The entire country came to a grinding halt two and a half weeks ago when racist terrorist Dylann Roof gunned down nine innocent Black people in Charleston, South Carolina’s historical Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. This national tragedy sparked yet another debate about the current state of race relations in this country, and may have potentially spawned and string of attacks on Black churches in the South. Since the shooting, seven churches in five states have caught fire. Coincidence? Could be, but we’re not that naive, especially considering it’s been reported that part of Roof’s motive was to incite a new Civil War.
The events in Charleston brought out the best in two of the South’s favorite sons. Atlanta, GA native and Carolina Panther’s quarterback Cam Newton visited some of the families of the slain in the aftermath of the shooting. Newton, who has been often criticized for his immaturity on and off the field, met with families of at least two victims. While he felt it was his duty to pay his respects, Newton didn’t wish to make a big deal about it, as he briefly stated during the Cam Newton Foundation’s 7v7 Tournament at Charlotte’s Olympic High School.
Sidebar: Panthers owner Jerry Richardson also publicly stated the team is donating $10,000 to each of the families of the victims, as well as to Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Another athlete, Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard, is of a similar stature: a larger than life figure who also hails from ATL, was the number one overall pick of the draft of his sport and has been criticized heavily for his lack of maturity. Howard too decided it was appropriate to pay his respects to the fallen by attending a candlelight vigil for Emmanuel AME. Approximately 1,000 people were in attendance, including the three-time Defensive Player of the Year, who did so as part of his Breath Again initiative, which per the Huffington Post, he started as an organizational grassroots movement for race-based social change.
Newton said he “would’ve had to question myself if I didn’t go”, while Howard stated, “That could’ve been me.” Howard launched Breathe Again in January, while Newton’s charity work through his Cam Newton Foundation has, to quote Bleacher Report, “is becoming the stuff of legend in the Charlotte area“.
These guys get it. Still attempting to figure it out though is NASCAR, whose entire sport (that word is used loosely) has been dedicated to serving a demographic that includes many people who still support the confederate flag and what it stands for. The flag itself has come under fire of late as it appeared in multiple photos of Roof. NASCAR has done its best to distance itself from the flag in recent days. The racing league has stated it will ask fans not to overtly display the flag — which until now is a fairly common practice at NASCAR events — and if they do so, they may be asked to leave. Daytona International Speedway will also offer a flag exchange program for fans wishing to trade the controversial flag for a union-recognized non-treasonist American flag.
NASCAR is absolutely doing the right thing, but it’s worth pointing out that none of these actions would’ve taken place if not for this shooting. Newton and Howard have been doing work to positively impact the community in the South, but why do nine Black people have to die in NASCAR’s backyard in 2015 before this racing league awakens from its comatose state and realizes having the confederate flag brandished at their events might not be the best thing?
While climate often dictates action, there’s something to be said for having foresight, empathy and racial/cultural awareness. Would NASCAR have taken this action had Roof committed the same atrocity, but no pictures of him with the confederate flag existed? The flag didn’t just become a universal symbol of hate, bigotry and oppression two weeks ago. Sadly, to this point it doesn’t appear that NASCAR or any of its drivers have reached out to the families of the victims. It also doesn’t even appear NASCAR is enforcing the new flag policies it has adopted.
The social media-mob mentality we live with nowadays is often irresponsible, dangerous and annoying. But it took all this and the loss of nine lives to finally get NASCAR moving in the right direction. Here’s to hoping all other groups and or leagues take some self-inventory and considers what they may or may not be endorsing that could be overtly offensive before nine (or even one) life has to be lost.
Newton and Howard both are natives of and work in the South— they’re aware of the historical impact of race within that community. NASCAR is apparently still a work-in-progress, but we’ll need to see the work before we’ll ever see the progress.
Happy Independence Day.