Black lacrosse player: Black Lacrosse Alliance

Black Lacrosse Alliance

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Mission

MISSION

Our mission is to push the culture of lacrosse forward to become more inclusive and inspire a more diverse generation of lacrosse players. As professional players, it is our responsibility to represent the individuals who came before us and the players who will come next.

PILLARS

Pillars

Education & Culture

The culture that exists in lacrosse today directly impacts and reflects the demographics of players, from youth to the professional level. We believe that educating leaders, players, and fans within the game can impact conversation, raise awareness, and open new doors to a more diverse game.

Grassroots

The equal opportunity to play lacrosse, regardless of where you grow up, what you look like, and financial status is critical to the growth of the game. The barriers that exist in equipment, recruiting and culture are all barriers for young athletes to fall in love with lacrosse.

Professional Game Development

Representation matters for the next generation. Having professional players the youth can look up to as inspiration, and idols can be all the difference in them falling in love with lacrosse. Connecting with the youth, as well as being active as role models, is imperative to impacting a more diverse generation of lacrosse.

ABOUT US

The Black Lacrosse Alliance was formed in the summer of 2020 in response to the national movement in civil rights across the United States. As a minority group in Professional Lacrosse, the black players recognize the responsibility they have to build a better future for the sport. Today, the Black Lacrosse Alliance works directly with Players Coalition and operates as a tax-exempt affiliate of PC Charitable Foundation, a charitable 501(c)(3) organization.

About

PARTNERS

The Black Lacrosse Alliance is partnered with Players Coalition to pursue overlapping humanitarian and educational social justice missions. Players Coalition is structured as an independent 501(c)(3) (charity) and 501(c)(4) (advocacy) organization, working with professional athletes, coaches and owners across leagues to improve social justice and racial equality in our country.

Initiatives & Events

INITIATIVES & EVENTS

2ND ANNUAL BOOST CAMP

Boost Camp was created after identifying the lack of support and mentorship that currently exists for minority players. Its goal is to provide them that mentorship and intentional guidance, as well as specific skill development. In order to continue to elevate the game of lacrosse, it’s crucial that players have access to the tools that help them reach their highest potential.

Boost Camp is invite-only and will feature top minority collegiate athletes, through 2023 committed players. This will be small group intense training continuing their 360-degree approach towards empowerment, inclusion, and developing athletes.

FOUNDING MEMBERS

Founding Members

Isaiah Davis Allen

It’s important to unite as a group of African-Americans and discuss similar experiences. What would we have done differently? Why were there so few of us? Why has the demographic of our sport not changed in 100 years? BLA to me is an organization of professional lacrosse players that doesn’t just talk about those questions, but are addressing the lack of diversity across the sport of lacrosse.

Myles Jones

We need change. I’ll continue to do my part because we need role models to step up amidst all that we endure. We are in a fight to be equal and matter like all lives should.

Pat Harbeson

When I step on the field, my hope is that young black lacrosse players are inspired by our level of play and off the field see a group of black professional players who are actively pushing for change in the sport and are equally proud to be a black lacrosse player in America.

Dominique Alexander

We hope that our united effort will be a beacon that promotes true diversity and inclusion in our sport.

Mark McNeill

Each one, help one. We have an incredible opportunity to come together and make meaningful change. This is bigger than us.

Kyle Harrison

To be united with other black players in this sport of all ages to inspire change, engage in difficult discussions, and continue to work to make this sport as inclusive, and welcoming for anyone who wants to play it, is one of the greatest honors of my career. This sport has opened so many doors for my family and I, and I consider it my duty to make sure the next generation is afforded access to all this great game has to offer.

Romar Dennis

Unifying is the only way to keep our movement going forward. We are lucky that so many great athletes and educators came before us to pave the way for our activism.

Jules Heningburg

We know that a united effort at the highest level can change the trajectory of the next generation of players. It is a responsibility to the game that many before us sacrificed for us to have, and we take it seriously.

Ty Warner

You can’t be what you can’t see. I am proud to be a member of the BLA, as we strive to push this game to the next level by creating a lacrosse community in which people of all backgrounds feel a sense of belonging. Similar to how the older generation of black and brown players inspired us to pick up sticks and play this game, we must continue to pay this forward and make sure that the future generation of minority players have people to look up to in this sport. We must keep pushing to create an environment where young black and brown players know that this game is for them as well, and make it so that they will be accepted and find success both on and off the field.

Dhane Smith

Part of the reason I play this sport is to prove to people it doesn’t matter the color of your skin you are capable of playing at the highest level. I do this for the next generation to show kids I went through what they are going through. Growing up black is amazing but has not been easy.

Josh Byrne

Don’t be afraid of change.

Trevor Baptiste

Creating a more inclusive space in lacrosse is something that is extremely passionate to me. Couldn’t be more proud to be apart of the BLA to further educate and help create change in the game we all love.

Goran Murray

I’m excited about being a member of the BLA because of the unity it provides for African Americans in our sport. I believe with our collective knowledge and resources; we can build a pathway for players and coaches to navigate racial barriers and provide inclusive diversity. As a kid, I wished for a group like this and as an adult I’m honored to be working with these other great men to help our sport.

Find BLA on Instagram

Harvard Portraiture Project to Honor Black Lacrosse Player Lucien Alexis Jr. ’42 | News

Lucien V. Alexis Jr. ’42, the first Black player on the Harvard Lacrosse team, will be honored in a commissioned painting as a part of the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations Portraiture Project, the Foundation announced at an event on Feb. 13.

The portrait — which will debut spring 2024 in a to-be-announced location — will be painted by Steven E. Coit ’71. As an artist for the portraiture project, Coit has produced more than 20 portraits to redecorate campus to reflect the diverse figures that shaped the University’s past.

As a member of Adams House, Alexis was the first Black undergraduate to be given housing at the college. He was also the only Black member of the Class of 1942.

“This project aims to uplift the stories of the trailblazing individuals who have been a part of our rich university history,” Abraham wrote in a statement for the Harvard Foundation. “Our hope is that students, faculty, staff, and administrators see themselves in these portraits and are inspired by those that came before us.”

The Harvard Foundation will unveil a portrait of Lucien V. Alexis Jr. later this year. From left to right: Sadé Abraham, Harvard Foundation senior director; Brenda D. Tindal, FAS chief campus curator; Stephen Coit ’71, artist for the Harvard Foundation portraiture project; Fred K. Asare-Konadu ’24; Jaden B. Jernigan ’24; Isaiah Dawson ’23; and Alta Mauro, Harvard College associate dean for inclusion and belonging. By Courtesy of the Harvard Foundation

Speakers at the announcement event included Coit, newly-appointed campus curator Brenda D. Tindal, Harvard Foundation Senior Director Sadé Abraham, Associate Dean for Inclusion and Belonging Alta Mauro, and Fred Asare-Konadu ’24, Isaiah Dawson ’23, and Jaden B. Jernigan ’24 — three Black players on the Harvard men’s lacrosse team.

“Today’s program signals the important efforts underway to support our shared understanding of our complex institutional narratives and deepen our appreciation of the diverse peoples and events that shape our past, impact our present, and inform our future,” Tindal said at the event.

In 1941, the Harvard team was not allowed onto the U.S. Naval Academy lacrosse field because Alexis was a member of the team. Though the coach and manager refused to withdraw Alexis from the game, sitting Harvard athletic director William J. Bingham, Class of 1916, overruled them and sent Alexis back to Cambridge.

Following a 0-12 loss for Harvard, students organized a protest and circulated petitions to administrators, elected officials, and even President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Class of 1904. The Harvard Athletic Association announced shortly after organizing efforts that the school would no longer withdraw players because of their race.

“The story of Lucien earmarks a pivotal inflection point in the history of lacrosse, and of Harvard, and equally reminds us of just how far we’ve come, and how much further we have to go,” Dawson said during the event.

Correction: February 23, 2023

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the portrait of Lucien V. Alexis ’42 would be unveiled this spring. In fact, the portrait is set to debut in spring 2024.

—Staff writer Jasmine Palma can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Tess C. Wayland can be reached at [email protected].

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