If only beating racism was as easy as winning a state basketball title… Recently Garfield High school won another state Basketball championship. This was a historical win because it was the first time since 1998 Garfield had captured the state crown. In the past Garfield was a basketball powerhouse winning 11 state championships and has the most basketball championships in the state of Washington. Thus, the 15 plus year hiatus for Garfield has created some anxiety in the world of basketball historians and Garfield fans. But that is not the only reason why this win was so important and meaningful. There were some racist messages posted via the social network prior to the state semifinal game that featured Issaquah vs. Garfield. The messages were reported to be from Issaquah high school students. Some of the messages were quoted as calling Garfield players the racist slur that rhymes with bigger, equating black cheerleaders with the Star Wars character Chewbacca, calling black people bush boogies, and stating it was checkmate when Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. These are some of the comments that were included in a ten page document that circulated social networks prior to the state semi-final game. The students were allegedly suspended for posting these comments and it was investigated by law enforcement as a hate crime. This type of pre-game energy and disrespect was historical in the sense it reminded me how not much has changed in too many white people’s minds when it comes to their fear of Black people. It reminds me there are still families and communities who are raising and harboring young white people to be racist and hateful towards Black people. Essentially there are still white communities who fear the ability of Black people. Sports have typically been a metaphor for the global community. Thus Black people’s success in sports often triggers white people’s anxiety and fears when it comes to dominating the global community. What I mean is: Often Black people’ s domination in certain sports often scares some white people into believing this will transfer into the world outside of sports. One day Black people will take over sports and the next day they will take over the world. In all its contextual flaws…I must admit I understand this train of thought and so do many Black athletes. This is why many Black athletes use athletics to make statements that go beyond the courts and fields they dominate on. Many Black athletes such as Muhammad Ali, John Carlos, Tommie Smith, and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf aka Chris Jackson have used sports to make racial and cultural statements. Therefore, throughout sports history we have seen the white dominated sports industry regulate and censor the criticism from Black athletes especially when it comes to the critique of the white power base. Thus the Garfield state win was historical because it marked a refresher of how many Black people fought white people back in the day—by beating them via sports. While at the state semifinal game vs. Issaquah I cheered and pointed towards the Issaquah bench as the buzzer sounded in Garfield’s victory. I pointed at Issaquah as if to say: that’s what you get. I pointed because I recalled my 3 years in Issaquah where within the first month I was there a white peer called me the name that rhymes with bigger and I beat him up and threw him over a pickle ball net. I pointed because I didn’t have to beat any white people up for the racist things that are said about Black people—because those Black Garfield student athletes had beat them on the court. It was as if Joe Louis knocked out Max Smelling in the Dome. As the Issaquah players bowed their head in defeat on one side of the dome the racially mix of kids on Garfield’s side cheered: Racial Equality! over and over. As an educator I felt sad there are some Issaquah students that are being shamed who had nothing to do with those racist postings. Then I realized that none of the Issaquah students were cheering racial equality along with the Garfield students on the other side. Maybe it was because they lost and winning means everything. And then reality hit me: If only beating racism and white supremacy was as easy as beating a team that represents it in a basketball game.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 01:51:40 +0000
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