On Saturday night we attended our second Jackson State football game of the season. For those of you who may not know Jackson state is a historically black university and remains over 90% African American today. Emily took a class there last summer and plans to enroll full time in January. Emily and I both enjoy sports and I must be honest there’s nothing quite like attending a college football game in October. Thanks to a co-worker we were able to score some discounted tickets for ourselves and a friend who was visiting from Portland. When we go to the JSU games we are usually some of the only white people there. This past week’s game was a big one with over 50,000 people in attendance. We always arrive just at kickoff and enter into the giant stadium packed with people, energy and marching bands. It’s a different football experience for me. I grew up going to Boise State football games where the crowd was mostly white. As we make our way from the neighborhood where we park, through the huge parking lot of tailgaters and into the stadium its hard not to notice the looks that we get. This week even more so because it was not only Emily and I but also Elisha who was born in Korea. While we made our way through the crowd to our seats I overheard one man say to another, “look at these people, they are in the wrong place”. I turned the guy and said, “No, we are in exactly the right place. This is where the action is right?” He just smiled. The truth is I like going to places where others wont go because it’s my belief that we all need each other. Jackson has an enormous population of white’s who love football but I don’t see them in any significant numbers supporting JSU. We choose to be separate instead of engaging in each other’s cultures. I feel at home at the Jackson State games. I almost feel privileged to be included. To be a minority in such big setting gives me a greater perspective on what other minority’s feel. Being some of the only white folks in attendance reminds of the race issues that still exist in our city. We plan to attend as many games this season as we can.
Johnny
(Emily and Felicia (a parent of 2 of our afterschool program students at the game)
1 comment:
Johnny you are wise and bold beyond your years. And you are also my hero, sprained ankle and all.
Who knew a maranotha-ite from idaho would grow up to have the wonderful perspective and desire to see change as you do! Not that there's anything wrong with maranotha-ites...but you are just a thousand miles away from the places and faces we knew growing up. And I think your in the best place in the world. (Not to put down idaho, I love that place...I feel like no matter what I say I'm sticking it to someone....so I'll just say i'm real proud of you!)
Matt
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