Recently, a Jalen Rose produced film about the Fab Five of the University of Michigan aired on tv.
In it, members of the Fab Five accused Duke players as being "Uncle Tom's" and worse.
In response, a former Duke player, Grant Hill, had this to say:
In response, a former Duke player, Grant Hill, had this to say:
"To hint that those who grew up in a household with a mother and father are somehow less black than those who did not is beyond ridiculous."
see http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.
It also reminded me of the episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where Carlton attempts to join the same fraternity as Will.
see http://www.youtube.com/watch?
What the clip doesn't show is the reaction of Uncle Phil when he hears about the frat not accepting Carlton.
"You know, this really irritates me. I have worked very hard to give my family a good life, and suddenly, somebody tells me there's a penalty for success? I'm sorry you had to go through that, son. When are we going to stop doing this to each other?"
Personally, I believe there is a way to be proud of the accomplishments made in our personal lives without trying to elevate ourselves above those who may come from other, seemingly better, situations. We can, and do, all try to better ourselves and our situations.
I watched the film when it was shown on ESPN, and I was taken back by Jalen's comment toward Grant Hill and the Duke basketball team. I appreciate the fact that he was honest in the interview, but was a little disappointed that he would have those feelings toward somebody solely on the basis that they came from a family that was successful economically. It would be one thing if those feelings were based on how Grant Hill as a person, but it wasn't. He resented him simply because he was black and had an intact family. I agree with Derek when he says that "there is a way to be proud of the accomplishments made in our personal lives without trying to elevate ourselves above those who may come from other, seemingly better, situations."
ReplyDeleteI've never been in the same situation, but I think that it just goes to show that this is more of a class issue than a race issue. Also, I think I have felt discriminated against at least policy-wise, at least similarly to Carlton. He wasn't able to go to a certain fraternity because he had certain economic privileges that weren't expected for people of his color. I was denied financial aid because I apparently had made too much money while I was working full-time and going to school. I think that it is completely ludicrous to penalize me for trying to be financially independent and stay out of debt, while other people who have not tried to be as independent as I have are allowed to go to school free of charge. All that is doing is ensuring that it will be harder for me to be financially successful later on in life because it'll take a long time to pay off my school loans.
ReplyDeleteClass can be a very discriminatory thing. Certain restaurants and establishments discriminate on people's perceived level of wealth.
ReplyDeleteI feel like it is important to be proud of our accomplishments. It helps our confidence to grow. We need to be humble though. We can be proud of what we do, but shouldn't be prideful.
As President Uchtdorf said, We don’t discover humility by thinking less of ourselves; we discover humility by thinking less about ourselves. We need to be confident but not gloat about what we have or what we have done.
Let me just say kudos Derek for finding a way to bring sports into the class, and kudos for the Fresh Prince of Bel-air Shout out!
ReplyDeleteI agree. I don't think that it is necessary for one group to be stigmatized by a particular set of criteria. Just because someone who is black and grew up in a home environment that may be different that what others of his/her peers grew up in doesn't mean that they are somehow different and can't relate.