Built First: Dawn Staley to Take the Stage at ABFF's 30th Anniversary Homecoming
When the American Black Film Festival kicks off its landmark 30th anniversary celebration in Miami Beach on May 27, the roster of voices shaping the five-day "Homecoming" event will extend well beyond Hollywood. Among the most anticipated additions to the festival's programming is basketball icon Dawn Staley, who will sit down for a fireside chat on Thursday, May 28, from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. in a session titled Built First: How Legacy Is Created — A Conversation with Dawn Staley, presented by Ally Financial.
Moderated by Jack Howard, Head of Money Wellness at Ally Financial, the conversation promises to explore the architecture of legacy—what it truly means to blaze a trail before the road has been paved and how leaders build something lasting in spaces that were never designed to include them.
Staley knows that terrain intimately. She’s carried the weight of being first as the head women’s basketball coach at the University of South Carolina and as a former head coach of Team USA, on the tightrope between greatness and expectation for decades. Her Gamecocks have claimed multiple national championships and No. 1 rankings, and under her leadership, the program has become one of the most dominant in women's college basketball. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrined her legacy as a player in 2013, and she has only deepened that legacy as a coach and community builder since.
But Staley has always been clear that the banners are not the point. "If I never won another championship, but my legacy was to have changed the face of opportunity and united communities—I'd take that over most other things in this world," she has said in a personal piece written for The Players Tribune. It is a philosophy that will be at the center of her ABFF conversation and one that resonates deeply within the spirit of a festival dedicated to amplifying Black creative voices on a global stage.
Staley has also never shied away from naming the unique pressure that comes with being a Black leader in a space where failure is not just personal—it becomes political..
Her influence goes much beyond the court. She has plainly stated, "I felt a great deal of pressure to win because I'm a Black coach." "Because if we don't win, then you bring in scrutiny. Like, 'You can't coach,' the legendary coach shared during the press conference after winning the national title.
That candor, paired with her undeniable track record, makes her one of the most compelling voices in sports leadership today. Through the Dawn Staley Foundation she has provided college scholarships and mentorship to young women in underserved communities, and her coaching tree now includes more than a dozen Division I head coaches who carry her culture-first model into their programs. Staley has succinctly articulated her goal: she aspires for her success to serve as a guiding light for other Black coaches navigating institutions that have historically been slow to embrace diversity.
“There are pockets of the communities that need help,” said Staley to Channel 12, sharing her commitment to giving back. “So we want to be on the ground in the communities of places that are enthused about us being here.”
At ABFF, that message will find a natural home. The festival's "Homecoming" theme—celebrating three decades of discovery and creative excellence—is itself a testament to the kind of institution-building Staley embodies. Both share the same conviction: when given a platform, Black excellence transforms entire generations.
The Built First session arrives at a moment when conversations about Black leadership, financial empowerment, and legacy are no longer optional in any industry—entertainment included. Ally Financial's support for the conversation positions it to address the economic dimensions of legacy-building, a timely and necessary pairing.
The 30th annual American Black Film Festival runs May 27–31 in Miami Beach.