During March Madness, viewers will see LSU women’s basketball senior forward Angel Reese in a distinctive advertisement urging Congress to address the wealth gap between Black women and other races.
Reese emphasizes in the ad, “The racial wealth gap affects Black women’s ability to build a lasting legacy. Let’s raise our voices and work towards closing this opportunity divide.”
Scheduled to air on ESPN and Connected TV during the Elite Eight and Final Four games, the commercial features Reese, a 21-year-old from Baltimore, along with her mother. It commenced airing in the Washington area on Monday.
In the advertisement, Reese celebrates the qualities inherited from her mother, Angel Webb Reese, a former college and professional basketball player. The commercial highlights the concern that only 17% of Black women feel their interests are adequately represented by policymakers in Washington.
Reese, who won the Most Outstanding Player award at the Final Four the previous year, partnered with Goldman Sachs, a financial company, in a “name, image, likeness” agreement to support the investment project One Million Black Women. College students and other amateur athletes can profit from such NIL arrangements.
The advertising campaign is a component of One Million Black Women’s initiative aimed at leveraging data to underscore the obstacles affecting the economic prospects of Black women and their families, which in turn obstruct broader economic advancement. As outlined in a 2021 research report by OMBW titled “Black Womenomics: Investing in the Underinvested,” implementing policies that address the wage disparity experienced by Black women could elevate the annual GDP growth of the United States by 1.4-2.1%, equating to $300-450 billion.
In the upcoming decade, Goldman Sachs has committed to allocating $10 billion in “investment capital” – funds sourced from both shareholders and debtholders of a company – and $100 million in philanthropic capital – directed towards social programs that generate investment returns. The company’s initiative, dubbed One Million Black Women, aims to positively impact the lives of at least a million Black women by 2030.
Jessica Taylor, the national director of the program, stated, “Listening to Black women has been central to our work with One Million Black Women from the beginning. Through our public policy initiative and national surveys, we’re able to directly convey their feedback to policymakers.”
Reese has reportedly earned $1.7 million endorsing products through various Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreements, as reported by Women’s Health magazine.
I owe my mother a great deal. She gave me my self-assurance, work ethic, and dedication to my neighborhood. Angel Reese stated in a statement on Monday that “it’s evident that Black women are still facing challenges from her generation to today.” “However, I think change is achievable.”