About Us
The African American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (now named Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame) was established in 2000 in Oakland, California to broaden the public understanding of African American and ethnic history and the role of diversity and cultural tolerance in the growth of professional sports.
MESHOF gives the world the opportunity to better understand the impact African Americans and other ethnic groups have had on professional sports and society. Over 180 retired athletes of color have been enshrined, as well as coaches. Over 120 community leaders have been honored at our induction ceremonies. In addition, more than 125 sports legends and over 50 current players support our Hall of Fame Programs.
We have “honored” many non-minorities in the past with various community awards because these honorees have a deep-seeded commitment to community service and help keep our community whole. With society becoming more multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-ethnic, we now induct white athletes that have contributed to athletes of color and their community.
While we are honoring community leaders, sports heroes and heroines from the past, we want to also draw attention to the our academic intervention programs, through which we address the dismal academic performance of our youth. We emphasize that it’s not about career wins; it’s about real life victories.
Many of our social problems-crime, unemployment, and homelessness-are a direct result of an education system that has failed our youth. We have provided employment training and opportunities for over 100 young people in three years from our Youth Intervention Program. We are now committed to do even more to empower our youth to lead productive lives.