I felt due to the times we're in I needed to do what I could for Black History Month, and since George Floyd's murder happened just before Pride Month, I decided to try my hand at a series of mini-bios. Unlike in Pride Month, these will not just be limited to musicians and will mostly consist of my personal experiences/opinions, rather than life stories/facts I researched, due to the fact that a lot of these people have made such an impact on my personal life. I also feel it truly shows a life matters when you see its positive impact outward.
Week 1:
Ken Griffey Jr.
One of the top
4 people to put on a Seattle Mariners uniform (the others being Edgar Martinez,
Randy Johnson and Ichiro Suzuki), Ken Griffey Jr. was one of my childhood
sports heroes. He had a picture-perfect
swing and could hit over 40 home runs a season, some of which I was present
for. His enduring sports legacy is
iconic in Seattle, and he was a first-ballot Hall-Of-Famer, getting inducted
with Mike Piazza. His number, 24, was
retired by the Mariners after his Hall-Of-Fame induction, meaning no Mariners
player will wear that number again, it will forever be attached to his legacy. Ken Griffey Jr. was also an excellent
outfielder, but he became a designated hitter as he aged. In the final two seasons of his career, he
and Ichiro Suzuki bonded and were even raised up by the team after the last
game of the 2009 season, going on to star in a commercial for Mariners baseball
in 2010. The two first met during times
when Griffey and other US baseball players toured Japan in exhibition games and
Ichiro visiting Arizona, the Mariners Spring Training home, while Training was
in session before being signed officially by the Mariners. Even today, MLB.com will post highlights from
Griffey’s career, showing his amazing home run prowess. He was recently hired by MLB itself to help
the commissioner return baseball to the inner cities to get minority children
involved in the game. If there was a
perfect man for such a job, it’s Ken Griffey Jr., as children of all
ethnicities idolized him during his playing time due to his friendly, outgoing
nature, easily approachable attitude and superb talent at the game.
Chadwick Boseman
A talented
actor famous for playing Jackie Robinson in “42,” which featured Harrison Ford
as Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey and T’challa/Black Panther in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe, Chadwick Boseman was a modern-day hero for
African-Americans on the big screen. 42
showcased Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier of Major League Baseball,
Robinson debuting in Ebbets Field in Brooklyn on April 15th,
1947. Thanks to the efforts of Ken
Griffey Jr., whose number was 24, he started a tradition where all of baseball
will wear the number 42 on April 15th in tribute. As of 1997, that is the only day players wear
this number, it has been retired throughout Major League Baseball in tribute to
Jackie Robinson paving the way for heroes like Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mookie
Wilson, Ken Griffey Jr., Gary Sheffield, Jermaine Dye, Fred McGriff, Joe
Carter, Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz, Kyle Lewis and J.P. Crawford. Black Panther is a Marvel Comics superhero
based in the fictitious African economic superpower of Wakanda, where he is
King. He is a kind and gentle king who
works with his family in a relationship similar to Batman and Alfred and James
Bond and Q, they help make his peacekeeping and crimefighting gadgets. In the movie, I really loved the personality
of his sister character, Shuri. He is
also a strong believer that might doesn’t make right and diplomacy is always a
preferable solution, which the usurper king Kilmonger (who’d guess he was
evil? Seriously, though, this is a good
movie) doesn’t believe, having grown up an orphan in a harsh, urban environment
where you had to kill to be taken seriously among your peers. I worry that police brutality and the Trump
administration have stoked the flames of this belief, that might makes right
and killing, ruling through fear, is the only way to garner respect. It makes me worry about all the domestic
violence that is a certainty in a world where that is a common belief. Tragically, Chadwick Boseman passed away due to
colon cancer last year. Not many actors
play two culturally-significant heroes in their life, and he was fortunate to
be one of the few who do. His legacy
will forever be tied to the heroism of being the better man when people are
mocking you and giving you death threats all the way to the top.
Hank Aaron
In my opinion, the best baseball
player in recorded history. Last month,
when he died, I wrote a memorial poem.
Hank Aaron, also known as “Hammerin’ Hank,” was a baseball player for
the Milwaukee Braves in the 1950s, moved with the team to their current home in
Atlanta and in 1974, beat Babe Ruth’s career home runs record of 714. In 1975 and 1976, he played his last two
major league baseball seasons back in Milwaukee, now playing for the American
League’s Brewers. He finished his career
with 755 home runs and 3,016 hits on top of that. Hank Aaron was born and raised in Mobile,
Alabama, and the year he hit his 715th home run was the same year
Lynyrd Skynyrd released their hit song “Sweet Home Alabama.” The song actually is anti-racism, booing
then-Governor Wallace and saying “My Montgomery’s got the answer,” which some
took to mean support of the Montgomery bus boycott. I also have found a picture through Twitter
of singer/lyricist Ronnie Van Zant with his father Lacey, Ronnie wearing a Jimi
Hendrix T-shirt. To me, that suggests
Hendrix was one of Van Zant’s favorites, I don’t usually spend money on bands’
T-shirts unless I don’t care about being embarrassed, and Ronnie lived in
Jacksonville, a place not well-known for its open minds. As Aaron chased the record, he actually
received threatening letters; death threats, threats to his family involving
murder and kidnapping, it got so bad he had to go through back doors with
security teams to be safe. It was no way
to treat a hero. But finally, in
Atlanta, playing the Dodgers, Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home
run, off Al Downing of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who was himself, African
American, which I actually didn’t know until this year because I was always
paying attention to Hank Aaron, on April 8th, 1974. One of Aaron’s teammates in a ten-minute video
shown on MLB.com in tribute was Tom House, who would go on to play for the
Seattle Mariners in 1978. I should know,
I inherited a program from Grandma.
After he retired Hank Aaron worked in the Braves office, helping to
shape a baseball club that got to the postseason 14 seasons in a row. He also famously declared, “You better get
that Jones boy,” thus being the deciding piece in why Chipper Jones played for
the Atlanta Braves. I heard Chipper
Jones’ eulogy last month, and there was a lot of love, admiration and grief in
him. He hadn’t lost a boss, he lost a
mentor, a teacher and a father of a different skin color. Freddie Freeman of the current Braves,
appropriately the last one to get a Hank Aaron award during Hank Aaron’s
lifetime, was also moved and sent his condolences, mentioning he would miss his
mentor and friend. Ken Griffey Jr.
stated Hank Aaron’s true greatness “was in how he lived, and inspired people,
off the field.” The memorial service had
a soulful performance of “Amazing Grace” and I posted a picture of me, broken
by sadness, wearing an Atlanta Braves cap, flashing 4 fingers in homage to his
number, 44, on social media. He was and
is the definition of a sports legend.
Kamala Harris
Current
vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris is one of my few political
inspirations. Always standing up for
what’s right, challenging oppression in the political system and helping
achieve the greater good for Millions.
Kamala was a Senator from California before Joe Biden picked her as his
running mate, and her first name is from the Middle East/South Asia area;
fictitious Islamic superheroine Ms. Marvel’s family is from Pakistan and her
civilian name is Kamala Khan. Much like
the superheroine, Vice-President Kamala Harris is dedicated to the whole, the
good for millions more than just those who it’s easy to benefit. When she was running for the Presidential
Nomination itself, she was my personal choice, and I am glad she is our Vice
President. She was raised Baptist. Like a lot of things I deeply value, it’s
painful to hear people criticize her, especially since in this case, it feels
like it showcases their sexism, racism and even their Islamophobia, even though
she is not Islamic. I was on a bus ride
with two Trump cultists in the back who pronounced her first name “Camel-a,”
when I am positive it is pronounced “cahm-ALL-ah,” since that fits the accent
present in much of South Asia. By
putting “camel” in there just highlights their racism and hatred of Islam,
calling to mind the slur “camel jockey.”
We should not tolerate this any longer, it is incredulously
disrespectful, it is hateful and it’s 2021, we should bury racism,
Islamophobia, sexism and homophobia in the past. Kamala Harris, or as I sometimes call her to
myself, “Vice President Ms. Marvel,” is a guiding force for good in politics
today. It is my sincere belief she will
lead our youth to greater understanding, so that this racism and hatred of
Islam can end once and for all.
Kyle Lewis
A modern-day
baseball hero, Kyle Lewis is the current center fielder of the Seattle
Mariners. In the shortened 2020 season,
Kyle Lewis showed power and promise for a successful career, afterwards, he
received both the Rookie of the Year award and was stated to be the 6th
best center fielder in Major League Baseball’s rankings. He also robbed an Oakland Athletics hitter of
a potential grand slam with an amazing catch in September. Kyle Lewis was on a Juneteenth panel earlier
in the year with Mariners broadcaster Dave Sims and fellow Mariners baseball
players JP Crawford, Shed Long Jr. and Dee Strange-Gordon, where they presented
their experiences with the systemic racism in the police departments around the
country and in sports, namely that they weren’t often picked for baseball teams
and that policemen would pull them over for having their music too loud. It was then I realized how bad racism in the
Police Department can be, but thankfully, I know not every Police Officer is
racist, in the panel, J.P. Crawford even mentions his father was a Police
Officer. Still, it’s a bleak nation to
know if you’re two MPH over the limit or your music’s a little too loud, or
your turn signal is off, or your taillight is out and you’re not white, the
officer could decide to end your life without a second thought. I hope, with this knowledge, we can do better
into our future, improving the police departments across the nation to work for
all people.
Tia and Tamara Mowry
A pair of
identical twins and actresses famous for starring in “Sister, Sister,” one of
the best Teen Sitcoms of the 1990s. The
earliest role I know them for is playing the sister of Teddy, played by their
real-life brother Tahj Mowry, on an episode of Full House. Ironically, in an episode of Sister, Sister,
Tia and Tamera meet Mary-Kate and Ashley, somewhat implying the characters and
the actresses both exist in this world.
Something that stands out for me with this month is when the characters
study Black History and Tamara states they something along lines of that they
feel unrelatable for doing such amazing things and seemingly doing so without
any fear whatsoever. Tia also makes the
joke that Tamara will ask her in the middle of the night, “Tia?! Who was Malcolm the Tenth?!” That night, in a dream, she goes through Black
History, meeting figures like Harriet Tubman, the first African-American pilot
(her name escapes me, but she was played in the episode by Tia and went to
France to get her license), Jackie Robinson, who she convinces to play despite
the racism in the stands, and Martin Luther King Jr., who she convinces to go
to college. It’s a sobering reminder
that extraordinary feats can and are done by ordinary people with powerful
passion to do something good. I don’t
know what the two twins are up to these days, but that episode was a motivating
journey through the Civil Rights movement, something we need very much during
these times.
Martin Luther King Jr.
A “drum major for justice” with a strong spiritual background, Martin Luther King Jr. was instrumental in the Civil Rights movement, working tirelessly for racial and economic justice. In 1956, tired and worn out, he prayed to God, who told him to “stand up for righteousness,” guiding him through the remainder of his life, even during difficulty like being imprisoned, threatened with death, being near explosives and ultimately being assassinated in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired every generation of African-Americans since standing up in the 1950s due to the continued injustice they face, as well as inspire people of other races to stand with them, support them and help them with their struggles. I personally regret that I thought racism was just a handful of loud people after the election of President Obama, as the events since and including 2016 are a sharp rebuke to that way of thinking, with homophobia on equally dangerous footing since at least 2014. I often fear being lectured by another close-minded aggressive person claiming to be my spiritual brother, as I have been in the past, or that they will realize all lectures do is make me angry and decide to go to the savage beatings approach, as they do with their LGBTQ+ children. I am tired of fighting this battle against hatred by yelling on the Internet, because they can just dismiss me, leave my post and tell others who could have interest that I am insane, Biblically illiterate of a worshipper of the enemy himself to make sure my words are unheard, unread and don’t make any difference. This, in turn, creates paranoia that there is a group dedicated to my demise, to the downfall of love and the rise of hate “in God’s name.” I tell you, it is not in the name of the Christian God, but of some unforgiving, relentless, merciless god who kills while laughing. Their god is Trump, which is why they fought tooth and nail to keep him in office. Jesus is the God they need, Trump is the god they want.
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