Sport has
often been considered to be a racial barometer that predicts progress in race
relations in this country. Whether it was the breaking of the color line in
Major League Baseball by Jackie Robinson or the increase representation of
Blacks athletes in the NFL and NBA, one might conclude that this nation has
progressed racially; especially when you evaluate this in light of how Blacks
have faced many obstacles in this country from slavery to Jim Crow Segregation.
The visibility Black athletes have in popular media somehow nullifies these
historical experiences and suggest racial progress - really?
Furthermore,
with the election President Barack Obama, many are suggesting that the U.S. has
metamorphosed into a post-racial era. On the contrary, I believe we have been
jettisoned into a pro-racist era where there is an opened season to attack and/or
kill Black people. The death of Trayvon Martin, the white terrorist attack in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, or the killing of Kenneth Chamberlain are fatal results of
this open season on Black people. To a much lesser degree, the death threats
and the N-word filled tirade by Boston NHL fans launched against Washington
Capital's Joel Ward is another example of this open season. These are just a
few examples that should inform us that a post-racial society is only a mirage.
I am not
surprised that Boston "sport" fans behaved in this manner. As
products of their environments, they are simply operating out of the context
prescribed to them by a system of white supremacy. I am surprised that you are
surprised that this type of racist nonsense happened in sport. Although sport
has been a site of resistance - for example the Black Power Salute during the
1968 Olympics - it has also reflected and reinforced some of the dominant
oppressive ideologies that are prevalent in this country. The Boston's NHL fans
N-Word tirades are simply an example of deep-seated racism that prevails
throughout institutions in the U.S. and illustrates how sport and sport fans can
and do reflect and reinforce dominant racist ideologies.
