Michael Wilbon

[Garb]

JBF - you're kidding me, right? Where do you live? Let me guess, that uppity bullsh*t town of Longmeadow? Williamstown? Oh wait - the epitomy of trailer park trash - Pittsfield? I'd rather puke than live in the "valley." I go to Williamstown once a year - Williams football game. Sure, it's pretty - but jeezus, I've never in my life seen so much burberry in my life. You want to talk about "classism?" Williamstown has got to be the snobbiest place east of Aspen. The only black or latino people in Williamstown are Williams students.

Let a life-long Bostonian give you a lesson in contemporary Boston:

Southie - sure, there are some of the old Irish families are there in there walk-up homes, lucky enough to have actually been able to buy back in the day. That walk-up is now worth 1 million bucks - especially near the water. There are so many condos there starting a $500 and up. There's no "white" movement - there's a Preppy Monsters movement. Take a walk around castle island in South Boston someday. Whitey Bulgers old turf. There is an equal amount of white folks and people of color enjoying the park.

North End - the new "newbury" street. Dining el fresco at the gazillion Italian restaurants there. Sure, there are paisons everywhere - making money off of foodies and tourists - when the evening is over they retreat to their homes in Winchester, Medford, Swampscott or Medford. The people that actually live there are 28 year olds who work at Fidelity and pay $1,300 for a studio apartment.

South End - High End, Wealthy liberals or gays. Period.

Dorceshter - the true melting pot. Gang violence, public housing, nice homes, sh*tty homes, luxury condos and townhomes. Take a walk down any street and you will hear 10 different languages.

Roxbury - See Dorchester.

Jamaica Plain - Take a drive down the jamaica way and tell me what you think of the 5 million dollar homes - stop by Carlos' taco shop - go get a fade a Cutz Boyz - yah, tell me all about your day in JP.

Chinatown - Asians, commuters and tourists. Period.

Downtown - again take a walk in the cities financial district or backbay area and give me a full report of the racism you see.

There's no discernable difference between Boston and any other northern city.

You are so off base here, Zippy, it's laughable. Stick to what you do and know best: Yankee bashing.

[Gainzo]

JBF - you're kidding me, right? Where do you live? Let me guess, that uppity bullsh*t town of Longmeadow? Williamstown? Oh wait - the epitomy of trailer park trash - Pittsfield? I'd rather puke than live in the "valley." I go to Williamstown once a year - Williams football game. Sure, it's pretty - but jeezus, I've never in my life seen so much burberry in my life. You want to talk about "classism?" Williamstown has got to be the snobbiest place east of Aspen. The only black or latino people in Williamstown are Williams students.

Let a life-long Bostonian give you a lesson in contemporary Boston:

Southie - sure, there are some of the old Irish families are there in there walk-up homes, lucky enough to have actually been able to buy back in the day. That walk-up is now worth 1 million bucks - especially near the water. There are so many condos there starting a $500 and up. There's no "white" movement - there's a Preppy Monsters movement. Take a walk around castle island in South Boston someday. Whitey Bulgers old turf. There is an equal amount of white folks and people of color enjoying the park.

North End - the new "newbury" street. Dining el fresco at the gazillion Italian restaurants there. Sure, there are paisons everywhere - making money off of foodies and tourists - when the evening is over they retreat to their homes in Winchester, Medford, Swampscott or Medford. The people that actually live there are 28 year olds who work at Fidelity and pay $1,300 for a studio apartment.

South End - High End, Wealthy liberals or gays. Period.

Dorceshter - the true melting pot. Gang violence, public housing, nice homes, sh*tty homes, luxury condos and townhomes. Take a walk down any street and you will hear 10 different languages.

Roxbury - See Dorchester.

Jamaica Plain - Take a drive down the jamaica way and tell me what you think of the 5 million dollar homes - stop by Carlos' taco shop - go get a fade a Cutz Boyz - yah, tell me all about your day in JP.

Chinatown - Asians, commuters and tourists. Period.

Downtown - again take a walk in the cities financial district or backbay area and give me a full report of the racism you see.

There's no discernable difference between Boston and any other northern city.

You are so off base here, Zippy, it's laughable. Stick to what you do and know best: Yankee bashing.

I couldn't have said it any better. Well done Garb.

[JetCane]

On 12/18/06 a Boston Globe editorial reflected on the McCormack Diversity Study, declaring that

[Gainzo]

On 12/18/06 a Boston Globe editorial reflected on the McCormack Diversity Study, declaring that

[JetCane]

Boston, like much of New England, is white. There aren't many black people up here but there are plenty of other minorities.

Wilbon is calling out Boston for being racist against blacks. Maybe he should look in his own backyard (DC & Baltimore) and see that racism is alive and well

down there.

you started this thread by asking what the perception was of Boston, not D.C. or any other city. That whites outnumber blacks by 2:1 makes it easier to discriminate. That the neighborhoods are highly segregated also makes it easier to disciminate. It also makes it easier to avoid social interaction of a more diverse nature.

In 2000, Boston's multi-racial population totaled 589,141, a 2% increase in population over 1990. 49.5% of Boston is White (non-Hispanic), 23.8% African-American, 14.4% Latino, 7.5% Asian, and 0.3% Native American. 3.1% of Boston's residents identify themselves as being of two or more races.

Population makeup in Boston in 2005:

http://www.iaas.umb.edu/research/acs2005/PopByRaceBos.shtml

According to these stats, there are a quarter million whites in Beantown, and an eighth of a million blacks. Those arent insignificant numbers. Wilbon probably has a point.

[Gainzo]

you started this thread by asking what the perception was of Boston, not D.C. or any other city. That whites outnumber blacks by 2:1 makes it easier to discriminate. That the neighborhoods are highly segregated also makes it easier to disciminate. It also makes it easier to avoid social interaction of a more diverse nature.

In 2000, Boston's multi-racial population totaled 589,141, a 2% increase in population over 1990. 49.5% of Boston is White (non-Hispanic), 23.8% African-American, 14.4% Latino, 7.5% Asian, and 0.3% Native American. 3.1% of Boston's residents identify themselves as being of two or more races.

Population makeup in Boston in 2005:

http://www.iaas.umb.edu/research/acs2005/PopByRaceBos.shtml

According to these stats, there are a quarter million whites in Beantown, and an eighth of a million blacks. Those arent insignificant numbers. Wilbon probably has a point.

Wilbon has no point. Some drunken arsehole at the Boston Garden called him the N word 12 years ago.

Bill Russell was treated like crap when he lived in Boston back in the '60's. He is now actively involved with the Celtics organization.

Hey Wilbon: It's 2007 not 1967.

[JetCane]

Wilbon has no point. Some drunken arsehole at the Boston Garden called him the N word 12 years ago.

Bill Russell was treated like crap when he lived in Boston back in the '60's. He is now actively involved with the Celtics organization.

Hey Wilbon: It's 2007 not 1967.

I think you're missing the point. Pointing to Bill Russell as an example of what the level of racism is in Boston is ridiculous. I think JBF's arguments are starting to make more sense thanyours do.

But if you want to remain in denial of the very real problems confronting inner cities, in the schools, in housing, in employment, go on and be delusionally happy about it.

If you werent living in Boston and looked at it objectively instead of emotionally, I think you'd see it.

[Gainzo]

I think you're missing the point. Pointing to Bill Russell as an example of what the level of racism is in Boston is ridiculous. I think JBF's arguments are starting to make more sense thanyours do.

But if you want to remain in denial of the very real problems confronting inner cities, in the schools, in housing, in employment, go on and be delusionally happy about it.

If you werent living in Boston and looked at it objectively instead of emotionally, I think you'd see it.

Boston has problems like any other major City. To suggest (like Wilbon) that black athletes won't come here is ridiculous.

Paul Pierce is the most popular Celtic since Reggie Lewis.

I find it kind of funny that everyone glosses over the fact that Boston is full of minorities. Unfortunately for the PC crowd they aren't black.

There are immigrants from Brazil, Mexico, Laos, Vietnam, etc. living here.

[JetCane]

Boston has problems like any other major City.

Including pockets of racism, underfunded schools in minority neighborhoods, and most blatantly, a historically segregated population. So, let's just admit it exists there, as it does in other major cities.

As this column points out, most of the emphasis seems to be on Boston's history, which has not changed overnight. Sweeping crap under the rug is not the same thing as getting rid of it.

-----------------------------------

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Michael Wilbon Offends Some Guy In Boston

Bill Burt, the executive sports editor of Eagle Tribune Publishing, is all up in arms about some comments Michael Wilbon made about Boston. Wilbon appeared on the Dan Patrick show last Thursday. Among other things, Wilbon said that Black American NBA players do not want to play in the NBA because of Boston's racist history. Burt did not take too kindly to Wilbon's opinion.

Wilbon, apparently hurting for the pithy/comedic comments he is noted for on his "PTI" program, pulled an Al Campanis and lost his mind (at least I hope he did).

You remember Campanis. He was the Los Angeles Dodgers general manager who lost his job after implying blacks weren't qualified, mentally, to be executives in baseball.

Wilbon's version is equally of the Cro-Magnon version. He said that "racism" in Boston is the reason, at least he said so much when he wasn't fumbling his words. It was the strangest interview I've ever heard about "race" in Boston.

Comparing Michael Wilbon to Al Campanis is hysterical. However, Burt felt offended by several arguments made by Wilbon.

Michael Wilbon distinguished the willingness of Black Hispanics like Manny Ortiz to play in Boston stating that, "Dominican players don't know the history of Boston."

Michael said that when Doc Rivers took the head coaching job of the Celtics, he asked him, "Why?" Although Rivers ultimately accepted the position, Rivers knew that Wilbon was asking the question because of Boston's racist history.

Wilbon also said that Kevin Garnett said he was not going to play for the Celtics because of racism in Boston.

Additionally, Wilbon said that Boston Garden is the only place where he's been confronted several times and called, "******". In response to Wilbon, Burt writes, "Is he serious? When did this happen? Did he report this to his editors? Did he call security in the Garden? Does anybody believe this?" Because, of course, a swift response from security will diminish the hurt of being called a "******" to your face.

Wilbon and Dan discussed whether there were any beloved Black athletes in Boston since Bill Russell. They couldn't think of any they considered "beloved." Burt remembered Mo Vaughn, but some of the other possibilities like Jim Rice and Robert Parrish are borderline. Wilbon and Dan also discussed that no top notch Black NBA player has voluntarily chosen to play in Boston since the Bill Russell era. Wilbon pointed out that every single one has come via trade or draft.

Burt is not ignorant about Wilbon's concerns, but is clearly defensive about Boston's racial history. Besidess having the audacity to question Wilbon's veracity about being called a "******", Burt refuses to walk in Wilbon's shoes when considering his statements. Consequently, Burt's article comes of as no less hysterical and uninformed as Burt is accusing Wilbon to be.

To me, Wilbon was very clear in explaining himself on the radio. But much like Doc Rivers, I knew what he was talking about before he went into detail. Michael did say that the people who called him out of his name weren't necessarily representative of all of Boston and that maybe Boston is a friendly place for Blacks now, but it has a negative history that Black people know about that cause them to avoid the city.

And that sentiment is absolutely true. I've never lived in Boston, but it does have a wicked bad reputation. It still persists. And this is despite Boston producing such great moments in Black history like Bill Russell, Mo Vaughn or even New Edition.

[Gainzo]

Including pockets of racism, underfunded schools in minority neighborhoods, and most blatantly, a historically segregated population. So, let's just admit it exists there, as it does in other major cities.

As this column points out, most of the emphasis seems to be on Boston's history, which has not changed overnight. Sweeping crap under the rug is not the same thing as getting rid of it.

-----------------------------------

Thursday, July 05, 2007

Michael Wilbon Offends Some Guy In Boston

Bill Burt, the executive sports editor of Eagle Tribune Publishing, is all up in arms about some comments Michael Wilbon made about Boston. Wilbon appeared on the Dan Patrick show last Thursday. Among other things, Wilbon said that Black American NBA players do not want to play in the NBA because of Boston's racist history. Burt did not take too kindly to Wilbon's opinion.

Wilbon, apparently hurting for the pithy/comedic comments he is noted for on his "PTI" program, pulled an Al Campanis and lost his mind (at least I hope he did).

You remember Campanis. He was the Los Angeles Dodgers general manager who lost his job after implying blacks weren't qualified, mentally, to be executives in baseball.

Wilbon's version is equally of the Cro-Magnon version. He said that "racism" in Boston is the reason, at least he said so much when he wasn't fumbling his words. It was the strangest interview I've ever heard about "race" in Boston.

Comparing Michael Wilbon to Al Campanis is hysterical. However, Burt felt offended by several arguments made by Wilbon.

Michael Wilbon distinguished the willingness of Black Hispanics like Manny Ortiz to play in Boston stating that, "Dominican players don't know the history of Boston."

Michael said that when Doc Rivers took the head coaching job of the Celtics, he asked him, "Why?" Although Rivers ultimately accepted the position, Rivers knew that Wilbon was asking the question because of Boston's racist history.

Wilbon also said that Kevin Garnett said he was not going to play for the Celtics because of racism in Boston.

Additionally, Wilbon said that Boston Garden is the only place where he's been confronted several times and called, "******". In response to Wilbon, Burt writes, "Is he serious? When did this happen? Did he report this to his editors? Did he call security in the Garden? Does anybody believe this?" Because, of course, a swift response from security will diminish the hurt of being called a "******" to your face.

Wilbon and Dan discussed whether there were any beloved Black athletes in Boston since Bill Russell. They couldn't think of any they considered "beloved." Burt remembered Mo Vaughn, but some of the other possibilities like Jim Rice and Robert Parrish are borderline. Wilbon and Dan also discussed that no top notch Black NBA player has voluntarily chosen to play in Boston since the Bill Russell era. Wilbon pointed out that every single one has come via trade or draft.

Burt is not ignorant about Wilbon's concerns, but is clearly defensive about Boston's racial history. Besidess having the audacity to question Wilbon's veracity about being called a "******", Burt refuses to walk in Wilbon's shoes when considering his statements. Consequently, Burt's article comes of as no less hysterical and uninformed as Burt is accusing Wilbon to be.

To me, Wilbon was very clear in explaining himself on the radio. But much like Doc Rivers, I knew what he was talking about before he went into detail. Michael did say that the people who called him out of his name weren't necessarily representative of all of Boston and that maybe Boston is a friendly place for Blacks now, but it has a negative history that Black people know about that cause them to avoid the city.

And that sentiment is absolutely true. I've never lived in Boston, but it does have a wicked bad reputation. It still persists. And this is despite Boston producing such great moments in Black history like Bill Russell, Mo Vaughn or even New Edition.

Please quote the source of the above "article." I know what it is but nobody else does.

How about I give you a link to the guy who wrote the original story:

http://blogs.eagletribune.com/sports/2007/07/05/jerk-comment-over-the-top/

[JetCane]

That's all you have to say about it. This is a one-sided beatdown.

That guy actually questioned whether Wilbon was TELLING the TRUTh and implied he might have been lying about being called a n*****!

The blame the victim mentality, and denial go hand in hand. It's common knowledge to most people who grew up in America that Boston was always pretty racist. Saying it is just like every other city is no excuse. Crack whores are similar to each other, too.

[Garb]

Gainzo, don't even bother arguring with 'cane. He's an attorney and they live to debate stuff, regardless of it's merit.

I ought to invite you all to my neighborhood. Irish Cathlolic family to my left who rent their upstairs to three Brazillians. A Pakitani couple to my right. Some Italians accross the street. My tenants upstairs are Jewish. There's about four or so families from India on the street. There's a Baptist Church at the corner of the street (some nights I sit outside and listen to the gospel singers during one of their revival weekends. It's pretty awesome, actually). A Puerto Rican woman and her daughter. A dominican family. A Costan Rican family....well, you get my drift. Oh, and for good measure, it's the home of the Boston Celtics training/practice facility and executive offices.

In my little corner of the world, racism, hateism, whateversim is minor. So "color" me enlightened!

To say that there aren't white areas is absurd. To say that there aren't black areas is absurd. It's also absurd to say that it does not exist in every city in the north. The Bronx, for example, is what? Sections of Brooklyn? Park Street? Staten Island? Chinatown? C'mon.

This media play that athletes do not want to play here is silly as sh*t. Either these athletes are retarded, run video of Boston forced busing news highlights from 1970 repeatedly before retiring for the night, or they haven't heard of Davis Ortiz, Troy Brown, Adalius Thomas, Rodney Harrison, Andre Tippett, Ron Burton, etc. I could go on and on.

[Gainzo]

That's all you have to say about it. This is a one-sided beatdown.

That guy actually questioned whether Wilbon was TELLING the TRUTh and implied he might have been lying about being called a n*****!

The blame the victim mentality, and denial go hand in hand. It's common knowledge to most people who grew up in America that Boston was always pretty racist. Saying it is just like every other city is no excuse. Crack whores are similar to each other, too.

He called Wilbon a liar because Willbon mentioned he was called the N word in Boston 12 years ago but only mentioned it now.

I live in this City, you don't.

There aren't many black people in Boston. Can you understand that?

I love how you ignore the fact that there are many other minorities here.

[balihai]

This is a great topic and one that needs to be fleshed out, I think. Wilbon's experience at the Garden rings true for the late 1980s or whenever he was there; much less relevant in 2007.

Anyone who says that racism in Boston is no worse than any other city has spent too much time in their mommy's basement (and this is coming from a lily-white lifelong New Englander).

There are (anti-black) racists in every city but in Boston it's still (though not so much as in the past) socially acceptable. I remember moving here 18 years ago and being surprised by the random anti-black hostility. Then again, I didn't have the baggage from the Boston area's history. And it comes mostly from the older crowd that's not going to be around much longer.

I've spent some time in most of the big cities in the U.S. and I could definitely see why a black NBA player would want to steer cleer of Boston. Miami, LA and Phoenix have better weather. Chicago and Atlanta are more integrated. Boston has had a lot of immigration but it's mainly Asians and Hispanics while the black population has remained stagnent.

You don't have to encounter all-out racism to feel uncomfortable. How many whites on this board would move to overwhelmingly black neighborhoods in DC, Philly or Atlanta? Among a sizeable percentage of Boston-area natives, I'd say that number shrinks to about 1% given that they have a hard time dealing with people they didn't go to CCD class with, let along people of a different race.

Having said all of that, neither is Cincinnatti and the Bengals don't seem to be having any trouble attracting players of all backgrounds.

[JetCane]

On 12/18/06 a Boston Globe editorial reflected on the McCormack Diversity Study, declaring that

[Gainzo]

This is a great topic and one that needs to be fleshed out, I think. Wilbon's experience at the Garden rings true for the late 1980s or whenever he was there; much less relevant in 2007.

Anyone who says that racism in Boston is no worse than any other city has spent too much time in their mommy's basement (and this is coming from a lily-white lifelong New Englander).

There are (anti-black) racists in every city but in Boston it's still (though not so much as in the past) socially acceptable. I remember moving here 18 years ago and being surprised by the random anti-black hostility. Then again, I didn't have the baggage from the Boston area's history. And it comes mostly from the older crowd that's not going to be around much longer.

I've spent some time in most of the big cities in the U.S. and I could definitely see why a black NBA player would want to steer cleer of Boston. Miami, LA and Phoenix have better weather. Chicago and Atlanta are more integrated. Boston has had a lot of immigration but it's mainly Asians and Hispanics while the black population has remained stagnent.

You don't have to encounter all-out racism to feel uncomfortable. How many whites on this board would move to overwhelmingly black neighborhoods in DC, Philly or Atlanta? Among a sizeable percentage of Boston-area natives, I'd say that number shrinks to about 1% given that they have a hard time dealing with people they didn't go to CCD class with, let along people of a different race.

Having said all of that, neither is Cincinnatti and the Bengals don't seem to be having any trouble attracting players of all backgrounds.

When was the above article written? The Bengals reference is laughable at best.

[balihai]

I would take any story in the BAHSton Globe with a grain of salt (and some tequila) but in my experience realtors and mortgage brokers would rip off anyone, be they martian, Pakistani or Norwegian as long as they could make a few bucks off them for the closing fees.

[Gainzo]

I would take any story in the BAHSton Globe with a grain of salt (and some tequila) but in my experience realtors and mortgage brokers would rip off anyone, be they martian, Pakistani or Norwegian as long as they could make a few bucks off them for the closing fees.

If I'm not mistaken didn't the Head Coach of the Bengals say that his players were being "profiled" in Cincy because they were black?

Please let me know when a black athlete in Boston is arrested.

[balihai]

If I'm not mistaken didn't the Head Coach of the Bengals say that his players were being "profiled" in Cincy because they were black?

Please let me know when a black athlete in Boston is arrested.

That was my secondary point - Cincinatti is a marginally southern city with race riots in the last 10 years (look it up) and a racist past. But it doesn't stop the Chris Henry's and friends from signing there because they have a competitive team. It's the same with the Patriots, who don't seem to have a hard time signing the Corey Dillons and Randy Moss and such.

As far as black athletes in Boston being arrested, I refer you to Dee Brown in Wellesley for sitting in a parked car in 1992 because he was confused with a bank robber. In the sense that he was the only black person readily available to be detained in Swellesley.

To reiterate my main point: black free agents may not want to come to a city with crappy weather and a crappy social life. Pierce doesn't seem to mind it here, God love him. But combine those factors with the team's current prospects, and we're going to have some problems until we make some noise in the playoffs.

[Arsis]

wilpon is a jackass, I've heard a lot of negative things about Boston but racist has never been on of them. The whole city is racist? The ENTIRE city? even the minorities are racist? WOW!

[JetCane]

The Boston Red Sox and Racism

With New Owners, Team Confronts Legacy of Intolerance

Listen to Juan Williams' report.

Watch a video of Ted Williams' 1966 Hall of Fame speech in which he addressed racism in baseball.

Read excerpts from Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston by Howard Bryant.

Pumpsie Green was the first African American to play for the Boston Red Sox. He joined the team in 1959, a dozen years after Jackie Robinson broke the major league color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Photo courtesy Sports Museum of New England, Shut Out: A History of Race and Baseball in Boston by Howard Bryant (Routledge)

The Red Sox's Ted Williams, speaking during his 1966 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, laments that Satchel Page, Josh Gibson and other African-American players weren't given the same recognition.

Photo courtesy Boston Red Sox

Watch a video of Williams' speech

John Henry heads the new Red Sox ownership group that has decided to confront the team's legacy of racism.

Photo: Chip Grabow, NPR News

"I think we have to make a statement not just in baseball but in our community that diversity is an issue that hasn't been fully addressed in the past and certainly has to be fully addressed."

John Henry, principal owner of the Boston Red Sox

Oct. 11, 2002 -- The Boston Red Sox were the last major league baseball team to integrate their roster. In 1959 -- 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke the league's color barrier by joining the Brooklyn Dodgers -- the Red Sox brought infielder Pumpsie Green up from the minors.

The legacy of racial exclusion on the Red Sox extended into the Fenway Park stands, where black fans often felt unwelcome. But as Juan Williams reports for Morning Edition, the team's new owners have decided to confront the emotional story of Boston, baseball and racism.

Larry Lucchino, president and CEO of the Red Sox, and part of the new ownership that took over the team in February, acknowledges that along with the team's positive traditions, the club's history has included "an undeniable legacy of racial intolerance."

"You can't grow up in America as a sports fan and not recognize the role that baseball played both negatively and positively in the racial history of America," Lucchino says. "And the fact that it took until 1959 for Pumpsie Green to integrate the Sox infield speaks volumes."

The history goes back to before baseball was integrated. Oddly enough, the Red Sox held a tryout at Fenway Park for Jackie Robinson in April 1945. But with only management in the stands, someone yelled "Get those ******s off the field," according to a reporter who was there that day. Two years later, Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first black player of the 20th century to play in the major leagues.

In 1949, the Red Sox gave up the chance to sign future Hall of Famer Willie Mays, who would go on to hit more career home runs than all but one man before him and electrify crowds with his defensive play. As Juan Williams reports, "one of the team's scouts decided that it wasn't worth waiting through a stretch of rainy weather to scout any black player. That decision killed the possibility that Mays and Ted Williams might have played in the same outfield for the Red Sox."

Howard Bryant, a Boston native, has just written Shut Out: A Story of Race and Baseball in Boston. Bryant rooted for the Red Sox as a 7-year-old when the team was in the 1975 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. But he soon learned that black adults would rather root for the Dodgers and other integrated clubs than for the home team.

"The Red Sox were one of the most racist teams in baseball," Bryant says. "You've got a 50-year legacy of difficulties between the Red Sox and the African-American population."

Bryant says the team now has an opportunity to set a positive example on race for the city. "This ownership group is the first in Red Sox history that has pledged to take this problem on head-on because they realize it's not only race, it's economics," he says.

As a first step in addressing the team's history of discrimination, the new ownership reached out to black churches. The Red Sox started and equipped a 16-team Boston area church league with 500 players between the ages of 10 and 14. Juan Williams also reports that the Red Sox also are: trying to find a black or Hispanic multi-millionaire to join their new ownership group; starting a scholarship program for city kids; doing business with black radio stations; and organizing visits by Red Sox officials to black and Hispanic civic and religious groups.

John Henry, now the principal owner of the Red Sox, says the team has to demonstrate that its attitude on race has changed. "I think we have to make a statement not just in baseball but in our community that diversity is an issue that hasn't been fully addressed in the past and certainly has to be fully addressed," he says. "I think it's important what your actions are. That will really define the franchise going forward."

--------------------------------

Why bother? According to some here, there's no problem, and hasnt been any for a long time.

----------------------

"Divided We Stand. Is Boston Racist?" Boston Magazine (November 2002)

Full article:

http://www.learntoquestion.com/resources/database/archives/000790.html

A report last year found that when blacks and whites asked about the availability of apartments in Boston, blacks were given different information from that given to whites 16 out of 22 times.

"Helping minority communities doesn't help race relations," says Orfield of the Civil Rights Project at Harvard. "This is a powerless minority community. In Chicago or New York you can't do anything without consulting black leaders. In Boston you can."

That's because black leadership in Boston is all but invisible. Three of the nine City Council districts are mostly nonwhite, but blacks hold only two of the 13 council seats. White politicians don't worry about the black vote in Boston because it's inconsequential.

This is what it's come to for blacks in Boston. Boston is one of the few major American cities that's never had a black mayor, and Massachusetts doesn't have a single black in Congress

For seven straight years, the most common complaints filed with the Massachusetts Commission against Discrimination (MCAD) were from disabled workers or those claiming sexual harassment. Last year, for the first time, racial complaints topped the list.

Following up on a 1986 Boston magazine survey that found just six blacks out of 700 partners at Boston's biggest law firms, the Boston Globe last summer reported that things had hardly improved. Of 957 partners at the city's 10 biggest firms, just 34 are minorities. On page four of the Boston Bar Journal is a list of its board of editors. Of the 21 faces, 19 are white; there is only one black and one Asian.

Verbal assaults create the tensions that spark physical violence, and, like most cities, Boston has had its share of incidents. There was the time the cops spread their dragnet for a fictitious black man Charles Stuart blamed for his wife's murder. There was undercover officer Michael Cox's beating at the hands of white colleagues who mistook him for a criminal. As recently as last March, Boston's past reared its ugly head again. A 23-year-old butcher from Roxbury walked into a Dorchester bar called Twelve Bens around midnight on March 14. That, alone, might not have aroused anyone, even if he was the only black man in an Irish pub. But he was with a 27-year-old white friend, and after they had ordered a few drinks and started playing darts, a half dozen drunken white men approached them, according to the police report. The word "******" was thrown at the black man, and he was taunted for being a black hockey fan wearing a Bruins shirt. His friend stepped in and was branded a "****** lover." The two men asked the bartender for help; he allegedly snapped, "Mind your own business." They left, but the group followed them and a fight erupted in the parking lot, six men pummeling one into the pavement. No one was arrested, though the bar's owner was cited for failing to notify police. The incident went all but unreported in the media.

The city's cultural institutions are still struggling. In 1991, of the 148 board members of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Ballet, 3 were black. Today about 16 are ? but their audiences remain mostly white. Black Nativity draws blacks every Christmas ? but few whites. They go to the Boston Ballet's Nutcracker. Lots of events for whites, lots for blacks, few for both.

-------------------------------------------------

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Boston Metro dehumanizes blacks with racist photos, articles.

On Monday, May 8, 2006, the front page headline of the Boston Metro reads, "People have to understand." It is an article about the trial of the tour manager for the band Great White, at whose show 100 fans died in 2003, and about the pain the victims' families have endured.

On page two of the same Metro a headline reads, "5 shot, 3 dead in weekend violence." This article proceeds to outline the facts of the weekend shootings in Dorchester and Roxbury and asks people with tips to call a police hotline. No mention is made that one of the victims is Alex Mendes, a local black peace activist whose older brother was murdered 11 years prior.

So, (white) Metro readers have to understand the pain of mostly white families whose loved ones died in a fire at a rock show 3 years ago, but no one has to understand the pain of a black mother and peace activist who has lost both her sons to random street violence. Instead, the loss of her son is reported like a roll call.

This portrayal of loss implies that the loss of a white child is more significant than the loss of his black counterpart. While the loss of 100 people at the Great White concert was a horrific tragedy, the Metro should choose to focus on the more current issues affecting black Bostonians. The homicide rate last year (and thus far this year) is higher then it has been since the early 1990s. I hope that the Metro understands the devastation this violence is causing the family members and communities of current victims.

http://antiracismwatch.blogspot.com/2006/05/boston-metro-dehumanizes-blacks-with.html

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View Full Version : Racist slurs when yao came to boston

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krazyh80802-25-2003, 10:48 AM

I'm an Asian college student in Boston and my half-Asian friend went to see the Houston Rockets play the Celtics at the stadium over here. She said that the whole time she was there all the white Celtics fans were yelling "Chink" and "Go back to China" to Yao Ming. When she turned around to look at them, they started making fun of her. The Boston stadium declared that night "Asian night" and had a lion dance during the halftime show, in which the white fans got pissed and yelled more racist slurs, even to Asian American fans from boston. By the way, Boston is considered one of the most racist cities in the country, even surpassing those of the south.

In boston a lot of the poor irish americans live in South Boston, where they are the most racist group of white people still existing in the U.S. They try to beat up the Asians at high schools around there. I don't know exactly what to make this forum about, but what do you guys think about poor white people being racist? Why do they seem to be more racist than any other group? Have you had experience with white ethnic groups like irish or italians being especially hostile? Is their racism really an outgrowth of economic equalities in the U.S., in which their hatred is misplaced towards other people struggling to make it?

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While there was an undeniable racist element to South Boston's resistance to school integration, there was also a largely overlooked class element: the architects and proponents of the integration plan were mostly from areas where their children were in homogenous white school systems. Many moderate South Bostonians who considered themselves well-intentioned and racially progressive were outraged by the hypocrisy on the part of rich white liberals.

Interesting census data: Southie was 96% white in 1990, but is now down to 85%. As of 1990, Charlestown (another historically homogeneous community) was 95% white; it's now down to 78%. Read the section on youth violence in "Boston in 2004" to find out about recent tensions among residents.

http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~fup/password/southboston.html

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A former men's basketball coach at Boston College, Jim O'Brien, has filed a lawsuit accusing the college and its admissions director of racism against black athletic recruits.

The lawsuit, which was made public this week, accuses the college of slander and breach of contract, and seeks unspecified damages. It also says that the circumstances surrounding the admissions director's rejection of two African-American athletes led to Mr. O'Brien's departure from the college last year. He is now the men's basketball coach at Ohio State University.

According to the complaint, the college knowingly allowed the admissions director, John Mahoney, to "conduct reviews of applicants with an apparent bias against African-Americans."

(Note- the parties resolved their claims and the lawsuit was withdrawn.)

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Racism

by Anna, Newton, MA

In eighth grade I wrote in an essay that racial issues had been

[Jet Moses]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q8LxO4wnCQ

[JetCane]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_q8LxO4wnCQ

[Gainzo]

Clearly, Boston has been behind the curve in its attitudes towards blacks. But it looks like some progress is being made, compared to the 70s, when violent demonstrations against busing occurred there.

A lot of progress has been made. Massachusetts is 86% white and Boston is 54% white http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25000.html.

There just aren't many minorities up here for whatever reason.

It's guys like Wilbon who are not helping by bringing up things that happened decades ago.

I've never heard Michael Smith (ESPN), who is black and lives in Boston, mention that black free agents don't want to come here. I think that Smith has a better pulse on what is going on in Boston than Wilbon.

[JetCane]

A lot of progress has been made. Massachusetts is 86% white and Boston is 54% white http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/25000.html.

There just aren't many minorities up here for whatever reason.

It's guys like Wilbon who are not helping by bringing up things that happened decades ago.

I've never heard Michael Smith (ESPN), who is black and lives in Boston, mention that black free agents don't want to come here. I think that Smith has a better pulse on what is going on in Boston than Wilbon.

Are you even reading what I have posted?? All those links are recent- within the past few years. You keep deluding yourself that all the bad stuff happened 40 years ago, and the evidence is clear that not nearly enough progress has been made, and Boston is still a city that heavily discriminates.

Everyone who doesnt live in Boston, and who pays attention to what is going on there knows that. That's probably why a guy like Wilbon called out Beantown- because basically, they are still way behind the curve and dragging their feet towards making progress.

There just aren't many minorities up here for whatever reason.

From one of the articles I linked (written in 2002):

Black Nativity draws blacks every Christmas, but few whites. They go to the Boston Ballet's Nutcracker. Lots of events for whites, lots for blacks, few for both.

"When I call friends in Philadelphia," says Greenidge, "they say, 'I thought you'd be gone by now.' If you're young, smart, and African American, the perception is you're supposed to leave Boston."

Aiesha Young did leave, settling in Washington, DC, after growing up in Roxbury. "The doors are more open," she says. "In Boston, you constantly feel there's a new obstacle. It's the segregation." She recalls a time when she went to play pool in the Fens- the only black woman in her group of 10. The bouncer said, 'You sure you're in the right place? You might want the South End.' Finally, the girl I was with saw me and waved, and I went in."

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I suspect that Wilbon is frustrated with the slow pace of progress being made there. Unlike Bill Russell, or Mo vaughn, or whichever overpaid current star you want to point to, he isnt being paid a large amount of money by a Boston team to be haapy and keep his mouth shut (the unwritten law in Boston, generally).

You should be happy a guy like Wilbon puts some light on the situation, to insure that REAL progress will CONTINUE to be made, lest people up there forget about it and go back to their old ways.

[Gainzo]

Are you even reading what I have posted?? All those links are recent- within the past few years. You keep deluding yourself that all the bad stuff happened 40 years ago, and the evidence is clear that not nearly enough progress has been made, and Boston is still a city that heavily discriminates.

Everyone who doesnt live in Boston, and who pays attention to what is going on there knows that. That's probably why a guy like Wilbon called out Beantown- because basically, they are still way behind the curve and dragging their feet towards making progress.

From one of the articles I linked (written in 2002):

Black Nativity draws blacks every Christmas, but few whites. They go to the Boston Ballet's Nutcracker. Lots of events for whites, lots for blacks, few for both.

"When I call friends in Philadelphia," says Greenidge, "they say, 'I thought you'd be gone by now.' If you're young, smart, and African American, the perception is you're supposed to leave Boston."

Aiesha Young did leave, settling in Washington, DC, after growing up in Roxbury. "The doors are more open," she says. "In Boston, you constantly feel there's a new obstacle. It's the segregation." She recalls a time when she went to play pool in the Fens- the only black woman in her group of 10. The bouncer said, 'You sure you're in the right place? You might want the South End.' Finally, the girl I was with saw me and waved, and I went in."

---------------------------------------------

I suspect that Wilbon is frustrated with the slow pace of progress being made there. Unlike Bill Russell, or Mo vaughn, or whichever overpaid current star you want to point to, he isnt being paid a large amount of money by a Boston team to be haapy and keep his mouth shut (the unwritten law in Boston, generally).

You should be happy a guy like Wilbon puts some light on the situation, to insure that REAL progress will CONTINUE to be made, lest people up there forget about it and go back to their old ways.

A lot of the articles you posted were about things that happened decades ago. The post from the Asian girl was her personal experience that she posted on some kind of message board. She also mentioned that South Boston people pick on Asians.

South Boston is no longer a bastion of white Irish. Those days are long gone.

I expect more from you than this type of general statement:

Unlike Bill Russell, or Mo vaughn, or whichever overpaid current star you want to point to, he isnt being paid a large amount of money by a Boston team to be haapy and keep his mouth shut (the unwritten law in Boston, generally).

How do you know this?

Bill Russell endured severe racism in Boston while he played for the Celtics but if you have read some of his comments it was no worse than what he experienced on the road when he couldn't eat in a restaurant or stay in a hotel because they were "white-only" establishments.

Bill Russell has been actively involved with the Celtics over the last 5-10 years. He comes to Boston all the time. Bill has obviosly decided that times have changed. It's too bad people like Wilbon seem to think it's still 1970 in Boston.

I also find it a bit rich that Wilbon takes aim at Boston while his hometown of DC is a racial mess.

[JetCane]

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How long have you been living in the USA? I dont think you understand the depth and history of the issue in this country, nor do you recognize the current effects of that history. Do you think people change overnight? In one year? In one generation?

Do you know that in 1969 when the Knicks won the NBA Championship, Willis Reed and Walt Frazuer just about walked on water here. No one begrudged Tommy Agee, Cleon Jones or Donn Clendennon when the Miracle Mets won in 69. Compare that to what Russell was subjected to by the racist bahston fans during the same era. He only won 11 titles in 13 years there.

Your reluctance to admit that problems still exist up there, and they are deep problems, is part of the problem, not the solution.

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Even after he became a superstar on the Boston Celtics, Russell was the victim of racial abuse. Once, he refused to play a game when he and his black teammates were refused service at a local restaurant in 1962.[36] Matters in Boston were made worse by a hostile press failing to acknowledge Russell's torment, instead citing Russell's perceived "bad attitude" as the problem.[45] "I didn't play for Boston," he once said, "I played for the Celtics."[45] While the Celtics founded the most successful sports dynasty of all time, bringing in 11 NBA championships in 13 years, the Boston Garden was snubbed by the local sports fans. During Russell's career, the crowd averaged a mere 8,406 fans, thousands short of a sellout. By contrast, the Celtics teams of the 1980s led by white legend Larry Bird sold out the 14,890-seat Garden for 662 straight games.[45] The worst case of bigotry was recalled by Russell's white Celtics team mate Tom Heinsohn. He recalled the instance when Russell tried to move from his home in the Boston suburb of Reading to a new home across town in 1968. His would-be neighbors filed a petition trying to block the move, and when that failed, other neighbors banded together to try to purchase the home that Russell wanted to buy.[45] Vandals broke into Russell's home and defecated on his bed. This event that led him to call the city of Boston a "flea market of racism".[46] Heinsohn also added that two white sportswriters from Boston told him they would not vote Russell the league's Most Valuable Player because he was black.[45] Furthermore, once in Marion, Indiana, he had been given the key to the city only to be refused service that evening in his hotel's dining room. Russell went to the mayor's home, woke him up, and returned the key.[45]

These hostile reactions made Russell sullen and wary. Similar to fellow NBA center legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was known to be very aloof,[47] Russell was known for his deep mistrust against the media, and was also notorious for his refusal to sign autographs. He stated: "You owe the public the same it owes you -- nothing". In addition, Russell neither was present in person when his Number 6 jersey was retired in 1972, nor when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, shunning the limelight both times.[36] Russell has stated that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds and he never permitted himself to be a victim, denying the bigots their triumph. He said: "I was a man first and basketball player second. I did not want people to define me by what I did for my profession."[5][6] However despite this bitterness which Russell felt toward Boston, in recent years he has visited the city on a regular basis, something he never did in the years after his retirement.[48] Russell still has sore feelings towards the city, but there has been something of a reconciliation in recent years.

[Gainzo]

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How long have you been living in the USA? I dont think you understand the depth and history of the issue in this country, nor do you recognize the current effects of that history. Do you think people change overnight? In one year? In one generation?

Do you know that in 1969 when the Knicks won the NBA Championship, Willis Reed and Walt Frazuer just about walked on water here. No one begrudged Tommy Agee, Cleon Jones or Donn Clendennon when the Miracle Mets won in 69. Compare that to what Russell was subjected to by the racist bahston fans during the same era. He only won 11 titles in 13 years there.

Your reluctance to admit that problems still exist up there, and they are deep problems, is part of the problem, not the solution.

------------

Even after he became a superstar on the Boston Celtics, Russell was the victim of racial abuse. Once, he refused to play a game when he and his black teammates were refused service at a local restaurant in 1962.[36] Matters in Boston were made worse by a hostile press failing to acknowledge Russell's torment, instead citing Russell's perceived "bad attitude" as the problem.[45] "I didn't play for Boston," he once said, "I played for the Celtics."[45] While the Celtics founded the most successful sports dynasty of all time, bringing in 11 NBA championships in 13 years, the Boston Garden was snubbed by the local sports fans. During Russell's career, the crowd averaged a mere 8,406 fans, thousands short of a sellout. By contrast, the Celtics teams of the 1980s led by white legend Larry Bird sold out the 14,890-seat Garden for 662 straight games.[45] The worst case of bigotry was recalled by Russell's white Celtics team mate Tom Heinsohn. He recalled the instance when Russell tried to move from his home in the Boston suburb of Reading to a new home across town in 1968. His would-be neighbors filed a petition trying to block the move, and when that failed, other neighbors banded together to try to purchase the home that Russell wanted to buy.[45] Vandals broke into Russell's home and defecated on his bed. This event that led him to call the city of Boston a "flea market of racism".[46] Heinsohn also added that two white sportswriters from Boston told him they would not vote Russell the league's Most Valuable Player because he was black.[45] Furthermore, once in Marion, Indiana, he had been given the key to the city only to be refused service that evening in his hotel's dining room. Russell went to the mayor's home, woke him up, and returned the key.[45]

These hostile reactions made Russell sullen and wary. Similar to fellow NBA center legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was known to be very aloof,[47] Russell was known for his deep mistrust against the media, and was also notorious for his refusal to sign autographs. He stated: "You owe the public the same it owes you -- nothing". In addition, Russell neither was present in person when his Number 6 jersey was retired in 1972, nor when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, shunning the limelight both times.[36] Russell has stated that his experiences hardened him against abuse of all kinds and he never permitted himself to be a victim, denying the bigots their triumph. He said: "I was a man first and basketball player second. I did not want people to define me by what I did for my profession."[5][6] However despite this bitterness which Russell felt toward Boston, in recent years he has visited the city on a regular basis, something he never did in the years after his retirement.[48] Russell still has sore feelings towards the city, but there has been something of a reconciliation in recent years.

I have lived in the area since 1986. Boston has an unsavoury past, as does the entire Country, in regards to race.

You keep glossing over the fact that Massachusetts is 85% white. Whenever anything happens to a minority up here the race card is pulled.

Did you not read my post when I said that Massachusetts has a black Governor and prominent black athletes and journalists?

The past is the past. Boston, and all of Massachusetts, has to fight a stigma about racism that is unfair IMO.

What about New York City? I have read numerous story's about the NYPD being accused of racism. You even mentioned Bensonhurst. A notorious haven for racists.

[Gainzo]

He has been on a rampage since the NBA Draft saying that Boston is a racist City and that free-agents (in any sport) don't want to play in Boston.

He's based his opinion on events that happened in the '60's and '70's. He even asked Doc Rivers, when Rivers took the Celtics job, why would he go to Boston.

Boston has a clouded past in regards to racism, I'm not going to deny that fact, but I feel things have changed for the better since then.

It's now 2007. Troy Brown is a hero in this town. Jim Rice lives in the area and is an analyst on NESN. Andre Tippett also makes his home here and works for the Pats.

Wilbon also failed to mention that the Governor of Massachusetts is black.

What is the perception outside of Boston/Massacusetts? Does Wilbon have a legit gripe or is he just trying to stir the pot?

Just thought I'd follow up on this.

With the Garnett signing sports radio and blogs up here have been all over Wilbon for his ignorant comments. It's too bad that he isn't on PTI this week as I would be very interested to hear his comments.

[Blackout]

does wilbon even do PTI anymore?

[Gainzo]

does wilbon even do PTI anymore?

It wasn't on last week as I turned on ESPN and was subjected to some nascar show.

Wilbon and Kornheiser are both off this week as others are hosting the show.

Wilbon will be back but I doubt he will say anything about Garnett.