Minnesota – the very state in which George Floyd was killed in at the hands of Minneapolis police has become the epicenter of the current movement against racism in the United States.
How organizations – especially those in Minnesota – respond to these happenings say a lot about an organization’s culture and values. The Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves are looking to answer the moment.
The Lynx and Timberwolves announced a multi-year partnership with The Minneapolis Foundation with the goal of addressing racism and inequality and how to channel outrage of the community into action.
Lynx head coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve as well as Ryan Saunders, the Timberwolves coach being leaders on one of two advisory committees.
The senseless murder of George Floyd has strengthened our resolve to bring about change in the inequities that face our black and brown communities.
–Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve (release)
This alignment with The Minneapolis Foundation will allow us to directly impact these inequities as well as be active participants in the healing of our communities.
–Lynx coach and general manager Cheryl Reeve (release)
One of those committees will include youth from the area and the two will collaborate in the allocation of funds from the Fund for Safe Communities.
We need allies in this work and we are excited the Timberwolves and Lynx have decided to step into this partnership, dig deep into understanding the complexity of the inequities, and to help us drive toward solutions that ensure senseless tragedies rooted in racism never happen again.
–Chanda Smith Baker, Senior Vice President of Impact, The Minneapolis Foundation (release)
