First of all, if you love sports and you have a soul, I highly recommend you read some of the work that Marc J. Spears of ESPN does. I cannot lie. That man has moved me to tears several times when I have read his pieces. One that brought me back to childhood today was something he wrote about a Memphis Grizzlies player named Brandon Clarke. As much as I want to summarize the entire article, I will give you just a tidbit or two about it. Then I will send you to theundefeated.com for more good reading.
I do not know a whole lot about Brandon Clarke the Memphis Grizzlies rookie. I know that he could very well be in the top 3 or 5 for Rookie of the Year. He went to Gonzaga University. He was also considered by many experts to have been a steal for the Grizzlies in last Summer's draft. From watching him play, I can tell you that this dude is super duper athletic, which keeps any Grizz fan on the edge of their seat when he has the ball. The kid has a great hoops IQ.
The article shares how Brandon grew up in Canada to a Jamaican born father and a Canadian born mother. Mr. Spears is a great storyteller in the way the he pulls you in with such great detail on an athlete's upbringing. It is also true (based on travel experiences) that there are definitely more biracial families to the north of us in Canada. So as one grows up in Canada they may have no clue what their future teammates were once subjected to being raised down in the southern states.
As I read about the father and son's experience last month at the National Civil Rights Museum, I was reminded of my own childhood. I remember a summer day back in 1992, when my own father took me to the museum. Growing up in Memphis, you definitely spend a lot of time learning about the history that is detailed in this museum. This museum takes you to a whole new level of understanding the civil rights movement. There are things you learn in school, but when you enter a building that contains significant pieces and events in your region's history, then you are transcended back into those buses, those hallways, those restaurants, etc.
An appreciation for history is something that should be passed down through generations. We all have family members that served in wars. They passed their experiences onto us so that we can share them with others once they pass. Some of us have family members, friends, or even teachers that may have participated in the civil rights movement. Just like with those that have served, it is obligatory that their experiences are passed on to further generations. We could go and on with more examples, such as Holocaust survivors, those that have survived wars in Africa, those that lived through Hurricane Katrina, etc.
Thanks to The National Civil Rights Museum the work of Martin Luther King, Jr and many others will not be forgotten. It is up to the men and women of our generations to ensure that those who come after us will understand the history of our great nation and how it got to where it is now. Thanks Marc J. Spears for allowing me to reflect, and realize the impact that fathers can have in terms of understanding history and it how impacts our world today.
Brandon Clarke and The Civil Right's Museum with his dad
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