Opinion: Noose in Bubba Wallace’s garage strengthens resolve to fight racism
The noose left in Bubba Wallace’s garage makes the choice brutally clear.
White people can either fully commit to the soul searching and hard work that will be necessary to eradicate systemic racism, or they can consign themselves to being on the wrong side of history. There is no more time for sitting quietly, no more tolerance for “what abouting,” no more leaving it to others to solve our most fundamental flaw.
“Do Black lives matter to you when they’re not throwing touchdowns, grabbing rebounds, serving aces? If that was uncomfortable to hear, good. I used to shy away from moments like this because it’s convenient to be quiet, to be thought of as safe and polite,” WNBA star Sue Bird said, joining with Russell Wilson and Megan Rapinoe in opening Sunday night’s ESPYs with a call to action.
“This is our moment to prove that we know a better world is one where Black lives are valued.”
The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery have resonated with white people in a way nothing else has since the civil rights movement a half-century ago. Something about that video of a white police officer nonchalantly kneeling on Floyd’s neck, squeezing the life out of Floyd as he cried that he couldn’t breathe, finally made us realize that this country’s promises of equality and justice for all remain hollow words.
Whites have enthusiastically joined marches and protests, turning out in every state, in cities large and small, to call for change. We have shared reading lists of books that explain systemic racism and its corrosive effects, and binged movies that show the Black experience through an unflinching lens. We’ve even helped pull down a few Confederate statues.
White athletes and coaches have joined the fight, too. Baker Mayfield has said he plans to kneel this NFL season while Matt Ryan gave $500,000 to start a fund dedicated to improving the Black community in Atlanta. Texas coach Tom Herman joined his players at a protest.
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But well-intentioned and worthwhile as all of that is, it’s not enough. We have to root out the insidious hate in this country, the kind of bigotry that made someone feel emboldened enough to leave a noose in Wallace’s garage even at a time when access at the track is so closely monitored NASCAR should have no trouble finding him or her.
