A Way Forward by Lumumba Shabazz
Every few years, the NCAA allows a collegiate team to travel internationally, and when I became a head coach in 2012, I made it a central part of my program’s philosophy to take advantage of this opportunity. Trips like these are a massive undertaking in operations, logistics, and fundraising, and at the D3 level where resources can be limited, it amounts to an additional burden on top of an otherwise packed schedule. Despite the challenges, I was determined to posit these trips as an extension of the curriculum. The intention was never to take an extravagant vacation, but rather focus on service work in local communities, experiential learning, as well as cultural and sport engagement. In 2014 and 2018, my men’s soccer team traveled with the women’s volleyball team under the wise leadership of Jeanne Hess, a longtime coach and educator at Kalamazoo College. We were both adamant that we wanted to stretch our players’ intellectual horizons, challenge their perceptions, and expose them to cultures and traditions way outside their comfort zones.
While on these exchange trips in Trinidad and Tobago and South Africa, we landscaped yards at orphanages, painted buildings, conducted camps and clinics for local children, climbed mountains, advocated for social justice, and competed against great teams. Along the way, we ate delicious Bake and Shark sandwiches on Maracas Bay, ate mangoes, drank coconuts fresh off the tree, and sucked on juicy sugarcane stalks as we listened to island folktales about La Diablesse, Douens and Soucouyant women who possess the ability to transform themselves into a ball of light for nighttime escapades.
In Tobago, the island of my grandfather, we swam in the glorious Nylon Pool and rubbed magical sand on our skin to reverse the effects of aging. In Cape Town, Robben Island, Knysna and George, we basked in the awe-inspiring beauty of the winelands, re-lived the terror of Madiba’s (Nelson Mandela) imprisonment, felt reduced under the spiritual weight of the mountains on the coastal drives, and most importantly, we encountered some most extraordinary people like Mama Rosie, a CNN Hero, at Baphumelele Orphanage. On both travel occasions, we became students to many who lacked the material riches that we possessed, but who were gracious enough to teach us greater lessons of respect, integrity, and humility.
Perhaps the most enduring image of those trips, (other than Bobby Dennerll’s firm determination to never once turn and consider the view on his climb up Table Mountain, such was his fear of heights,) was Mikey Schwartz’s, another one of the players, devotion to the children at Baphumelele orphanage. After spending several hours entertaining and being entertained by the young children there, Mikey, our hard-nosed, all conference defender, broke down and cried in raw anguish when it was time for us to leave. He struggled to board the bus and stood for a while, holding on to the children and sobbing loudly. This soul to soul connection is what Jeanne and I had always envisioned when we created these trips. We were not naïve enough to think that we could change the world with a two-week trip abroad. We simply hoped to plant a seed of exploration, curiosity, and empathy into the hearts and minds of our athletes, hoping that the beauty we wanted to see would eventually manifest over time. There is not a day that goes by when I wish we couldn’t do the same for all of America.
As a coach, I have always been calculated in my approach to team and program building, both in sporting as well as cultural terms. I have always insisted, even when I haven’t always gotten it right, on academic excellence, hard work, integrity, and values based on mutual trust, respect for differences, and fraternity. Those are non-negotiable. I have discovered that I would rather lose games than surrender them. Another key aspect that I have always insisted upon is diversity. Over the years, my teams have comprised of student athletes from Jamaica, Colombia, Greece, Germany, South Korea, Nigeria, Mexico, Malta, Afghanistan, and the US. Diversity is very important to me because my own life experiences have taken me all over the world and I’ve benefited immeasurably from these interactions. I am richer, more enlivened, and certainly more knowledgeable, and I knew very early on that I wanted the same for my players. I want my Midwestern farm boys to have as much value as the Los Angeles city slickers. I want Nigerian Jollof to be as celebrated and as much loved as Mexican Tacos and American Apple Pie. I do not want us to be color-blind. I want us to see, honor, respect, and celebrate our differences. One of my happiest moments occurred in 2016, when my South Korean lad, Dahwi Kim, invited a few of his Midwestern teammates to spend Christmas with his family in Cheonan, Korea. I was happy because I knew that my American players would be exposed to a different way of living and celebrating traditions, and in an evolving global culture based upon inter-connectivity, their shared experiences would assist in breaking down barriers to future cooperation, while allowing for new possibilities to emerge.
Since the publication of my first essay, “I Am Done Running”, I have received numerous emails from many well-meaning people, colleagues as well as strangers. My Black friends expressed their gratitude for shedding valuable light on many of the issues that they themselves are forced to confront on a daily basis, and my white friends, almost unanimously so, express their horror and vow to stand with me in solidarity. I am grateful and appreciative of both responses, but the different approaches reveal that we still don’t know or understand much about how each other work, love, or live. We live in two Americas. Separate and unequal. Blind too. Blind to the realities of others; deaf to their pleas for help, and oblivious to their achievements and their history, and as a result, we poke around in the darkness hoping to find a path that works for all of us. Impossible.
Over the past week, I have seen many of my white friends become exasperated by the national protests and having their social media timelines inundated with concerns and issues of Black life. But imagine if you can feel this way after a week, how heavy is it to carry this burden for one’s entire life? Yet, I am also heartened by the many who are stepping forward to unequivocally denounce structural racism and police brutality. This is a fantastic start but I would be honest and say, that the real work of dismantling systematic oppression and inequality has only just begun. In order to bring about the transformation that we all desire, change must first occur at the individual level, and it will require more than lip service and retweeting anti-racist memes. It will require work on all of our parts and to that end, I have a few suggestions, particularly for all of the young people who have reached out to me and asked how they can help. This is by no means a conclusive list and I do not pretend to have all the answers. However I have worked hard at practicing the following commitments, and I am certain that adopting them will also go a long way into making our society better.
1. THE INVITATION COMMITMENT (The Other into Your Space):
Nothing demystifies people who appear to be radically different from each other like purposeful encounters. So, make a concerted effort to reach out to people that are different from you and sit and break bread with them. Inquire about their upbringing, their culture, and values. Share stories, ideas, hopes and aspirations. Discuss your fears and biases, and pave a way forward, despite them. See and honor the differences that exist and begin to celebrate people for who they are. For the past two years, my wife and I have opened our home and invited people in our larger community who have intrigued and fascinated us, to come and share a meal. These encounters have proven to be rich in meaning and deeply satisfying, even if I hate doing the dishes afterwards. One of our past guests, Mrs. M, an older white lady is a loyal Trump supporter, and that may be the only difference that we have between us. We managed to listen to each other and respectfully disagree over the Presidency, but found common ground on gardening, faith and food. And for her part, Mrs. M has my wife to thank for discovering the delectable joy of eating a sweet homegrown mango. Another one of our guests happened to be a classically trained violinist from Poland who rehearses between 10–16 hours a day, and her discipline, dedication to her craft, and expertise have proven to be inspirational to my family in our own creative pursuits. I humbly suggest that you do something of the same. Reach out to the “OTHER” and see what you discover. You may find that you have more in common than what separates you. That said, I want you to know that this work will be uncomfortable. It will be difficult. Some in your current circle will question your motives and methods, and you will run the risk of alienating yourself. However, growth is only possible when you are willing and brave enough to step out of your comfort zone. The discomfort will be a sign that you are on the right track. Make the commitment, you will not regret it.
2. THE UNLEARN COMMITMENT:
You have a specific duty to educate yourself beyond what you’ve been formally taught in school. The entire orthodoxy of American education limits anyone who is not white to the periphery of humanity and this debasement inherently suggests that other than a few meritorious individuals, Black people have no history, and no culture of achievement to speak of. This generally means that the average white person can float through American life, racially and culturally illiterate. This fosters a belief that Black people take more than they give to this society, and it is this type of deluded thinking that sets the stage for police brutality, the school to prison pipeline, mass incarceration and heavily under-resourced schools and communities. This falsification of history has been a deliberate one and you will have to read, study, and learn outside of the traditional circles to fully come to grasp with the brilliance of others. Truth be told, Black people have a wondrous history of achievement and intellectual curiosity that spans across time and continents. We were so in Africa and continued to be so wherever we landed in the New World. Here in the US, our contributions have been so rich and so varied, that to deny the very existence of these achievements is to deny the foundation of America itself. To that end, there are several great documentaries, podcasts, and books readily available online. Please begin with those or connect with me privately and I would suggest a few noteworthy titles.
3. THE DONATION COMMITMENT:
After you’ve invited and been invited by the “OTHER” into each other’s respective spaces, and after you’ve spent some time reading, listening, and watching great documentaries to unlearn the BS, you must give generously of your time, talents and resources. This is a price that we all have to pay, and a sacrifice that is worth making. Growing up, I always got angry at my late mother Marilyn, because it seemed that she was always giving away what little we had. Every birthday or holiday was spent preparing food for the homeless or buying school supplies for children who needed them. I hated the amount of work involved and wanted to do other things with my time, but Mom’s generosity of spirit, sincere joy for giving, and boundless happiness at making life better for others gradually won me over.
This past week, I have had more people tell me that they love me than in all the years prior. I understand and respect the sentiment. However, I’ve learned that true love is driven by action, it is not merely a sentiment to be expressed. Love requires sacrifice and there is no better place to start than in your local community with people who desperately need it. If you are a great businessperson, lend your expertise to mentoring others who want to start businesses. Advocate for low income schools to have more resources, organize politically around over-policing, set up accessible farmer’s markets…do something. Give something. Offer what you can. You would be surprised how rewarding this would feel and how impactful your donation could be in changing the society we live in. You do not have to change the entire world all on your own, nor do you have to feel guilty about what happened in the past. Your sole job is to make a real commitment to the idea that Black Lives Matter and committing yourself to a real course of action to make meaningful change for us all.
