It appears being the best player in the NBA doesn’t mean anything in the eyes of racists who spray painted “n****r” on Lebron James’ Los Angeles home earlier this week, according to the TMZ.
The incident occurs days before James suit up for his seventh straight, eight overall, NBA Finals. LAPD confirmed to the HuffPost that they were called to James’ home early Wednesday morning pertaining to an act of vandalism that occurred on the front gate of his home.
Apparently, James, an Akron, Ohio native, was not there during the incident, but shared his candid thoughts on the incident, and the state of racism during a Wednesday press conference.
“If this is to shed the light and continue to keep the conversation [about race relations] going on my behalf, then I’m okay with it,” James said. “My family is safe.”
As an African american man myself, I relate to James fully. Imagine growing up in a diverse suburb your entire life then, after graduating community college, you drive to the other, not so diverse, side of the state to continue undergrad.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh, the closest major city to my University, ranked 227th out of 230 cities in United States’ diversity ranking in 2015. However, in 2017, the city ranked got progressively better, ranking 275th out of 501 cities. Contrarily, Philadelphia, the closest city to my diverse suburb, ranked 103rd in the same 2017 study.
While I fit the mold of a “white, black kid”, because of my skin pigment, I still am the victim of racism. Honestly, some of it is unknowingly, but racism nonetheless. Also, there’s blatant racism, the worst kind.
As Kevin Abstract, musician, said, informing me I’m not “like the other black kids” isn’t a compliment. And, this is coming from more often than not that one black friend in the group. That said, unless you’re black there’s certain things pertaining to racism others won’t understand. Hopefully, one day racism won’t exist.
“And even though that it’s concealed most of the time, we know people hide their faces and will say things about you, when they see you they smile at your face, it’s alive every single day,” James said.
The LAPD’s still investigating the incident, as it may be officially deemed a hate crime. For the record, hate crimes were up 20 percent in 2016, according to NBC News.
“Being black in America is tough,” James said.
