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In honor of
Black History Month, I searched for one memorable quote that would
succinctly demonstrate the evolution of black Americans.
The quote I found would also make a great trivia question. Who
made the following remarks? “We take showers together, you’re on
the bus and you’re talking about a lot of things. You have to be
trustworthy. There’s a locker room code. I haven’t been around a
person like that, so I don’t know how I’d react.” Time’s up.
For a few bonus points, what year was that quote made and was
he responding to the prospect of Jackie Robinson breaking into Major
League Baseball or Nathaniel Clifton breaking the color line into
the National Basketball Association? Time’s up again.
It would be a reasonable conclusion to think some backwoods
redneck southerner made that comment in the 1940s or 1950s before
the sports color lines were broken. For a white athlete to take
public showers, trust, or ride the bus with another male of a
different culture or “a person like that” would probably have been
uneasy. Back to the quote. If we automatically thought it was a
white bigot who made that quote, we would all be wrong.
That quote was made in 2007 by a black man talking about
another black man. It was made by one of the brightest (not as in
intelligent) stars of the National Basketball Association. King
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers uttered those bigoted words
when asked his thoughts about having a gay teammate.
The subject was broached only because a former NBA player made
it public he is gay and was gay when he played professional
basketball. John Amaechi announced last week just prior to the
Valentine’s Day release of his book that he is gay. The former
5-year Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks role player retired three years
ago and returned to his home in England.
James’ comments came less than a month since another black man
made disparaging remarks about a gay person. Actor Isaiah
Washington is currently in rehab for calling a fellow actor the “F”
word. Washington should really appreciate black history because not
too long ago a black man could have been hanging from a tree for
saying something negative to a white person instead of hanging out
in a luxury rehab complex.
This is supposed to be Black History Month, a time to
appreciate and acknowledge the great contributions black Americans
have made. We should be marking the successes blacks achieved by
overcoming the hatred and bigotry of the white man. Instead, we are
witnessing examples of just how far blacks have come. We become
what we hate. Not only have blacks matched the successes of whites
in every industry, we have also shown we can be just as intolerant,
ignorant and discriminatory as the white bigots we despised 50 years
ago. The white man had white-only sports leagues. Blacks now have
black-only pageants. Once we had white-only government bodies. Now
we have black-only congressional caucuses. Whites could call blacks
“niggers” without repercussion. Now only blacks can.
LeBron James, while only 22 years old, could have made an
historical mark. As someone of his stature and influence and one
who is part of a protected group, he could have said something just
as profound as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “ I Have A Dream,” or
judge his children not by the color of their skin but by content of
their character. However, James’ misguided comments about
showering, riding buses, or just being in close proximity to gays
implies that something dangerous or wrong could happen. Again, this
sounds like something out of yesteryear when whites thought that you
could catch something bad if you were too close to blacks. His
reference to gays as “a person like that” is comparable to the “you
people” misinformed whites use when speaking about blacks as a
group.
A comprehensive Black History must include the likes of white
men like abolitionist John Brown and all the white conductors of the
Underground Railroad who stood up for right and fairness for all.
LeBron James could have done the same. He didn’t. He didn’t
say anything about equal opportunity. His hurtful historical
comments were more in line with those we were taught to hate and
fear, those influential whites who wore sheets. James has shown how
much blacks have evolved. When we become what or whom we hate,
we’re left only to hate ourselves.
Here is a bit of personal observation. There are a few
distinct similarities between American blacks and gays. Both are
born that way; it doesn’t rub off; you can’t catch it; and both should be entitled to equal rights.
Before anyone decides to write me about how evil, wrong
or dangerous I am because of my comparison, it was done for a
reason. It’s Black History Month.
Just hold on. I’ll do the same white-gay comparison in March
when it’s White History Month |
