LeBron James, Draymond Green, Skylar Diggins-Smith team up to protect black voting rights

LeBron James is teaming up with some high-profile names to create an organization for protecting black voting rights.

On Tuesday, LeBron James tweeted proof that saying “go out and vote” to try and fix the problems in our country doesn’t work when the voting structure itself is inherently racist. On Wednesday, it was reported that the King will be taking a more direct approach to help deal with that very problem.

According to the New York Times, James will be teaming up with several high-profile athletes to form an organization dedicated to protecting black voting rights. The organization will be called More Than A Vote and will be aimed at motivating African-Americans to register to vote and cast a ballot in November.

"“Because of everything that’s going on, people are finally starting to listen to us — we feel like we’re finally getting a foot in the door,” James said. “How long is up to us. We don’t know. But we feel like we’re getting some ears and some attention, and this is the time for us to finally make a difference.”"

More Than A Vote will feature the involvement of former and current NBA players like Jalen Rose, Draymond Green, Trae Young and Udonis Haslem, as well as the WNBA’s Skylar Diggins-Smith, the NFL’s Alvin Kamara and comedian Kevin Hart — prominent athletes and celebrities in several key states come election time:

In addition to encouraging African-Americans to vote, the organization will also draw attention to any attempts to suppress the votes of racial minorities.

“Yes, we want you to go out and vote, but we’re also going to give you the tutorial. We’re going to give you the background of how to vote and what they’re trying to do, the other side, to stop you from voting.”

While LeBron James has been extremely active off the court with charitable works like his I Promise School in Ohio, this is his most serious foray into politics yet. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has been vocal on Twitter and Instagram with his thoughts on social issues and even attended one Hillary Clinton rally in 2016, but this is his first organized effort to make a difference on the political front.

Given the state of civil unrest in this country and all the unfair hurdles being presented to people of color who are trying and struggling to vote in this country, LeBron’s activism is much-needed and should be well appreciated right now.