Corporate America is trying to ruin Juneteenth — just like “Swag Surf” and countless things before it. That’s why Gayle King had to joke about “The only white guy at the table is off todayon Monday’s episode cbs morning. And why Major League Baseball — a sport that consistently gets it wrong when it comes to dealing with race — feels like they’re doing a good job of celebrating the holidays.
A guilty person always thinks he is innocent.
Over the weekend, festivities took place in Boston, Oakland, Arizona, Seattle, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., to name a few, as programs, exhibits, and songs were all part of the festivities to celebrate white — and some black — Only found out about a few years ago.
“I’ve been really impressed with the Red Sox organization and what they’ve done to really make sure our city is healed, making sure we right the wrongs of the past,” Jenny Kim says, the city’s former mayor, and the first black woman and person to hold the title. “It’s been great to see, we need to do more.”
That’s cute. But the way African-Americans have been treated in Major League Baseball has always been ugly. That’s why their “June Awakening” was a slap in the face. There’s a lot more they can do than pregame festivities and having blacks sing black songs to a stadium full of whites.
Only 6.1% of players Opening day list for the season is black, According to USA TODAY Sports. That number is the lowest percentage since 1955, when the league was 89.8 percent white. Reports at the time went on to say that five teams in the league did not have a single black player on their rosters, while nine others had only one. It’s as if all the money and brainpower spent figuring out how to celebrate Juneteenth could be used elsewhere, like getting more black people on the field and in the stands.
of 81 players Of the players selected to last season’s All-Star Game, only five were African-American.only 7.2% of African-American-born players On the Opening Day roster last season, down from 7.6 percent in 2021.Last season’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros was also For the first time since 1950, there will be no black American-born players in the Fall Classic.
These are examples of how dire the plight of black people in baseball has been for decades, and yet, you’ll still find many who think the league should be praised for their “effort” because someone like Chuck D may have a soft spot for the sport.
“I just thought the kids downtown today were left out of the game period, and there weren’t that many players in the first place,” said Milwaukee Brewers All-Star game approach devon williams Tell usa today sports earlier this year.
“We need to do a better job of making the sport a cooler sport that appeals to young people instead of being stuck like it was in the old days.”
Kids can detect crap* from a mile away, which is probably why MLB’s “diversity efforts” aren’t working as fast as they’d like them to. It takes more than celebrating a holiday to gain the trust of a group of people you’ve underestimated for decades.
In 2016, Delaware – the nation’s first state – ex-gOvernor (Jack Markle) Signed a resolution formally apologizing for slavery. It’s a pointless gesture that makes white people feel good about themselves. Over the weekend and yesterday, Major League Baseball — The oldest professional sports league in the country — holding Juneteenth celebrations as if they could erase past and present, atrocities against black people in that sport. They are pointless gestures to make white people feel like themselves.
There’s nothing wrong with celebrating Juneteenth, but it’s not right if Juneteenth and February (Black History Month) are the only times you celebrate black culture. Seeing more black faces on the field and in the stands is the answer, not more rhythm-man pregame performances.