Photo: Atlanta Hawks
ATLANTA – Thurday, the Atlanta Hawks announced their plans for the team’s annual MLK Day Game presented by Chase, which will take place at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 17 against Milwaukee. As part of the team’s annual celebration of Dr. King’s life and legacy, the club will unveil the team’s new ‘MLK Wall’, which will provide an educational experience on the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., located by Atlanta Social on the Terrace level at State Farm Arena.
The MLK Wall serves as a special tribute to the team’s work last season through an unprecedented partnership between the King Estate, NBA, NBPA and Nike. During the 2020-21 NBA Season, the Atlanta Hawks honored the life and legacy of global icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The 2020-21 MLK Nike City Edition uniform came to be a jersey that the Hawks would wear 10 times during the regular season with a record of 9-1. The team also gifted Pope Francis his own custom jersey on Dr. King’s birthday. Proceeds from the sale of the jerseys were donated to the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, a business incubator for women-owned businesses in their early stages.
“It is very important for our organization to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and also continue to be actionable in the way that we recognize him,” said Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena Chief Marketing Officer Melissa Proctor. “We are excited to celebrate his legacy with some interactive elements throughout this special game.”
Continuing the Atlanta Hawks’ MLK Day game tradition, CONTAGIOUS!, the worship ministry from The dReam Center Church of Atlanta will sing the starting lineup as part of the player intros along with the national anthem. During half time, the group will join the center’s lead pastor and 3-time GRAMMY®-nominated gospel artist, Bishop William Murphy in a musical tribute to the life and legacy of Dr. King. Singer, songwriter Murphy is known for his chart topping hits “Praise is What I Do” and “It’s Working” and will be performing a new song from his upcoming album “Worship & Justice”.
As part of pregame, the Hawks are inviting all ticketholders to a special panel presented by Chase titled, “Advancing the Legacy: Realizing the Dream”. Chase is the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase & Co, and the official bank partner of the Hawks. This pregame panel focuses on building generational wealth and features Mark Adams, Regional Director of Consumer Banking for Chase, Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President & CEO, Invest Atlanta, and Eric Tidwell, Managing Director & General Counsel of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Estate. They will have a conversation, moderated by Lester Jones, Hawks’ Sr. Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his hope for economic equality for all.
“Financial literacy and knowledge are key to achieving financial health and economic empowerment,” said Mark Adams. “We feel honored to be part of an event that pays tribute to Dr. King’s legacy, while also helping Hawks fans learn actionable ways to achieve their financial goals.”
In 2021, the Hawks and Chase partnered with Junior Achievement to launch the “Power Forward: How to Advance Your Career and Finances” Program for metro Atlanta high school and college students. The program provides them with invaluable hands-on financial literacy learning experience. In 2020, the Atlanta Hawks and Chase announced an integrated multi-year partnership focused on increasing financial health in Atlanta’s communities and creating economic opportunity for local residents. This partnership has produced four “Chase Chats”, a series of small group sessions impactful conversations on financial health, featuring guests like NBA legends Grant Hill and Dominique Wilkins.
Limited tickets remain for the MLK Day Game presented by Chase on Monday, Jan. 17. To secure your tickets for the game, visit Hawks.com/Tickets.
