Glenn Kaino

Through the Pass the Baton project, baton NFTs facilitate a generative crypto-giving structure that directly funds social justice efforts and organizations. Informed by Smith’s record breaking 1600-meter relay race in 1966, these unique digital works bear the names of prominent activists, advocates, and changemakers alongside Smith’s, with each name linking to a nonprofit organization focused on social justice. Smart contracts ensure that the associated organizations receive ongoing support through Pass the Baton.

With the Legacy Team project, which includes Pass the Baton, Kaino has said, “Our charge is to create sustainable ways for the memory of Tommie’s salute to live on for generations, and for as many people around the world to benefit from the hardship that he endured, and the sacrifices he suffered as the result of his courageous act … Pass the Baton is a technology-driven art project that has as its core the intention to create a sustainable engine for philanthropy, one that drives resources to 23 different organizations around the country who all are engaged in the fight for equality and human rights. It is meant to bring together the best qualities from the disparate worlds of art, blockchain, and social justice that it connects.”