Baseball legend Roberto Clemente, born today, was both black and Latino. He was also a humanitarian. The first black Puerto Rican to play in the American League was Clemente’s friend, Vic Power, the Kansas City Athletics outfielder–who was once dragged off the team bus by local police for buying a Coke from a whites-only gas station. Roberto despised the humiliation, internalizing it as if it were his own. Power tried to calm Clemente down with his wit and humor by recalling a conversation he had with a server at a Jim Crow restaurant. “We don’t serve Negroes,” said the waitress. Power was relieved and replied, “That’s okay. I don’t eat Negroes. I just want rice and beans.”
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 21:50:12 +0000
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