LeBron James' master class on race in America
Basketball icon LeBron James' admission in a press conference on Wednesday that "being black in America is tough" has refocused a national and global spotlight on race matters in America.
"No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you," James explained, racism continues to thrive here. James' declaration came on the eve of the NBA Finals and in the wake of an incident in which his Los Angeles home was vandalized with racist graffiti. The targeting of perhaps the world's best known athlete with racial slurs that included the n-word, turned the NBA Finals media day into a seminar on the contours of racial oppression in America.
James told the reporters that his primary concern is explaining the situation -- and the historical connections it evokes -- to his three children. The questions went unspoken, but they might have included the following: What kind of world am I raising my three black children in? If a sports and cultural icon on my level cannot shield his children and protect his family from the most vulgar kind of racial hatred imaginable, what does this say about American society in 2017?
http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/01/opinions/lebron-james-race-in-america-joseph-opinion/index.html