David Robinson was born in Key West, Florida, in 1965. He played college basketball at the United States Naval Academy and received the Wooden and Naismith awards in 1987. After fulfilling his Navy commitment, he joined the San Antonio Spurs in 1989. An educational reading guide identifies him explicitly as an African American basketball player.
Robinson spent his NBA playing career with San Antonio. His individual honors included Defensive Player of the Year in 1992 and Most Valuable Player in 1995. The Spurs won championships in 1999 and 2003, his final season. He also competed in three Olympics, winning two gold medals and a bronze. The Basketball Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009.
Education became a second major commitment. In 1991, Robinson promised college scholarship support to a fifth-grade class at San Antonio's Gates Elementary School. The Heisman Humanitarian Award biography records that he increased the promised amount when participating students graduated from high school in 1998. The account documents scholarship assistance for students who stayed with the program through graduation.
David and Valerie Robinson's foundation helped establish and sustain the Carver Academy, which opened in 2001. The Heisman organization recognized his educational work with its 2013 Humanitarian Award. Valerie and the foundation shared the school's history with family members, educators and institutional partners.
The institution changed over time. In 2012, the San Antonio Report described its transition into IDEA's tuition-free public charter network, with support from other donors and organizations.
In a 2017 Andscape interview, Robinson discussed how much he had needed to learn while building the school, from fundraising to educational planning to finding the right partners.
