Chris Paul, NBA All-Star, collaborates with Roadside Entertainment to produce a docu-series based on basketball programs at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The show is expected in the course of the 2020/2021 period, but the specific schools and participants are yet to be determined. Under this plan, the partnership aims to solve common challenges faced by the HBCU students in competition with more extensive programs for top recruits in basketball. For the past month, there have been continuous protests concerning racial equality in the United States. It has resurfaced the issues experienced by Historically Black Colleges and Universities students. On Tuesday, Deadline reported about the Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) film plan set up at Universal from the producer and HBCU Graduate, Will Packer.
Paul’s Ohh Dip!!! Productions together with John Hirsch and Ron Yassen, Roadside founding partners, will produce the show. Paul and Roadside have teamed up on Emmy-nominated documentary Crossroads, which showed at the Tribeca Film Festival in the yar2018. Paul and Roadside are both linked to CAA. In an interview with Deadline at his home in Oklahoma City, Paul said that he plans to stay updated with the show even as he participates in the NBA’s term continuation in Florida. He said the theme of the series hits close to home, given his childhood in Winston-Salem, NC. Paul said that there was an HBCU near his premise. By saying, so he referred to the Winston-Salem State University. “For certain motives, I didn’t consider it,” Paul said. Instead, he got a grant to join Wake Forest. “Nowadays, children’s mentalities have transformed. It is our hope that this show will sustain the dialogue” At the beginning of this year, Paul collaborated with the Harvard Business School professor, Anita Elberse, a professor to introduce some courses like sports, entertainment and media in the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Encompassing the additional HBCUs in the year 2021, the program will address the evolving problems in the management sector, concerning the business of entertainment, sports, and media.
“For long, the Historically Black, Colleges and Universities(HBCUs) have faced brutal competitive hindrance in the basketball programs. The causal factors of those challenges lay in the foundations of misperceptions, funding, exposure, and recruitment,” said Chris Paul. With the recent racial development in our state encouraging young participants to look at where they play, it is essential to shed more light on HBCUs and give insight s on their significance in sports and the society at large.”
Being a father has helped Paul to refocus his attention on the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). He gave a list of several family members, and friends who have gone through such an educational route. “As I grew older, I started paying more attention.” He said that he had researched the same. Additionally, he got experience playing in a 2011 show game held at Winston-Salem State through the NBA lockout in the same year. The players on the court included; LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Dwayne Wade. The list is available on YouTube.” The atmosphere was fantastic,” Paul said.
Paul noted that it is almost impossible to reach a point where HBCUs have that unfailing strength on a higher level of critical conferences like the ACC. The most substantial portion goes back to financing. He said. “I’m glad that they’re starting to get recognized. ”Yassen said that Roadside Company, a creator of shows like the ESPY Awards, and sports docs, is “impressed to collaborate with Chris Paul on this important project. He is a potential front-runner on and off-court, as he brings integrity, knowledge, and resources to this section.
