The Boston Celtics have had many players in their historic franchise, but it’s Bill Russell at the top as No. 1 and everyone knows it.

The second episode of Celtics City starts with Jaylen Brown talking about what Russell means to him. He explains how he was nervous to come to Boston after being drafted third overall in 2016.

Brown was booed by Celtics fans who were in attendance at the Barclays Center for the NBA Draft when his name was called. It’s something that he will remember forever and mentioned in this second episode.

“Honestly, before I got to Boston, I was kind of scared. When I got drafted, they booed me. Even though, things were a different context in a different period of time, but it doesn’t make it any less severe or any less impactful. So paying attention to history has also given me a greater context to where we’re at now. It makes a lot of sense why this organization has been a pioneer for social justice movements and society.”

The episode goes into detail about the racial issues in the world and what Russell had to deal with as a result of it while he was living and playing in Boston.

Russell became an activist during the early 60’s. He marched with Martin Luther King Jr. in the March on Washington in 1963. He also presented demonstrations in Boston Public Schools against segregation. He also made the decision for him and his Black teammates to not play in a game in Kentucky due to two of his teammates being refused of service in a restaurant.

By 1966, Russell and the Celtics had nine titles. He should’ve been viewed as a legend in Boston, but unfortunately he wasn’t. Instead, they treated him like dirt. They broke into his home, destroying everything, including all of his trophies and life accomplishments. They even defected in his bed.

Keep in mind, this is the time that Russell was serving as a player-coach after Red Auerbach retired and became the general manager on a full time basis.

Russell didn’t feel right living and playing in the city when there was so much racism all around him and his teammates wherever they went. He delivered a speech about racism in Boston and the poor neighborhoods of Roxbury, calling them the pride of Boston.

“We’re in a church here tonight, because we couldn’t be in a school. We’ve been insulted by certain members of the city government, but we’re not expected to react. Lately we’ve been hearing a lot about ‘The New Boston’, Government Center, bank buildings, but while all this new Boston is being developed, Roxbury is one of the 10th poorest communities in the United States. There’s a poverty in Roxbury, and nobody’s listening. There’s nobody listening. What the people don’t realize is, the pride that consumes Roxbury, consumes Boston. Thank you very much.”

When I watch Russell deliver these speeches and learn about what he wanted to do and see change in the world, I am often thinking about Jaylen Brown, who has seamlessly picked up the torch from Russell and is continuing in the path that he started.

When Brown signed his five-year, $304 million contract extension two years ago, it was the largest contract in NBA history at the time. He was asked by Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe what he plans to do with so much generational wealth.

Brown delivered an answer that is directly in parallel with the way Russell was thinking in the 60’s and with the goals of making Boston a better place for all to live. Brown, like Russell, wants to see the underprivileged, disadvantaged communities prosper.

“We got a lot of work to do, so let’s get started… I want to launch a project to bring Black Wall Street to Boston. I want to attack the wealth disparity here. I think there’s analytics that supports that stimulating the wealth gap can actually be something that’s for the betterment of the entire economy. With the biggest financial deal in NBA history, it makes sense to talk about one, the investment in community, but two, also, the wealth disparity here that nobody wants to talk about- it’s top-five in the U.S., it’s something that we all can improve on- it’s unsettling. I think through my platform, through influential partners, through selective leaders, government officials, we can come together to create new jobs, new resources, new businesses, new ideas, that can highlight minorities, but also stimulate the economy and the wealth gap at the same time.”

Tried and true, Brown has already launched many projects during his time in Boston, including earning a fellowship through MIT to use their Media Lab and resources for his Bridge Program, which is designed to bridge the gap between disadvantaged communities to education.

In 2020, Brown drove 15-hours from Boston to Atlanta to lead a peaceful protest in his community after George Floyd died, a Black man who couldn’t breathe with a white police officer’s knee in his back, ultimately cutting off his oxygen.

Brown is from Marietta, Georgia, which is only about 20-minutes away from Atlanta. Brown was leading the protest while holding a sign that read “I Can’t Breathe” as he marched the streets of Atlanta with a megaphone in hand.

Also in 2020, when the NBA was in the Bubble, they allowed teams and their players to wear social justice messages on their jerseys. It was across their shoulders, jersey number, and the last name underneath. Brown chose to wear “Liberation” on his jersey that season.

Most recently, Brown launched the Boston XChange, a non-profit organization with the goal of creating $5 billion in generational wealth in black communities throughout Boston. This is in partnership with teammate Jrue Holiday and his wife, Lauren’s, JLH Social Impact Fund.

The Boston XChange will offer entrepreneurs $100,000 in funding over three years.

Brown is doing everything he can to make the communities he’s part of a better world for all to be successful in. He’s following in Russell’s footsteps as being a leader of the community, a voice for the unheard.

“Bill Russell is one of those people that don’t come around very often… and I hold myself to that standard. I honestly feel like the reason why I’m here, is to be able to be a voice for certain conversations. My goal is just to remind people of the bigger conversation of life and that we all play a role in the city, the community… Having an impact outside of the game of basketball, make Boston a better Boston, I think that would be a great legacy to leave- I just want to do my part, no more no less.”

Brown is the modern day Russell in the sense of being an activist in addition to also winning championships with the Celtics. Similarly to Russell, when Brown speaks, we all listen.

The city of Boston needed someone like Russell throughout the 60s and it still needs someone to advocate for their constituents and Brown is that leader for them now.

Lastly, a comment from Brown in 2018 at All-Star weekend on a former player he wishes he could be teammates with and why. He chose Russell:

“I think I would have stood there right with him. At least he would have had somebody else on his team that felt as strongly as him, and maybe we could have moved more mountains together.”

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Photo Credit: Jaylen Brown