ESPN aired a compelling documentary on the GREAT Michigan Fab Five the other night that almost brought me to tears. The story was amazing as if featured and shared an intimate look at 5 players that changed both the game and the face of basketball as we knew it. However, putting aside the shared pride, dissappointment, and revelation that it really wasnt Chris's fault, a new controversy was born.
Jalen Rose, member of the Fab Five was quoted as calling Dukes Grant Hill an "Uncle Tom" and a bitch. Here is Jalens' quotes:
"Schools like Duke didnt recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were uncle toms." "I was jealous of Grant Hill. He came from a great black family. Congratulations! Your mom went to college and was roommates with Hilary Clinton. Your dad played in the NFL and was a very well spoken and successful man. I was upset and bitter that my mom had to bust her hump for 20 plus years. I was bitter that I had a profesional athelete that was my father that I didnt know. I resented that more so than I resented him. I looked at as..they are who the world accepts and we are who the world hates."
Jalen goes on to speak about the Duke Program and makes the claim that Duke and Coach K dont look for kids in the inner cities. Its a private school that goes after private school kids.
"My mom didnt have 15000 dollars to send me to high school" Jalen says.
"Duke would have never recruited me even today, maybe my kids, but never me"
Dukes Grant Hill is quoted as saying in response:
"It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends..calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke "Uncle Toms" and to a degree disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic, and commitment to each other and to me. Jalen seems to have changed the meaning of those very vitriolic words into his own meaning, i.e., blacks from two parent, middle class families.
We are a people with a stolen history and a stolen culture. For centuries, we have been fed the lie that being black is synomous with being at the bottom, being last, weak, and sub par. However, when we transcend those stereotypes and defiantly succeed in a system not created for us, we are often called "Uncle Toms". While I emphysize with Jalen's emotion and understand his admited jealosy as it exposed his own pain, I have to question.......
By todays standards, what do you consider an "Uncle Tom"?
Jalen Rose, member of the Fab Five was quoted as calling Dukes Grant Hill an "Uncle Tom" and a bitch. Here is Jalens' quotes:
"Schools like Duke didnt recruit players like me. I felt like they only recruited black players that were uncle toms." "I was jealous of Grant Hill. He came from a great black family. Congratulations! Your mom went to college and was roommates with Hilary Clinton. Your dad played in the NFL and was a very well spoken and successful man. I was upset and bitter that my mom had to bust her hump for 20 plus years. I was bitter that I had a profesional athelete that was my father that I didnt know. I resented that more so than I resented him. I looked at as..they are who the world accepts and we are who the world hates."
Jalen goes on to speak about the Duke Program and makes the claim that Duke and Coach K dont look for kids in the inner cities. Its a private school that goes after private school kids.
"My mom didnt have 15000 dollars to send me to high school" Jalen says.
"Duke would have never recruited me even today, maybe my kids, but never me"
Dukes Grant Hill is quoted as saying in response:
"It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends..calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke "Uncle Toms" and to a degree disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic, and commitment to each other and to me. Jalen seems to have changed the meaning of those very vitriolic words into his own meaning, i.e., blacks from two parent, middle class families.
We are a people with a stolen history and a stolen culture. For centuries, we have been fed the lie that being black is synomous with being at the bottom, being last, weak, and sub par. However, when we transcend those stereotypes and defiantly succeed in a system not created for us, we are often called "Uncle Toms". While I emphysize with Jalen's emotion and understand his admited jealosy as it exposed his own pain, I have to question.......
By todays standards, what do you consider an "Uncle Tom"?
On Sat, Mar 19
ReplyDeleteAccording to the “Urban Dictionary” an Uncle Tom is, A black man who will do anything to stay in good standing with "the white man" including betray his own people. However the majority of the time I’ve heard the term used, it was referring to a black man whom was in some way more successful then the person using the slur. Think about it when is the last time you heard someone call a broke out of work, no ambition having black man an Uncle Tom; probably never. In this situation Rose admits he was angry for a number of reasons which had nothing to do with Hill. However Hill represented everything Rose wanted and didn’t have so he lashed and said the most hurtful thing he could. Sadly this seems to be the mind set of most black people when they call someone an Uncle Tom. Instead of being proud of your brother’s success and trying to match his efforts we do whatever it takes to knock him down a peg and discredit his achievements. It’s a classic example of the crabs in a barrel mentality which has plagued black folks since slavery. Since Hill was a terrible example of an Uncle Tom I feel it is only fare to that I name someone more fitting for the position so people can put a face with the term. I nominate Michael Steel the figure head of the Republican Party. This guy knew he was a token and tapped danced for the Republican Party until they no longer had a use for him.