Imagine if top black athletes avoided schools like Florida for fighting DEI

MLK wasn’t the just one who had a dream. At least he should not be the just one.

Black Thought has visions of “Nat Turner holding his master’s head – like Yorick and Horatio in Hamlet – hitting it like a tennis racket, sneaky” Others of us provide you with less brutal scenarios, perhaps just construct something that may leave a legacy for our offspring, perhaps hug the arms of our white cousins ​​and sing Kumbaya.

Here’s one which some black grandparents like to assume:

Imagine if top black prep athletes in football and basketball – money-making sports – decided to reject PWIs and selected HBCUs as a substitute. This version of the great old days would cause seismic changes to the annual list of schools that select within the NFL/NBA draft.

We can reject this dream since it just isn’t happening. Should not.

American institutions like PWI were built on our backs, with blood, tears and uncompensated sweat. If we desire it, we deserve the chance to benefit from the fruits of this labor, to enjoy the abundance of resources and exquisite amenities. It’s called freedom of alternative and other people have died for this right.

However, I like to bring up the faces of, say, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Alabama Governor Kay Ivey if Black athletes ever determine to be denied scholarships from the Florida Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide. These players may not select FAMU or Alabama State instead, but they may keep the flagship universities kicking rocks.

It’s a dream value pursuing.

Sports

The University of Florida recently slowed down each worker we work on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in accordance with state regulations. There is an anti-DEI bill passing through speed Alabama Statehouse, where GOP lawmakers wish to ban public schools from teaching “divisive concepts” reminiscent of equating slavery and racism with the nation’s founding principles.

Never mind that DEI just isn’t nearly race. Forget that the principal beneficiaries are probably white women. The discount helps LGBTQ people or individuals with disabilities. This just isn’t our only fight.

But it’s definitely personal in Florida, Alabama and other states which have passed or proposed DEI bans. We can debate how much we actually are needed here or there, but these places clearly exhibit it. I say let the sensation be mutual.

Let’s see how they like a symbolic finger from our five and 4 star recruits. Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin also disagree.

“I’m Bama’s biggest fan though,” Woodfin sent“I have no problem with organizing activities for Black parents and athletes at other institutions outside the state where diversity and inclusion are a priority.” (I give passes to Alabama A&M and the state’s 13 other HBCUs to contemplate as options.)

Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and former All-American at Florida, blasted his alma mater for gutting the DEI office. “I am completely disgusted by UF’s decision and the precedent it sets,” he said sent. “…To the MANY minority athletes at UF, please be aware of this decision by the University that is now closing its doors to other minorities without any oversight and speaking out about it.”

Woodfin asked whether “leadership, athletic directors and coaches” supported a DEI ban. I’m sure they’ll say, “Hell no!” to maintain the pipeline flowing. However, their principal concern is athletes, versus other students (and school) who profit from anti-racist policies.

We must be sure that all black bodies are welcome, not only those with exceptional size, speed and strength. “If promoting inclusion becomes illegal in this state,” Woodfin wrote, “you might as well be standing at the school door like Governor Wallace.”

In his 1963 inaugural address, Wallace called for “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever” and blocked entry to the university months later when black students tried to enroll. DeSantis and his ilk imagine that even mentioning such truths is divisive. He makes Dixiecrats proud along with his rants about reverse racism, appointment that “DEI is toxic and has no place in our public universities.”

But there’s room for defenders and playmakers. I see.

Florida they usually insist on saying the silent part out loud, wanting to dash our hopes of welcome, inclusion, and acceptance. They will extend open arms if we wear a suit, but not a lot if we are only studying or studying.

There is little doubt about how I might feel (or how I might want my child to feel) as a sought-after recruit: You all can take your scholarship offer and decline it. I hope it happens.

How does this relate to sleep?