It wasn’t simply Myra Kraft who had deep philanthropic commitments to Black and Hispanic communities in Boston. Robert Kraft did as nicely — typically quietly, institutionally, and lengthy earlier than politics difficult how these actions have been interpreted.
Kraft made choices that positioned Black management in positions of actual authority and belief. These efforts weren’t branded as “racial justice,” however they materially supported Black neighborhoods. One of many clearest examples got here in 2007, when Kraft employed Andre Tippett, a Professional Soccer Corridor of Famer and Patriots legend, as Govt Director of Group Relations. This senior position oversaw the franchise’s charitable giving, youth packages, and group partnerships throughout New England. Tippett held the place for greater than a decade.
This was not symbolic work. Group relations controls cash, entry, credibility, and long-term relationships with neighborhoods which are disproportionately Black and dealing class.
I do know this dedication firsthand.
My group, Larger Grove Corridor Predominant Streets, was one of many nonprofits that benefited from Kraft’s help. After we launched the Black Girls Lead challenge — an effort to honor Boston’s most beloved, admired, and iconic Black ladies leaders — a number of main establishments declined to help it.
Bob Kraft didn’t.
He instantly understood why it mattered to publicly honor Black ladies whose management had formed Boston however whose names have been too typically lacking from official histories. Once I offered the proposal, he observed a typo. One of many ladies we sought to honor was Ruth Batson, the legendary civil rights and schooling activist. Kraft identified that her final identify had been misspelled.
Past the embarrassment, what struck me was this: how did this billionaire from Brookline know the proper spelling? That type of consideration doesn’t come from performative allyship. It comes from familiarity, respect, and care.
After we later requested to develop the challenge — rising the variety of honorees from 100 to 200 — Kraft agreed. He didn’t simply approve the concept; he backed its progress. (We are actually in search of a brand new sponsor so as to add an extra 300 ladies.)
Kraft’s broader philanthropic footprint adopted the identical sample. Via the Patriots group and Kraft household giving, sources flowed to city establishments serving Black and Latino communities: youth growth packages, schooling initiatives, group well being efforts, and anti-violence work. These investments have been regular, institutional, and outcome-focused — not performative.
Culturally, Kraft additionally moved comfortably in Black areas. He maintained longstanding relationships with Black athletes and artists, together with Jay-Z. He was seen dancing with Cardi B and wore Jordans. Cultural proximity is just not activism, nevertheless it typically precedes it — and it issues.
As nationwide tensions rose through the period of Black Lives Matter and NFL protests, Kraft articulated a place that balanced unity with constitutional rights. In 2017, he stated:
“The best enemy in sport is division from inside… I respect the best of individuals on this nation to make statements or protests, peacefully.”
When President Donald Trump publicly attacked protesting gamers, Kraft broke with him:
“I’m deeply dissatisfied by the tone of the feedback made by the President… I help their proper to peacefully have an effect on social change.”
Requested about Colin Kaepernick, Kraft added:
“I’d very very like to see him within the league.”
In 2016, Kraft did publicly help Donald Trump’s presidential run, and for some that relationship undermined his credibility on race and racism. It didn’t. It confirmed one thing many individuals wrestle with: the power to keep up relationships throughout deep political and cultural divides. Kraft may very well be buddies with Donald Trump and Jay-Z on the similar time — and later develop into a detailed ally of Meek Mill.
Kraft’s friendship with Mill marked a deeper, extra express part of engagement. Mill is a Grammy-nominated Black rapper from Philadelphia whose incarceration for repeated technical probation violations — regardless of no new violent crimes — turned a nationwide image of probation abuse. In 2018, Kraft visited him in jail. Seeing the system firsthand pushed Kraft from quiet philanthropy into public advocacy, together with at NAACP and different public boards, serving to catalyze his position as a co-founder of the REFORM Alliance, launched in 2019 with Mill, Jay-Z, and others, backed by an preliminary $50 million dedication to reform probation and parole legal guidelines nationwide.
That work didn’t come out of nowhere. It constructed on an earlier sample of institutional belief, management inclusion, and a focus.
That very same sample appeared once more when Kraft confronted probably the most consequential enterprise choices of his possession: changing longtime head coach Invoice Belichick.
When Kraft chosen Jerod Mayo, Mayo’s rent was not a DEI rent, and his firing was not racist. He was employed to steer, to not symbolize. It was no totally different from the best way Kraft has handled even essentially the most completed figures within the group comparable to Belichick when outcomes not adopted.
Mayo was a legit candidate on soccer and management grounds. As a participant, he was a crew captain and defensive signal-caller, extensively revered for intelligence and preparation. As a coach, he rose rapidly, incomes belief for readability, accountability, and command. Simply as vital, he represented continuity at a second of transition, making him a defensible selection for an proprietor in search of stability slightly than spectacle.
When Mayo’s first season ended with a 4–13 document, Kraft confronted actuality. Reporting afterward famous that Kraft acknowledged inserting Mayo in an “untenable scenario” and took duty for the circumstances surrounding the season. Nonetheless, stewardship requires accountability. Kraft moved on, hiring Mike Vrabel.
It wasn’t private. It wasn’t racial. It was enterprise.
Many Black followers and observers — myself included — can maintain each truths without delay: we have been glad Mayo was given an actual alternative, and we accepted that it didn’t work out. That stability displays what Black communities have lengthy requested for — not particular therapy, however equity: the prospect to succeed or fail on equal phrases.
Ed Gaskin is Govt Director of Larger Grove Corridor Predominant Streets and founding father of Sunday Celebrations
