LeBron James is Living in Reality

By: Zach Draves

Once again a certain segment of the American electorate has made LeBron James their new boogeyman.

Just as they did with Muhammad Ali, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, Mahmoud Abdul Rauf, and Colin Kaepernick, they turn an outspoken black athlete who stays true to his principles and is uncompromising in his values into some sort of demonic character to legimitize a portion of White Americas fears of racial progress.

The truth is a black athlete with a platform and a willingness to speak truth to power is their worst nightmare.

The latest “outrage” is over a tweet that LeBron put out in regards to the recent police shooting of 15-year MaKiya Bryant in Columbus, Ohio that was caught on tape.

He posted “Your Next #Accountability in reference to the officer who shot MaKiya.

While the circumstances surrounding the shooting are being investigated and while it is true that MaKiya was wielding a knife and charging at another girl on the tape, there are still many questions that need to be answered.

Starting with couldn’t there have been another way to intervene without using deadly force?

There are legitimate grievances that are being waged particularly given the current state of policing in America.

But even as the outcome of this case will be determined and as the facts start to come out, we, and when I say we I mean other white people, must do better at empathizing with the pain, hurt, and anger that African Americans feel.

That is the sentiment expressed in LeBron’s tweet and follow up when he stated very clearly “I am tired of black people getting killed by the police.”

In essence, LeBron is trying to clear things up by reminding America to tackle the real issue of police violence.

On a much more larger socio-cultural scale, the failure to address systemic racism is compounded by a similar failure on the part of mainstream society that is obsessed with black cultural genius, style, and aesthetic but then refuses to eradicate the exact suffering that produced a LeBron James.

Whether it is sports, jazz, blues, rock, and roll, or hip hop, the American mainstream wants to capitalize on the culture and do so while conventionally ignoring and downplaying racial inequities in everything from the criminal justice system to environmental conditions.

In other words, loving black culture is not the same as loving black people.

It is also worth pointing out that LeBron has time after time put his money where his mouth is when it comes to social justice.

His I Promise School in his hometown of Akron has become a model for how to tend to the basic needs of young people in education.

(Courtesy: People.com)

The More Than a Vote initiative that he created this past election cycle recruited an army of new voters, poll workers, and helped drive voters into record numbers at the polls.

(Courtesy: Clutchpoints)

His team is active on the ground combating these voter suppression bills popping up in states such as Georgia, Florida, Arizona.

Those are two significant institutions that LeBron has developed that are leading to much-needed change.

We can go as far back as 2012 when he and the Miami Heat stood in solidarity with Travyon Martin.

(Courtesy: Bleacher Report)

He took the court wearing the now-iconic “I Can’t Breathe” shirt to honor the life of Eric Garner in 2014.

(Courtesy: Bleacher Report)

His LeBron James Family Foundation provides scholarships for young people to go to college.

(Courtesy: Bleacher Report)

He has done the work and then some.

Also, he is not finished and he will continue to find ways to effect change, something that his most ardent critics have absolutely no record to stand on.

Which goes to show the overall thesis which is that they cannot stand to see a black athlete who won’t be baited into submission for their own selfish desires of what they want a black athlete to be.

So how about we follow LeBron’s lead and get back to reality and actually not succumb to short-term memory loss and follow through on the systemic remedies that are urgently needed such as police reform.