Not in 2009!?!

I have been looking forward to introducing my son to team sports since he was born, so knowing he was turning 4 years old last month, I was anxious to get him into tee-ball this year.

Last week I went to pick up his uniform, and I was incredibly excited. That is, until I walked up to the commissioner distributing the garb and was asked for his name. When I told him, he said "Let's see, does he play for the Iroquois or the Sioux? "What?!" I thought to myself. "Hmm, oh, here it is, Mr. Monts ... he plays for the Sioux," he said.

NOOOOO!

I was seriously in shock. How could the Harper Woods Little League dare rain on my parade like that! There is no way in hell this could be really happening, I thought, so I said, "Excuse me?"

He said, again, "Iroquois or Sioux?" Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. These people don't think there's anything wrong with this. How can that be. It's 2009!

But the reality is that my son's Little League still names teams after cultures of people who were here before their ancestors. I'm into diversity and inclusion, I believe in the principles of cultural sensitivity and try to be sensitive to offending people who don't look like me, come from where I come from or believe what I believe. In short, I'm a diversity advocate. Now I have a dilemma.

I have a 4 year old boy who I have placed in a precarious situation. He could care less about playing tee-ball or any other sport. I brought him into the league, and apologies to Bill Cosby, I can take him out. But I'm torn about doing so. I want to protest. I held him out of the annual Harper Woods Little League parade, for which they were picking up their uniforms early. They were to wear them, proudly, while marching Saturday. I took the uniform, but didn't tell him about the parade because he would have wanted to go, and there was no way I was participating in that.

Now I'm pondering my next move. Fortunately, the uniforms only bear the names of the teams and not some ridiculously offensive depiction of a Native American. It's not as bad as the Atlanta Braves or Washington Redskins or Highland Park Blackies. Okay, I made the last one up (sorry HP).

The point is, I wouldn't want someone reducing the existence of African Americans to a mascot. Nor would I want mascot status bestowed upon black people, or people or any other hue -- period. I am also sensitive to situations in which other folks are put into similar positions. It's just wrong.

The dilemma comes into play regarding my next move. Do I involve Roddy in my protest of the league's practice? I would hate to put him on a team and potentially have him ostracized because of my beliefs. But I also would hate to have him be complicit in the league's obvious insensitivity.

I think I'm going to have him play the season with tape over the word "Sioux" to call attention to my objection to the reference. I am also going to ask other parents of players to do the same.

It's time to take a stand. What do you think?

Rethinking justice

A few weeks ago I wrote about a "driving while black" incident I suffered through while heading downriver to a meeting for work . Today, I had my day in court. It was interesting.


I expected to see many people who were caught up like me, and I saw quite a few. I also saw many who did not.


I'm not sure I stand corrected, because what I realized was that River Rouge is a giant speed trap. My confidence in that began to grow as I approached the courthouse and had to swerve to avoid a police cruiser pulling over a motorist. The driver had my sympathy.


Inside the courtroom there were about 30 people there and most were black. Most were there for speeding, and most, like me, pleaded to a lesser charge, got no points in return and eventually headed back home or on to their jobs. One case struck me though.


It was that of a teen who apparently had a run-in with police and didn't act respectfully. He was dressed in hip hop gear and didn't look like he came prepared to atone for anything in particular.


But the book was a bit different than the cover. The young brother had been ordered to complete some community service type stuff and keep his nose clean, which the judge praised him for doing. The judge also admonished him to let go of his anger toward authorities and straighten up before he ended up in another confrontation that could end up much worse. The young man had served 18 days, the judge said, as he warned him not to end up in front of his bench again. Then, the judge told him his record would be wiped clean because he realized his mistake and took steps to get his life back on the right track. The young man politely, respectfully thanked the judge and walked meekly out of the courtroom.


Back in the day


I was reminded of the environment myself and other young black men like me in west Michigan faced while in college. There were a number of young brothers who found themselves away from home at Grand Valley for the first time, in a community that didn't necessarily embrace them. Like teens and young adults will do from time to time, many got in minor trouble. But few were cut breaks. Most ended up with some type of permanent scar on their records, and some landed in jail. They weren't given opportunities to establish clean slates. As a result, I eventually lost count of the number of kids who ended up leaving school, and I sat there today wondering what their lives ended up being like.


Then I started rethinking justice. While I still think I was singled out in my stop, I also had some respect for the judge who gave the teen in the hip hop outfit a break. I thought about justice, and fairness. Not sure my stop was fair, but I'll take the justice meted out.


I hope the kid takes advantage of his.