The Honoree

A Cleveland, Ohio basketball prodigy since elementary school, LeBron James was Ohio’s Mr. Basketball (high-school player of the year) three times. The Cleveland Cavaliers chose him to play professionally during the first overall selection of the 2003 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft. He signed an unprecedented $90 million endorsement contract with Nike, Inc. before he played a professional game. The four-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) award winner is also a three-championship team member.

As a philanthropist, his I Promise program offers its students free tuition, uniforms, breakfast, lunch, snacks, transportation within two miles, a bicycle and a helmet, access to a food pantry for their families, and guaranteed tuition for all graduates to matriculate at the University of Akron.

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Akron, Ohio, USA

A long history of rubber and tire manufacturing, carried on today by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, gave Akron the nickname "Rubber Capital of the World". The city of about 190,000 people, 30 percent of whom are Black, is a a principal city of the larger Cleveland–Akron–Canton area.

At the 1851 Women's Rights Convention held in Akron, Sojourner Truth delivered what is now recognized as one of the most famous abolitionist and women's rights speeches in American history, “Ain't I a Woman?”.  Multi-time National Basketball Association Champions and Most Valuable Players LeBron James and Stephen Curry call this mid-western city home.

The Artist's Creative Explanation

“I always paint with acrylic on canvas and believe in letting go and trusting in the universe to tell me what direction is best for each of my paintings. For this painting, I started by selecting images of LeBron James from magazines and the internet. The selected center image represents his character and strength. The blue sky with beautiful white clouds is intended to give you the impression that he is looking over the world. The other three images show his talent on the basketball court; then I was moved to place his signature in the center.”

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- Artist Greg Scott

Note: After the death of photographer Néstor Hernández (1960-2006), Scott thankfully assumed the installation responsibilities of our signature event, Our Children, Our World," as we celebrated Gary, Indiana's 100th anniversary in 2006. The exhibit was in Gary, IN.

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About "From These Shores"

From These Shores celebrates the accomplishments of 18 known and lesser-known Africans in the diaspora across time and geography. The 12 panels hang at the Juffureh Slavery Museum, The Gambia and online. Timbooktoo Bookstore in New Bakau, The Gambia and Mansa Musa Restaurant in Takoma Park, MD USA each display one of the panels.