Society likes to put people on pedestals. Athletes, entertainers, political figures, activists and etc. I studied mythology and the Greek Gods a lot when I was younger and it is human nature to think there are individuals that are “god-like”, when in reality everyone is human.
Because you can shoot a basketball, make a speech or dance really well, doesn’t make you better than anyone else.
Those individuals deal with everyday problems just like we do. Often they have to deal with those problems with the spotlight shining in their face and people praying for them to fall from Mount Olympus. When I was growing up learning about the Civil Rights movement, I was much more interested and drawn to Malcolm X than Martin Luther King Jr.
You could say it was for the same reason I was more drawn to Allen Iverson than Michael Jordan. I could relate more to Malcolm X, while MLK seemed too perfect, docile and peaceful to me. Where I grew up turning the other cheek meant getting hit in the mouth, so I understood by any means necessary much more than keep the peace.
But then I got older and instead of just taking what people said about MLK at face value, I started to dig deeper and what I found is this man who everyone put on a pedestal and made to be perfect, wasn’t perfect at all.
He had issues, just like you and I. Not just issues with Civil Rights, but issues with his marriage, his friends, his business partners and his destructive vices. Imagine being put in a position where any mistake you made could single handedly affect thousands and even millions of people. Imagine that type of pressure of knowing if any of your scandals became public knowledge it could devastate an entire race of people.
It wasn’t so much MLK was turning the other cheek because he wanted to, it was because he understood how his perception could affect the movement. He took that punch for us.
I am sports writer, I am not saving the world or impacting millions of lives, but if there is one thing I learned from Martin Luther King is that sometimes you have to deal internally with your own flaws and take those punches for the benefit of others. Early in my career my initial reaction to being pushed was to push back. But, I learned the hard way that my pushing didn’t just hurt me, but hurt the others behind me. As I was told at an early age, as a black man everything you do and say just doesn’t affect you, but it affect the perception of the next 10 black men someone comes across.
Even if that means protecting the ones who are trying to hold you back. Some of MLK biggest detractors weren’t the FBI or white people, but black people he was trying to make things better for.
I am keenly aware that things aren’t perfect when it comes to race relations in 2014 (just read this piece about Richard Sherman), but they are certainly better than they were in 1964. Recognizing someone who had so much responsibility on their shoulders as MLK, while dealing with the same everyday problems will all have makes you recognized and appreciate the opportunities you have.
I’ve never told this story to anyone, but I think it is important to know in the context of how we should sacrifice for each other. I was contacted by a PR/Credential person about another individual who runs an independent sports blog. They wanted to know if this person was ok to approve a credential for. The blogger hates my guts, don’t know why they just do. I could have shut down their opportunity and maybe if this was a year or two ago I would have, but I vouched for them. I didn’t do it for them, I did it for the person after them and the person after that. I did it because I know how hard it is to make it in this industry. I did it because there are so few African-American in this industry it is sad we routinely are divided against each other. I took that punch so hopefully help someone else dream can come true.
