Today the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream announced a transformative multi-year partnership with The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (“The King Center”), where the Dream will seek to become the first sports organization named a “Beloved Community Team,” which includes a commitment to The King Center’s BE LOVE pledge, the creation of joint programming and community education, as well as participation in organization-wide nonviolence training and civic leadership development for players and staff.

As part of the partnership, the Atlanta Dream will become an inaugural Training Partner in The King Center’s Nonviolence365® Online including interactive coursework and conversations introduced across the entire Dream organization from players and coaching staff to executive leadership and business staff members. The asynchronous training curriculum will provide the Dream  organization with a dynamic learning experience centered around King’s nonviolence philosophy and methodology to enhance communication, leadership, interpersonal and conflict reconciliation skills while applying Dr. King’s teachings in daily life. Nonviolence365® Online features world-class instructors, nonviolence practitioners and veterans of the Civil Rights Movement sharing Dr. King’s vision to create a beloved community through nonviolence.

The Atlanta Dream will also donate $100,000 to The King Center to further efforts around nonviolence education and training, which also includes an opportunity for 50 young women to participate in this dynamic nonviolence training experience.

“The Atlanta Dream’s partnership with The King Center represents a shared priority to continue the work to create the Beloved Community that Dr. King believed was possible,” said Morgan Shaw Parker, President and COO of the Atlanta Dream. “We hope this partnership and our commitment to organization-wide training and meaningful conversation will become a global model that helps define how teams, businesses and individuals can embrace Dr. King’s principles as a vehicle for social change.”

“As Head Coach of the Atlanta Dream, I recognize my ability to help educate and look forward to participating in The King Center’s nonviolence training,” said Tanisha Wright. “It provides another way to have meaningful impact not only within the Dream organization, but also within the Atlanta community in hopes that they will join us in the work of achieving a more just, equitable and peaceful world.”

“My father believed deeply in the power of nonviolent social change as a pathway towards personal, cultural and societal transformation. The King Center carries forward his teachings to educate each of us to drive equitable change in our neighborhoods, nation and world,” said Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO, The King Center. “Our evidence-based curriculum is built on a 50+ year history as a leader in nonviolence training and education and we are thrilled the Atlanta Dream has become the first sports organization to provide Nonviolence365® Online training to all its players, coaches and executive leadership.”

“As the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. King’s spiritual home, I know that the only way to create Dr. King’s ‘beloved community’ is through action,” said Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA). “It’s inspiring to see such a trailblazing program fusing sports, social justice and civic responsibility being built here in Georgia. This groundbreaking partnership will not only help train the next generation of civic-minded leaders to help improve our communities from both on and off the court, but it will stand as a strident model for change that will continue to push Georgia and our nation towards being a place where everyone, no matter their skin color, ethnicity, or religious background, can live their ‘Dream’ without fear of prejudice or hate.”