NBA Foundation: Uplifting Memphis youth through music – NBA.com

Memphis Music Initiative emphasizes the importance of music in the development of Black and Brown youth.

Memphis is synonymous with music.

These are the words from Kathy Lindenmayer, Director of Development of the nonprofit group Memphis Music Initiative (MMI). You dont hear [Memphis] without thinking about music, without thinking about the powerful soundtrack that has accompanied American history.

Due to the rich musical history of the city and how it pertains to Black and Brown people MMI was created in order to boost opportunities for minority youth through music and help re-center the story of music back to its roots.

The NBA Foundation, which is devoted to driving economic opportunity and empowerment in the Black community, selected the nonprofit group in Memphis as one of their grant recipients.

Since its launch in 2016, MMI has provided a plethora of different experiences and assistance to give students the foundation to be successful, and also hone in on their creativity.

The program includes mentorship by professional musicians, where they work with more than 45 different schools and over 4,000 students. They also provide paid internships, employing over 40 youth to 18 different organizations.

We have an MMI Works Support Program here that supports the professional and personal development of young people as they are getting to know the world of the arts economy here and what their future could hold inside of that, said executive director Amber Hamilton. But its a high-school-age program. So, once they finished our traditional program, they were out in the world with [little] guidance, mentoring, or things that help them stay along that path as they thought about their creative endeavors.

The NBA Foundations grant substantially aided in the development, launch and execution of the MMI Works Alumni Program, which started with 12 African-American youth. Participants were provided funding, professional networking, career and arts-related opportunities, and communication and goal planning tools to bring their dream project to life.

The Alumni program came to fruition in December 2022 during a Pitch Fest event, where the 12 participants presented their dream projects to a panel of judges. Projects featured music, books, podcasts, scripts, community activist-themed apparel and more, all of which would not have been possible without the support of the NBA Foundation.

The grant allowed MMI to expand programming for youth, and enabled the organization to hire an MMI alumni as a staff member to provide students with an additional mentor who can offer personalized, specific advice. Lindenmayer said that the grant was an incredible investment, right at the moment we needed it.

Hamilton echoes this sentiment:[Black people] are at the cornerstone of country music, of blues, of rap, of rhythm & blues, of gospel. It is of particular importance of Black America [to] keep that tradition alive by continuing to invest in young people who have a story to tell, and are looking for ways to tell it. They have a lot of joy. They have a lot to offer, but they need a means to tell that story.

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NBA Foundation: Uplifting Memphis youth through music - NBA.com