The accomplishments and history of Black women in the sports industry are being celebrated through the first-ever National Black Women in Sports Day.

Diverse Representation, an organization dedicated to increasing the hiring and exposure of Black agents, attorneys, managers, publicists and financial advisors who work in the sports and entertainment industries, has launched National Black Women In Sports Day, which will take place annually on July 7, starting this year.

Today marks the first annual holiday to celebrate and uplift Black women and their accomplishments in the sports industry.

The accomplishments and history of Black women in the sports industry are being celebrated through the first-ever National Black Women in Sports Day.

The new July 7 holiday wants to give Black women athletes their flowers and inspire Black girls to pursue careers in the sports industry.

Black women have made their mark in the world of sports both on the field of play and in the boardroom. But over the last few years, their success, presence, accomplishments and influence have increased significantly.

Although significant ground remains to be covered, women’s sports have made notable gains in almost every aspect in recent years.

From January 12-14, 2023, Diverse Representation will host its first in-person and virtual Black Entertainment Career Summit at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA. The three-day Summit will feature a robust programming lineup, including panel conversations, fireside chats, and networking opportunities with recruiters, executives, and talent acquisition professionals from top companies across the industry.

Thomas hopes people find employment opportunities and build a network from attending the Black Entertainment Career Summit.  “I hope they’re able to learn something. There are a lot of top notch speakers who are going to be speaking at this event, and I hope attendees are able to walk away with a better understanding of the entertainment industry, the current landscape and different opportunities in 2023. I just hope they’re able to learn a lot more about the industry and what’s coming down the pipeline,” she said.

The new weeklong program is part of the organization's ongoing partnership with Southern University Law Center.

Diverse Representation will host its second annual Black Entertainment Executives Pipeline Program which will run from July 11 through August 16, 2022.

The program will give 12 participants access to leading Black executives in the entertainment industry including Ty Cameron, the president of Ebony Studios, MACRO Executive Vice President Jelani Johnson and Creative Artists Agency Executive Joe Aiken , according to a press release.

Career platform Diverse Representation exists to increase the hiring and exposure and number of African-American agents, attorneys, managers, and publicists who work in the sports and entertainment industry. Through a comprehensive database of African-American agents, attorneys, managers and publicists working in the sports and entertainment industry throughout the country, it’s trying to dispel the narrative that diversity is hard to find throughout all facets of the sports and entertainment industry.

Black professionals will be taking root in the entertainment sector.

According to a press release sent to AfroTech, Diverse Representation will host its second annual Black Entertainment Executives Pipeline program set to run from July 11-August 16, 2022.

The Diverse Representation Music Database aims to increase the hiring of Black professionals in the music industry.

During NBA All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, the conversation at The Union Club Friday was intended to be a game changer: increasing the hiring of Black executives in the professional sports industry.

As a Black woman who works in sports and entertainment, I saw the lack of Black lawyers, and I saw nothing being done to address the discrepancies,” said Jaia Thomas, founder and CEO of Diverse Representation, the organization partnering with Southern University Law Center on the boot camp.

In an effort to close the racial gap when it comes to professional athlete representation, Southern University Law Center, in partnership with Diverse Representation, is hosting its inaugural Sports Agent Bootcamp on February 4-5, 2022, on the campus of Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

To combat the racial gap in professional athlete representation, Diverse Representation and Southern University Law Center will host a two-day immersive Sports Agent Bootcamp for Historically Black College and University (HBCU) students.

The Southern University Law Center is looking to help increase access to the world of representing pro athletes. The SULC is hosting its inaugural Sports Agent Bootcamp taking place February 4 – 5, 2022 at the Valdry Center on the campus of Southern University Baton Rouge.

Actors and many other performers will reach a stage in their careers when they need representation from an agent, a manager, a lawyer or other professionals. Choosing the right representation is important — and so is choosing when to bring on representation. To help you navigate these questions, we talked to Reedy, as well as Jaia Thomas, an attorney who founded Diverse Representation, and WME talent agent Yasmine Pearl — who has represented artists including Marsai Martin, Rita Ora and Zayn Malik in her 14-year career.