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# Nothing Is Given, Everything Is Earned: LeBron James Makes America Great
August 06 2018
Written by Abby Zimet.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
GUEST WORDS--Talk about a tale of two people.
Last week a small, mean, sick, vengeful bully who was born to mindless wealth and ordered brown children to be put in cages [attacked ](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1025586524782559232)a big, black, beloved star athlete born poor who for years has used his power and success to [give back](https://sports.yahoo.com/lets-clear-lebron-james-makes-america-great-035015565.html)- hot meals, kids' programs, 1,000 computers to Boys and Girls Clubs - refused to "shut up and dribble," and now opened a model public school for at-risk kids in his home town of Akron, Ohio.
Donald Trump's perhaps-pettiest-yet tweet [demeaning ](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1025586524782559232)Don Lemon and LeBron James was not only [met ](https://www.si.com/nba/2018/08/04/lebron-james-donald-drump-tweet-twitter-reacts)with all the vilification it deserved, including from some of his own [supporters](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1025586524782559232); it mightily [backfired, ](https://www.salon.com/2018/08/04/president-trumps-racist-tweet-about-lebron-james-backfires-sees-criticism-from-all-sides/)garnering [support](http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24283260/nba-players-come-defense-lebron-james) for his targets and brutal [opprobrium ](https://www.businessinsider.com/twitter-responds-trump-lebron-james-2018-8)for his own failure as a [human being](https://www.facebook.com/heidi.stevens.520/posts/10215832477982783), never mind so-called leader. Wait, a zillion horrified Americans essentially responded, this is the "president"?!?
Meanwhile [King James](https://www.commondreams.org/further/2018/08/04/%20https:/www.si.com/nba/photos/2007/06/07lebron-james-si-covers#23)- who was raised in poverty by a single teen mother, who often had to miss school as they moved around sleeping on friends' couches, and who was long aware he "didn't want to become a statistic" - [opened ](https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2018/08/02/lebron-james-i-promise-school-akron-ohio-don-lemon-cnn-tonight.cnn)his progressive, family-oriented, $8 million public school for kids most in need of it. A [partnership ](http://www.lebronjamesfamilyfoundation.org/page/ipromiseschool)of the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools, I Promise - to work hard, to do my best, to dream big, etc - started with its first class of 240 3rd and 4th graders; it will eventually have over 2,000 K to 8th graders.
With a STEM, hands-on focus, it [offers ](http://time.com/money/5354265/lebron-james-i-promise-school-akron/)kids lagging in academics free tuition, uniform, bike - James explored his rough world on his - with helmet, breakfast and lunch, transportation, and extensive support including, for families, a food pantry, GED classes and job training. If kids make it through, they get free college tuition. The school's core principle is to create a safe environment "so kids learn to value education and the self-reliance it brings"; en route, it also [proves ](https://www.thenation.com/article/lebrons-education-promise-needs-become-countrys-promise/)the power of "truly investing in public education."
For James, the key task is to [show](https://heavy.com/news/2018/07/lebron-james-full-speech-video-i-promise-school/)kids that "someone cares. “Because he does, he, the kids, and we all win. And the loser, as usual, loses.
*(Abby Zimet writes for [Common Dreams](http://commondreams.org) … where this perspective was first posted.)*
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