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It's been 62 years since Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech calling for justice and equality for all.
To mark the historic moment, the WNBA team named after the speech – the Atlanta Dream – is launching a program to carry on the legacy of Dr. King's work.
The team is working with partners to eliminate $10 million in debt for families in Atlanta. The 3,500 recipients will have debts ranging from $500 to $80,000 erased.
"One of the things that we think is incredibly important is we believe that sport is a catalyst for social change and so we really lean into the community that serves us," Morgan Shaw Parker, the Atlanta Dream's president and chief operating officer, exclusively told "CBS Mornings."
Shaw Parker said the initiative isn't just about relieving debt for Atlanta families, but also about financial literacy.
"This is a long-term process for us," she said.
"What I hope it accomplishes for the families is to allow them to say, 'hey, I do have a dream and I'm that much closer to achieving it.' Five hundred dollars to $80,000 could mean buying a car, it could mean a down payment for a house, it could be even just thinking about going to college. So it is just a mindset shift."
Shaw Parker explained how the families were chosen, saying the Dream worked with partners to look at specific zip codes impacted most by debt-to-income ratio.
"We started around our arena in College Park and then we went up into Martin Luther King's actual neighborhood where he lived, which happens to be one of the lowest income areas in all of Atlanta, in all of the country," Shaw Parker said.
The selected families found out on Thursday if they were picked for the life-changing program.
"These are transformative sport partnerships that are not like traditional sport partnerships where you are really focusing not on community as the last thing you seek to do together, but as the first thing you seek to do together," Shaw Parker said.
Shaw Parker also spoke to "CBS Mornings" about the potential of a WNBA lockout if a deal is not reached by the end of October between the league and the Women's National Basketball Players Association.
"I think everybody on all sides is really looking to achieve what is necessary for the players, for the league growth," Shaw Parker said.
"We're a relatively young league. How old is Major League Baseball? How old is the NFL? You know, so we are going through in large part what all of those leagues were going through in their 27th and 28th years. What I think you will see is a lot of growth, a lot of change and exponential moments from here on out."
