DLD 1/21/08 Thank You Dr. King
by theblackpearl on Jan 21, 2008 10:45 AM PST
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PrintBlez,
This is not going to be at all baseball related, and if you feel it needs to be deleted, I will have no objections.
As an African-American male, today has as much significance to me, as any other day of the year. His foresight, and struggle along with others,has allowed me to interact with the great people of this blog. I remember as a child, listening to my grand parents talk about him, and the pride that was exuded from a group of people with meager financial means. As I grew older, and into my school years, the more years went by the less they talked about Dr. King, and basically, Civil Rights started and ended with President Lincoln freeing the slaves. I have watched his speech more times than my favorite movie.
I have mentioned the worst racial incident in my life, but I am going to divulge the full details in this special, for me, DLD. I will leave this with a few links about Dr. King. Including his speech.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080120/ap_on_re_us/mlk_legacy
I was a Sophomore in High School 1985. I was living in St.Charles, Mo. I was attending St.Charles West High School. It was a Friday night, and the JV Basketball team finished practice and me and my best friend were going home to shower and change to go to the Varsity game. We were going to pick up a classmate. She was a friend of mine, in a couple of classes, but she was better friends with my friend. We get to her house, and she wasn't ready, and I was still in the car. She told me to come in and wait, so I went in. I said good evening ma'am to her mother, she just smiled and didn't say anything, but I didn't think anything of it. We went to the game, had a good time, you know the old high school games. We dropped her off at home, and went to our apartment complex. I was spending a night at his house, because we were going fishing the next morning. We were in the complex parking lot, talking and laughing and listening to music, when a car pulls up. We turned down the music thinking one of our neighbors called the cops, but it was out friend we just dropped off. She gets out of the car crying, and calls my friend over. She knew him better, so again no big deal. She leaves, and then he is in a pissy mood. I ask him what was wrong and he tells me, she had a fight with her dad and he kicked her out of the house. I ask what happened and he wouldn't tell me. We go in his house, and in his bedroom. I am on his older brothers bed, who just shipped out to the Coast Guard. I keep asking him what happened, and he says I don't want to know. I kept badgering him, until he says, she was kicked out of her house because WE were there. I said, " Was she not supposed to have company" some people have stricter rules, I knew. He reluctantly said, " No, she was kicked out of her house because you, a BLACK MAN, was in her house". Here I am a 15 y/o boy, we all think we are MEN in High School, but you quickly realize you are still a child. I am responsible for someone I thought as a friend, to be removed from her own house. I spent the whole night awake, tossing an turning, feeling responsible, but also knowing that there is nothing I can do about the color of my skin. She was eventually let back in her house, but we never spoke again, becuase what could I say. I left that school at the end of that year, but not because of that situation, we just moved again. This year is the 20th reunion for that class, and I wonder what would happen if I went. How did she handle the situation, did here parents hatred and prejudice spread to her, and if she has children what has she taught them. That night was the night THEBLACKPEARL was born. It was a poem I wrote that night, but I no longer remember it by memory, but I do have it, and maybe one day I will share that as well. On this proud day, I felt the need to share this story.
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thanks for this
I usually avoid non-baseball related posts on this blog, but having just listened to several of Dr. King's speeches on the radio, I'm reminded of how important it is to stand up and be counted. As Dr. King said in his last speech "A man can't stand on your back unless it is bent."
Trailblazers tour gym MLK played in
This espn.com article describes the Blazers' tour of Atlanta-area historical sites in advance of their game against the Hawks today. Apparently a Portland front office staffer named Chris Bowles makes a point of scheduling educational field trips to places of particular black history interest on many Portland road trips. Pretty cool.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 21, 2008 11:44 AM PST reply actions
Good on you both.
It's certainly true that neither of you had/has anything to be ashamed-of. And she made an important statement of her values by standing up to the bigotry brought out in her father's edict. Sometimes having to make a choice -- being forced into that fire -- can set the steel of one's character. I hope that was the case for her.
I think a lot of racism has been driven underground, and still more of it is simply subtler than it once was -- the struggle's certainly still out there. There's a particularly poignant chapter in the book "Blink" that talks about unconscious racism -- that had even infected the author, who is of mixed-race ancestry.
There's also this article from Harvard Bus. Review, Dear White Boss, which speaks to the experience of being black in the senior management structure of contemporary corporate America.
Village envy
From the "if one team builds a village then everyone will want one" file:
Matier and Ross report on the Giants plan to pitch SF on village development concept next to AT&T Park.
...the San Francisco Giants are preparing to ask the port for rights to develop the parking lot next to AT&T Park with a ballpark village that features clubs, shops, a garage and even a concert hall....
the Giants are teaming up with Farallon Capital Management and Cordish Co. of Maryland to propose a $250 million mixed-used development that includes a parking structure.
The concert and performing arts hall, which could also double as a symposium center for nearby UCSF at Mission Bay, would help keep that garage filled year-round.
Cordish is currently building a similar $650 million ballpark village next to St. Louis' new Busch Stadium.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 21, 2008 12:15 PM PST reply actions
They will probably all have theirs built before
the A's will.
by theblackpearl on Jan 21, 2008 12:18 PM PST up reply actions
Maybe
Maybe the A's and Giants will both play at AT&T Park???? (just a littl humor... or is it?)
by Colorado Fan on Jan 21, 2008 3:52 PM PST up reply actions
Only one of those teams plays.
The other just is.
Speaking of the world today...
In the past year, my dad and I have been working on a show together. It's about this world as it is, and how we can live in it. We just put up a video about it, introducing the show and showing the prologue video from the show. Check it out if you like:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu...
Here is our website: http://www.notthisday.com
so the a's are spending money
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...
the rest of the article is useless, but:
The new course of action was charted last October, shortly after the A's had concluded thier worst season since 1998. Beane sat down with Forst and others and conducted a top-to-bottom organizational review, its first in years. A new strength coach was brought in to try and figure out why players were having such a huge problem with injuries. The A's also hired five new area scouts, adding to a staff that had become one of the smallest in the league, and re-sectioned the country to get better coverage, too. They increased their scouting budget in Latin America and elsewhere internationally, and have earmarked more money for signing bonuses.
again with the $75M-$80M '08 payroll?!?
despite a payroll that will be somewhere between $75-80 million
Now, Donovan mentions this just before citing something else from Shea's interview with Wolff from the Chron, so perhaps it's nothing but the MSM-columnist "telephone" game in action ("Well, John Shea has a HOF vote, so everything he writes must be true. I'll run with it.").
But I still want to know -- where's the extra $25M-$30M going?
Some REALLY big draft picks.
We're going to sign every Boras client. Market inefficiency and all that.
Presumably this info comes from Forst
since he's the one quoted at length elsewhere in the article. It'd nice interesting to compare those budget increases to the payroll savings, though probably impossible. The picks and contracts from June's draft will be illuminating.
by FreeSeatUpgrade on Jan 21, 2008 1:28 PM PST up reply actions
There's no way the overall baseball budget
isn't going down significantly this year.
They're looking at at least a $20m drop in payroll (and I assume several million more in savings on payroll taxes). I can't imagine the increases in scouting, latin america, signing bonuses could even account for half of that.
Considering...
...that the dollar is almost worth less than the peso now, I bet that latin american scouting is getting quite expensive.
by methodrampage on Jan 21, 2008 2:43 PM PST up reply actions
Good stuff
I am a big history buff, and "personal history" via personal narratives are the best.
This was a good idea, to honor this man on this day with your story. It is "baseball-related" in a sense, considering the problems MLB had with integrating the game. All the greats who never had a chance...it still anguishes me.
Dusty Baker grew up in California. He never experienced any "overt" racism. I'm sure, just the subtle kind was still there. He went to Carmichael High in Sacramento, and was the only black kid enrolled. He was also student body president and a multi-sport star.
When he joined the Atlanta Braves organization, he was shocked and mad about what went on in the South. He was going to fight it, and he was angry.
This was in the late 1960s. It shows that your story and time were related to baseball, indeed.
by One won lost won on Jan 21, 2008 12:24 PM PST reply actions
I didn't put the years, but that was in 1985 my
Sophomore year.
by theblackpearl on Jan 21, 2008 12:34 PM PST up reply actions
Last good one for MLK Jr. Day
=================
"At a long-ago political do . . . in Austin, everybody who was anybody was there meetin' and greetin' at a furious pace. A group of us got the tired feet and went to lean our butts against a table at the back wall of the bar. Perched like birds in a row were Bob Bullock, then state comptroller, moi, Charles Miles, the head of Bullock's personnel department, and Ms. Ann Richards. Bullock, 20 years in Texas politics, knew every sorry, no good sumbitch in the entire state. Some old racist judge from East Texas came up to him, 'Bob, my boy, how are you?"
Bullock said, 'Judge, I'd like you to meet my friends: This is Molly Ivins with the Texas Observer.'
The judge peered up at me and said, 'How yew, little lady?'
Bullock, 'And this is Charles Miles, the head of my personnel department.' Miles, who is black, stuck out his hand, and the judge got an expression on his face as though he had just stepped into a fresh cowpie. He reached out and touched Charlie's palm with one finger, while turning eagerly to the pretty, blond, blue-eyed Ann Richards. 'And who is this lovely lady?'
Ann beamed and replied, 'I am Mrs. Miles.'"
Clearly, Molly loved her friends.
by One won lost won on Jan 21, 2008 9:32 PM PST up reply actions
Ann Richards is truly one of the better people
our great country has produced.
Had I been a Dixie Chick and were I from the Lone Star State, she would have been more than enough reason for me to still be proud to be from Texas.
I would have voted for her for Prez in a second.
But, alas, her political career ended when Karl Rove started push polling questions to voters like, "How do you feel about the news that Ann Richards may be a lesbian?"
I guess that sort of thing is why there are so few good people in politics nowadays.
That's an odd push poll ... since she actually
was a lesbian ...
You're a lesbian.
You and ...
Youtube anime version here. nsfw.
by The Dogfather on Jan 22, 2008 4:47 PM PST up reply actions
Simpsons
Okay, well, now that this nobly-based ...
... thread has been properly de-based with several references to the copular pullture, are we done?
by The Dogfather on Jan 23, 2008 9:09 AM PST up reply actions
I was lucky enough
to play the W.C. Handy Blues Music Awards Show in May with Frankie Lee back in May. My wife and I made a vacation out of it and went to many points of interest, but this was one of the most solemn and moving -- the Loraine Hotel where MLK was shot. There is a wreath on the deck where he fell. Here's my pic:
by LawDaddy on Jan 21, 2008 12:28 PM PST reply actions
Back in *Memphis, sorry
by LawDaddy on Jan 21, 2008 12:29 PM PST up reply actions
The Black Pearl...
Blez... I really hope you see fit to leave this DLD, because with what this day signifies... I can't think of a better DLD to post.
Great job The Black Pearl!
by AthleticsPTBNL on Jan 21, 2008 12:55 PM PST reply actions
Thank you for sharing...
Awesome story, BP
I'm not black, but my wife is. That we are able to be married is due in part to the struggle that Dr King led. For that, I am truly thankful.
One of the most memorable experiences ...
of my life:
I was at a potluck party for my club swimming team. I was maybe 14 or 15, so it was the mid 90s.
I made this elderly couple, mid 70s or so.
The fellow introduced his wife and himself as newlyweds. Everyone started to talk about how cute that was ... until he clarified ... newlyweds of 50 years.
Now, as if that part wasn't great enough, I've left out a key detail. The lady was white. The gentleman was black. They were married shortly after he returned from Europe in WWII heading into one of the most racially divisive eras America has seen ...
Love can overcome.
Good story, Pearl. Thanks for sharing.
Awesome DLD.
updated list of players attending fanfest!
Over 20 A's players and coaches are expected to be in attendance for Oakland A's FanFest 2008 including Manager Bob Geren and his coaching staff, along with players Bobby Crosby, Huston Street, Rich Harden, Mark Ellis, Daric Barton, Joe Blanton, Jerry Blevins, Dallas Braden, Andrew Brown, Rob Bowen, Travis Buck, Jack Cust, Chris Denorfia, Lenny DiNardo, Justin Duchscherer, Alan Embree, Dana Eveland, Chad Gaudin, Jack Hannahan, Dan Johnson, Kevin Melillo, Dan Meyer, Donnie Murphy and Kurt Suzuki among others.
BoCro made it through the honeymoon without
<cough> <cough> pulling something.
by theblackpearl on Jan 21, 2008 2:19 PM PST up reply actions
If he's married now...
..he's going to have to learn very soon to be happy pulling something.
Honey? Is it April yet?
Apparently you made efficient use of your ...
... opportunities. Carpe ovum!
by The Dogfather on Jan 22, 2008 11:27 AM PST up reply actions
Two from two.
Looks like...
Crosby's going to do the half/half thing again because the Long Beach State Alumni Game is on the same day and according to their website, he's scheduled to be there.
Every umpire in the league?
Thanks for writing this, theblackpearl
I'd love to live in a society where that kind of story wouldn't be believable.
Nick, meet Canada. Canada? Nick.
There's an African American comedian who works up here, likes to talk about how he loves being in Canada, because whenever there's a crime committed, he knows the cops are on the look out for a "white male"...
Of course, that also means that if ever a black guy does commit a crime up here, he's going to be right down to the police station saying "it wasn't me, it was the other black guy."
Side note: My neighbour is from Vietnam. She reads the news on one of the network TV stations up here with a guy from India. I likes me some Canada.
Believe me, I've thought about it
Give it a try.
I made the move when I got hitched and it ended up costing me $3k through a lawyer. I've probably got double that just in free health coverage since.
When you got hitched
I guess you had to give up "Toronto" then.
{adds "going to Toronto" to euphemism list}
What I wouldn't give for a little....
Careful you don't Saskatchesomething.
make sure you wear your Medicine Hat
Hope she's got a Moose Jaw.
For your Spillimacheen?
by The Dogfather on Jan 24, 2008 9:11 AM PST up reply actions
Sadly, no.
You Win-dsor.
by The Dogfather on Jan 24, 2008 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
In the spirit of today, and all gods children
walking hand in hand. I present the Urban Mailbag, with no editorial.
If we're trading everyone away, why don't we get rid of Harden and Crosby? Those guys have given the A's nothing for years.
-- Denny H., Millbrae, Calif.If you were a general manager, what would you give Billy Beane for Harden or Crosby right now? Probably not much, right? I think you have the answer to your own question.
My youtube keeps skipping at about 11 minutes.
Anybody know if it's me or them?
It's not you, it's me.
mikeA might have the number for
a clown dating service...
he does, but it's not what you think
They're a science lab that performs radiolabeled carbon tests on recently discovered fossilized clowns to determine how old they are.
clown fossil
Thanks, *T*bp...
baseball-related, sort-of
- Unlike in 1971, the Oakland A's are decidedly not on the cusp of winning three World Series in a row. Seriously, I love my A's and I love Billy Beane. But the team of minor leaguers they're fielding this year is gonna lose at least 90 games.
peter gammons mentions AN in his blog!
The fact is that we all know more about baseball because of the proliferation of creative thought. Run through Baseball Think Factory, The Baseball Analysts, Squawking Baseball, Sabernomics, Beyond the Box Score, Dan Agonistes, John Sickels' minorleagueball.com. For everything, Deadspin.
Unfortunately, time keeps most of us from getting to those sites specific to teams. It's amazing how many club officials read USS Mariner (Seattle), Fire Brand of the American League (Boston), Ducksnorts (San Diego), Athletics Nation (Oakland), Viva El Birdos (St. Louis), Lone Star Ball (Texas), River Ave. Blues (Yankees), MetsBlog.com, FishStripes (Florida), Dodger Thoughts, Bronx Banter (great writing), The LoHud Yankees Blog, Reds Reporter (Cincinnati), Bleed Cubbie Blue, Brew Crew Ball (Milwaukee) and more.
Club officials don't read Lookout Landing?
Sad, really.
Amazing story TBP
I can't believe that happened in the 80s. When I first read it I thought it was the 50s or something!
I hope America has changed...
by BruceBochte on Jan 21, 2008 7:52 PM PST reply actions
Feh.
After 9/11 (which was admittedly a time that people were on edge), I was living in Vegas, and would regularly get folks yelling out their truck windows as they drove by, something in the vein of "go home, raghead."
Now sure, I have a tan, and on occasion a unibrow. But I'm a white guy from Australia.
I also had the all too pleasant experience of an old couple asking if they could switch seats on a plane once they saw that they were due to sit next to me.
The gentleman explained to the stewardess, in earshot mind you, that his wife was 'uncomfortable' sitting next to 'a brown guy.'
I wanted to ask if he was unaware that my shoe-bomb would kill the entire plane, rather than just those sitting next to me, but that might have caused a problem.
they just thought you were the Unibrowbomber
One of the great things about travel ...
... is that it gets you out of your comfort zone -- to places where folks may not want to sit next to you because you do look like a Caucasian with a tan.
As "they" say -- the fish is the last one to know he's in the water. It's healthy and growthful to get out of the water from time to time.
by The Dogfather on Jan 22, 2008 11:26 AM PST up reply actions
Last time I was a blind pig.
I'd call you a dog, but... well, hello redundant.
Cripes -- just saw this. I was just musing.
Fish reference was only generic for anyone who's unconscious that he's in the local majority.
by The Dogfather on Jan 24, 2008 5:50 PM PST up reply actions
Great DLD
Thank you TBP for sharing your story.
Your story was a timely reminder...
that even though we share our love of the A's on this blog, the reality of the world touches us sometimes in real ways and I remember the it's only baseball.
Thanks for sharing your story
As an African-American Woman
Black Pearl, I cannot express the depth of my gratitude and admiration for your posting this.
And to Athletics Nation, I am impressed by your sensitivity and respect for this topic. I have seen topics such as this, eviscerated and attempts to discredit it on other boards. You are truly a special group of people.
by Imaseasonticketholder on Jan 21, 2008 9:52 PM PST reply actions
TY for the great DLD BlackPearl
I visited MLK's childhood home, Church, and touched the wagon that pulled his coffin last Aug. in Atlanta. This man was such a blessing to all Americans and I am so grateful for the gift his life brought to this country. He truly was a great man.
I look forward to the day that you feel comfortable enough to share your poem with us. I would enjoy to read the feelings your experience evoked.
The content of our character
As this DLD wraps up, I just want to point out one of the things I really love about Athletics Nation.
Here on this forum there are several members whom I know are black, several whom I know are white, several whom I know are Asian, and several whom I know are Hispanic. I know this not because we talk about race -- in fact, we talk about race very little -- but occasionally something comes up in conversation that tells a little about a person's background.
I honestly don't know of any community, online or offline, where there is such a rich variety of races so well represented, and yet at the same time we pay so little attention to race.
Right here at Athletics Nation we are able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. Right here at Athletics Nation we are living the dream.
Yes, Thank You Dr. King
society is getting better and we can only hope that SHE didn't let her parents beliefs become her own. Stay true BlackPearl your a better person for it.
Rob Neyer answered an A's question, and he must
know different columnists than the ones we read.
Chris (Oakland): Why does Billy Beane get so much grief for rebuilding, when EVERY team has had down years for 3-5 years. including the Yanks, and Red Sox.
Rob Neyer: (1:13 PM ET ) Where's all this grief coming from, exactly? Even most of the local columnists seem to be on board, near as I can tell. Sure, some of the fans won't be happy, but they'll come around in '09 when the A's are back up.
Hm... maybe he means beat writers
Urban and Slusser have been, if not gung-ho, at least open-minded about the rebuild.
The opinion columnists have been much more negative... as they usually are.
Thanks for sharing this, TBP
For those of us who were old enough to be aware of what was going on in 1968, the day Dr. King was murdered is a terrible memory. I think one of the great things about MLK Day is that it allows us to get past that and focus on his life and his accomplishments, as well as how his mission is being interpreted and lived by the generations coming after him.
1968
In "The Glory and the Dream", William Manchester titled the chapter on 1968 as "The Year Everything Went Wrong".
Exceptions:
The A's moved to Oakland that year.
Apollo 8 flew to the moon.
I started kindergarten (which was reason for much rejoicing for my mother).
Garrett Anderson asked me to tell you all
that he won't be posting on this DLD. I'm not GA, so let me say thanks for the story, even if a day late.
P.S. Talked to my mom yesterday about the time she say next to Corretta Scott King in a Chicago church one day in the '60s, innocently chatting with this great lady.
Im hoping the dream is still alive
I was a minority(white kid) that transfered my Sophmore year in 1987 to a mostly African American and Hispanic High School. Lets just say that I got picked on, had to fight and heard many racial slurs about my Mother, my family and myself. I have not only forgive those that made my life a living hell, I now understand like the whites in the South that those people didnt know any better. I just hope and pray that MLK's dream continues to grow as the US changes and we get further away from slavery. I guess the fact that have an open discussion in a forum like this is a very good sign. Peace be to all.
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