Racism: The belief that race accounts for differences in character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Recently, Donald Sterling, LA 'Clippers' NBA basketball team owner asked his girlfriend/confidant/employee (not sure of her status); "Don't bring your 'Black' friends to my (LA Clippers') games." His request is an obvious act of discrimination based upon his racist-bigoted-prejudices.
Several years ago, Larry Bird (White basketball player) led the Boston 'Celtics' versus the Detroit 'Pistons' team led by (Black basketball players) Isiah Thomas and Dennis Rodman. After a tough defeat suffered by Detroit in game six of the NBA Finals, Rodman said, "If Bird was a Black player, he would just be another good guy." The inference suggesting that Bird's reputation as a great basketball player was perpetuated by the 'white media.' Thomas publicly agreed with Rodman's racist statement.
It is apparent to me that the ONE thing 'whites' and 'blacks; do share in common is our ability to ignore that part of MLK's dream of one day having folks judged by the content of character and ability without interjecting our deep-seeded ethnocentric attitudes, which too often surface with ugly racist statements. Shame on us!
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