On April 15th baseball fans, and the MLB celebrate the day Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, and became the first player of color in major league baseball. In 1947, 67 years ago, that was huge! I won't pretend it was well received. He had obscenities thrown at him, and several threats against him, and his family. It was incredibly difficult, and brave.
We've come a long way since the Jim Crow and segregation. "A lot of things have happened in this country, but we have so far to go. There's not a whole lot that has changed," Hank Aaron told USA Today. Aaron, who broke Babe Ruth's home run record, was asked by USA why he still kept hate letters addressed to him. "To remind me that we are not that far removed from when I was chasing that record," he said.
I will start with the easier point to address. Baseball is not a popular sport for African Americans. There are 67 black players in the major leagues. Let's do the math for a second. 30 major league teams, multiplied by 25 players. That's 750 players in the major leagues, and only 67 are African American. Wow! Further, three teams, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, and St. Louis Cardinals, are not represented by a single African American. Let that sink in for a moment.
The truth is, the game doesn't come to the inner city where a lot of minorities live. Even living in the Bronx, with tons of ball fields to play on, the expense for sports programs are such that children often miss out. There are several recreational centers that will offer sports for free, but the instruction isn't the same as paid programs. There are Reviving Baseball in the Inner Cities (RBI) programs, that currently have some 220,000 kids playing. But it has been my experience that even those programs are sometimes difficult to enroll a child in.
In an interview with USA TODAY Sports, Aaron discusses racism in this country, and the lack of African Americans in baseball. He is calling out to the MLB to make an improvement. I did the math for you. It's clear that even with Robinson, and Aaron, we haven't gotten very far on the diversity front of the game. But the piece that people seem to have taken real issue with is that fact that Aaron was so candid about racism in this country. He stated plainly "We have moved in the right direction, and there have been improvements, but we still have a long ways to go. The bigger difference is back then they had hoods. Now they have neckties and starched shirts." The 'they' he means are obviously racist, and bigots. The response to that?
"Hank Aaron is a scumbag piece of (expletive) (racial slur)" a man named Edward says in an e-mail to the Braves front office obtained by USA TODAY Sports.
Edward invokes the epithet five times in four sentences, closing with, "My old man instilled in my mind from a young age, the only good (racial slur) is a dead (racial slur)."
I have tried repeatedly to put into words how furious that bit has made me. When Aaron made his statement, I understood it. He wasn't making an attempt to single out a group of people. Simply put, where racism was more obvious as he chased that record, it is more concealed now. You can put a bow on a pile of poo, but it's still going to stink. Disagreeing with his point does not make it any less true. And if you needed anymore proof that he is correct, please go on ahead and re-read Edward's e-mail.
I'm was an inner city kid. My children will be inner city kids. I grew up with friends that became victims of racism and hate crimes. My last name alone has made me the subject of lines like "We speak English here," or "Are those green card and food stamp babies?" Just a few days ago, an older woman cursed me out, in front of my children, because I didn't belong in her country. So I've witnessed the racism in this country, sometimes first hand. I don't have the same fears for my safety as Robinson, and even Aaron had, but I know the struggle is still not over.
Robinson breaking that color barrier predates Brown vs The Board of Education, and Rosa Parks. The MLB is not a political pulpit, I get that, but if it is Americans pastime, shouldn't the people representing that be reflected back to us from the field? As for the thinly veiled racism in this country, I'm going to put this as simply as possible... I don't give a shit about your politics, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, education, or your wealth. You respect me, I respect you. It really is a simple concept. An individuals worth is defined by his or her character. Bigotry, ignorance, and hatred of any form can no longer be acceptable. It is only when we all decide to start showing one another respect that we can truly deal with this issue.
I'm just going to leave you with these bits of wisdom from Jackie Robinson.
"A life is not important except on the impact it has on other lives."
"There's not an American in this country free until every one of us is free."
"I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me. All I ask is that you respect me as a human being."
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