?Dark Hand Man Was His Brother?: Years Before Wilt Chamberlain Paved the Way for Black Athletes, Michael Jordan?s Family Steered Against Racism

Many NBA legends have played a huge part in the fight against racism over the years. Notably, players like Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and so forth were at the forefront of the conflict. They also faced major backlash for their stance and were treated poorly by discriminatory fans. On the other hand, there was Wilt Chamberlain who was not very vocal but still paved the way for Black athletes with his dominance. However, the players were not alone in the struggle. Many men and women from every walk of life fought for their rights. Interestingly, an ascendant of Michael Jordan also played his part in the battle.

Jordan is infamous for his “Republicans wear sneakers too” comment which roughly paints his political stance. The Chicago Bulls legend has refrained from politics for the most part of his life, something many have criticized him for.

The great-grandfather of Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan and his siblings were brought up in North Carolina. He was fortunate enough to live with four generations of Jordan men for more than a decade in the farming community of Teachey. It was during this time the six-time NBA champion spent time with his great-grandfather Dawson Jordan. Dawson was reportedly well-respected in the community for his fearlessness and his stance against racism.

Sportswriter Roland Lazenby published the book Michael Jordan: The Life which was a biography of MJ in 2014. The author revealed many interesting and unknown information about the Hall of Famer in the book. He also talked in detail about his great-grandfather. Notably, Lazenby claimed that Dawson’s father was a White male from the Hand family.

The author wrote, “The White Hands in Pender County were a prominent slaveholding family, and their Black offspring long talked of the time that a White Hand man had finally acknowledged the unspoken truth-that one of the dark Hand men was his brother. This perhaps explains why sometime in his teen years, the boy would assume the name of his father and become Dawson Jordan in official records.”

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Even though his father was allegedly a White male from the Hand family which was slaveholding, Dawson was against racism. Lazenby also noted that Dawson had tremendous physical strength and that he was fearless. The author added Dawson’s “uncommon toughness” was still talked about in the community decades later. Furthermore, he also claimed MJ’s great-grandfather remained “unbowed, undefeated” despite the battles with his foes. Dawson Jordan passed away when MJ was 14 years old.

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