The State of the Black Card Collector

Though Sports Card Investor’s first Black collectors roundtable began with a few words about former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores’ discrimination lawsuit against the NFL, the conversation could have easily centered around the racial disparity in leadership in just about every sports league. Of the NBA’s 30 GMs, only 11 are Black. How many of MLB’s 30 managers do you think are African American? Just two. Oh, and you don’t even want to guess how many of the 358 Division 1 athletic directors are Black. An underwhelming 10.3%. And if you think you’re tired of hearing about the low numbers, just imagine how the deserving Black coaches, administrators and fans around the country must feel.

Unfortunately, statistics around the sports card world aren’t much better. There aren’t many Black-owned card shops. Hardly any booths at the big conventions are manned by people of color. And honestly, when we walked the showroom floor at The National last July, we weren’t exactly blown away by the diverse crowds in the aisles.

But the mission we’re embarking on isn’t about finger-pointing or shaming; it’s about finding answers. There are a host of theories surrounding the hobby’s representation woes and SCI wanted to use its platform to have a long-overdue discussion about a few of them. But we can’t do the heavy lifting by ourselves. So, we reached out to important Black voices in the card community for help.  

OUR PANEL:

Joyce and Raphael Mosley– Culture Collision Trade Show Co-Creators

Jesse Howard (aka Meanerdoughmeanor)- Avid Collector

Whiz tha Collector– Avid Collector

James Mims– Mimsbandz creator and Project 70 Artist

If you enjoy the long-overdue discussion below, please give our guests a social follow, support their card-related efforts and, most importantly, keep the dialogue going in your own collecting circles.