life as an African-American man, female, they will always try to figure out a way to let you know that you’re still beneath them.

“And it’s either one or two things at that point,” he continues as he rides alongside Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant and host Cari Champion. “You either cave into that notion or you just chalk it up and say, ‘You know what? I’ma paint over this goddam gate and I’ma make it taller.'”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top