Anderson's got guts. She's in Beirut to play basketball, but provides keen insights into Lebanese culture while she's there. The most interesting to me is the way Black Americans don't seem to win anywhere when they go some places overseas:
I haven’t seen any Black people since I got here. In addition to being tall, I think my skin color is why everyone stares at me. There aren’t exactly a lot of people that look like me walking around here. Actually, I take that back.
I have seen a few Africans here. But the first year I played overseas I discovered that many Black Africans don’t necessarily care for Black Americans. I guess that’s still the case because they rarely acknowledge me in passing or even return my smile. So I just stopped considering them as Black people overseas. It’s funny how when I played in France and some French people didn’t like me because I was American, I didn’t really care. But for some reason I’m more offended at (some) African people’s reaction – or non-reaction – to me as a Black person. Gotta love racial politics.
Anderson is an example in persistence for everyone. Most players, when they get cut from a WNBA team, fade into the sunset - at least for a while. Anderson is out there banging, working on her game. Love it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Please save the "I'm black and I'm always a victim" BS Chantelle. It gets very old, very quickly.
Sounds like you've had some bad experiences and/or perceptions. Anderson's tone in this piece is not one of a victim at all. Did you leave this comment directly on her blog? You should.
Post a Comment