Over half of the Memphis population is African American. That
was not the case in my hometown of Dallas. It was exactly half of the
population that was white. Memphis has the opportunity to break down racial
divides in our country if our city can come together. It would be hard but it
is possible to unity the city. We need to come together behind a strong symbol,
something that everyone supports and can relate to. The Grizzlies are that
symbol.
The Memphis Grizzlies have the potential to unite the city.
There is no other symbol that the entire city, no matter what race, enjoys. In
Dallas, there were too many symbols to choose between. You could try to be a Cowboys
fan or a Stars fan or a Rangers fan or a Mavericks fan. There is not one symbol
that the entire city can get behind. It never felt like the city was united
besides the fact that we all share Texas pride. However, the Grizzlies have a
completely different feel when it comes to teams. The Grizzlies have worked so
hard to get where they are. They battled the Spurs in the playoffs this year
and put up a strong fight.
It is very interesting that basketball will be the sport to
unite the city. There is such a strong racial stigma surrounding basketball. The
white man can't jump but the black man can most definitely jump. The white guys
will more than likely be the ones on the bench. Tall black guys have to play basketball.
The kings of basketball, LeBron, Kobe, and Michal Jordan, are all black. A
white guy has never made it to the top of the NBA ladder. All of those things
are hasty generalizations that do not reflect facts. They are racists comments
that cloud the NBA.
The Memphis Grizzlies’ slogan is “believe”. To me, it
signifies the fact that things will get better if we believe that they will. If
the city of Memphis rallies around the Grizzlies, then we can form and strengthen
relationships with other people in the city. The city could be so strong if we
rally. Memphis has a large population and we could take advantage of the large
population by forming relationships with people in the community. Our community
could be so strong and introduce some much needed Change to Memphis.
I agree, the Memphis Grizzlies are one of the only institutions in this city that has and can continue to unite the community and break down racial boundaries. In regard to the racial implications that surround basketball like you mentioned; these aren't as negative as they may be perceived. There is such thing as positive racism. I do not mean that racism is necessarily good, but positive racism is seen when someone attributes good qualities, such as the ability to jump higher, to a person based on their race. It also occurs when someone supports a person because of his favorable views of the person’s race. Unfortunately, most people want to focus on the negative implications of racism and the racist stigmas tied to basketball. Despite the traditional view of racism, I do not believe the NBA is clouded by the hasty generalizations or racist comments you speak of. There are plenty of players in the NBA that make up just about every racial category that exists, and like you said, those hasty generalizations are not based upon facts whatsoever. Anyone who actually pays attention to the NBA knows this and sees past the negative racial implications tied to the fact that most of the NBA players happen to be black or mixed; they see players like Kevin Love, Steve Nash, or Larry Bird who have defied the false traditional perception of basketball. With that said, I think you have made a great point in this blog post. The Memphis Grizzlies and everything they stand for is what the city of Memphis needs to help facilitate the development of a strong community without racial boundaries.
ReplyDelete