I know what the caged bird feels, alas!
- Paul Laurence Dunbar, “Sympathy”
An Interpretation of Why Caged Birds Sing
- After Paul Laurence Dunbar
I always thought that white people
Would more likely sympathize with birds;
These little creatures
Who can climb the heavens to see who hangs the stars
And forms the planets, and bends the colors to make rainbows,
Than me and my people, who are just like them, except in the colors of our skin,
For I’ve seen how they have treated their pets and animals,
And I’ve seen how they’ve treated me and my people.
Age is a question of mind over matter.
If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
- Satchel Paige, Negro League Pitcher
Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever
Ol’ Satchel Paige could endure a slew of Herculean labors:
Like soaking for three hours
In freezing tub water,
Or rubbing stinging snake oil
On those aging joints, rubber arm, and magic shoulder,
All after tossing a gem of a shutout, as his defense kicked back and relaxed,
And then riding after setting suns in cramped conditions
To less than amicable locations.
Yet, despite the pitching repertoire,
As expensive and deep as an encyclopedia,
And wearing the mask as the most self-assured, charming player
In the history of baseball,
None of those attributes could mask the torment
That after decades of setting the groundwork,
Carrying black baseball on your back for well over a decade,
Someone else was chosen, and you weren’t the first one 𑁋
The Greatest Triumph of Georgetown’s John Thompson
For the longest time, I thought Georgetown was an HBCU because of John Thompson:
The mostly black rosters. The uniform designed with a Kente-clothed pattern.
The bigoted signs and cold shoulders from so many white fans and reporters.
The AND1 crossovers and quicksilver dribbles of Allen Iverson,
One of college basketball’s most compulsive scorers.
I figure most coaches with Big John’s resume
Would say their biggest triumph was the college basketball championship,
Or the six titles in college basketball’s greatest conference,
Or perhaps, officially closing Manley Field House,
But I think it would be the off-court crusades and battles,
Like challenging the NCAA, and pulling his team off the floor
In Northeast stadiums and centers because of their cheap, racist stuff;
Those would be the victories he’s most proud of.
He loved all of those young men of his,
And despite the practice chew outs and the temperament of fire,
He was their teacher, and the lesson was daily and reflected in his behavior:
Don't let the sum total of your existence be eight to 10 pounds of air…