1975

i asked coach mcandrew if i could public address our home basketball games.
If you will do stats on road games-yes you can P.A. (quid pro quo)

at brentwood-late in season-teams come out for shoot around
The brentwood team is 100% black-we have 1 black player
John Potter

i am sitting courtside and the taunts start...

"uncle tom" "oreo cookie" "honkey"

John seemed to ignore-go about his business
(tho' no teammates acknowledged nor interceded)

Game begins...taunts get louder and persistent

Crowd (all-mostly-black)gets involved

everytime John touches the ball- "Or-E-o" "Or-E-o"

Late in the game-John drives to the basket and gets annihilated

obvious flagrant foul-referee whistles and signals-2 shots

John got mad and started yelling-thats a technical ref-come on!

ref T's John

crowd goes wild-clap clap-"uncle tom" clap clap-"uncle tom"

coach pulls John and sits him down

After the game-i am last on the bus. John is sitting alone towards the back.

i sit next to him. No words exchanged.

Half way home-he starts sobbing-tears start flowing...

my first up close and personal experience with man's inhumanity to man.

He is too black to fit in with us

and too white to be accepted by them

all because of where his parents chose to live.

He went off on a basketball scholarship upon graduation
and i never saw him again

but i think of that event often


and it brings me to tears....


PS: as we exited the bus
time to go home

i said to john-(i could not think of anything original that might be poignant or relevant)

"clowns to the left of us jokers to the right"
here i am
"stuck in the middle with you"(gerry rafferty)((stealers wheel))

PSS: some folks is even whiter than me
some folks is even blacker than me
i got myself caught in the middle somewhere
and that's exactly where i want to be

talkin' bought your outsides
talkin' bought your insides too

todd rundgren

'why can't we live together"
sade