The Hoddle of Coffee: Tottenham Hotspur news and links for Tuesday, June 9

Hello, all.

Let’s continue and talk about just one way to be anti-racist.

Ramble of the Day

Over the last few weeks, the term anti-racist has popped up a lot and along with it a number of resources and guides translating the term into action. Of course, the term existed before this year and so did many of the resources shared. If you need a beginner’s guide, here’s one I found a few weeks ago that I found really helpful (even as someone who isn’t a beginner).

I actually went to an anti-racism event held at my college when I was still a student — I was there on assignment for the paper. It was a pretty impactful, and allowed me to advance my education on systemic racism. The key takeaway was this, outlined nicely in a video by Man Booker prize winner Marlon James they used as the introduction. Being non-racist means simply condemning racism, a bare minimum; being anti-racist is a call to be more active in your beliefs — speaking out and donating are just two things you can do, but another is openly acknowledging race.

Allow U.S. international Lynn Williams to explain, as she did in Meg Linehan’s terrific roundtable discussion with seven USWNT players for The Athletic. (It isn’t behind the paywall, meaning you should give it a read if you haven’t already.)

The goal is not to say, ‘I don’t see color.’ That’s not the goal. The goal is for everybody to say, ‘I see you, I accept you, we’re equal.’ That goes for all races, ethnicities, genders, sexuality, that’s what the goal is. If someone ever said to me that they don’t see color, then I would say, ‘You don’t see me.’ Because this is who I am, I just want you to accept me.

The phrase “I don’t see color” is based in argument that humans have one shared experience. (The phrase “all lives matter” also minimizes the particular experiences of Black people, but in a more targeted way.) There are definitely experiences that many of us share, to the point where it feels like just about everyone has gone through them. That said, describing human experience as a solitary one and not a collective one made of many erases the different experiences. In the case of erasing Black people’s experiences, Williams says it is not an acknowledgment of her, and other Black people. Watford’s Andre Gray noted that specific experience in an interview with The Guardian:

It’s easy for a white person to think we have got it good or whatever but we don’t because you’re not the person that’s getting pulled over by the police, you are not the person that is getting judged by what you wear and how you look. You are not the person that has to pick and choose where you go, what countries you go to because of things like this. They will never get it. That is the ignorance of it.

Erasing that experience also, though, erases Black culture. It is already not prevalent enough in what we consider shared culture — Black creatives from film to fashion are offered fewer opportunities than their White counterparts, despite their notable contributions to that shared culture. Actively recognizing their specific experiences allows us to achieve that well rounded world view I have previously talked about.

Links of the Day

Former Manchester United fullback Tony Dunne died aged 78.

Brazil will no longer bid to host the 2023 World Cup, and is now backing Colombia’s bid.

Lyon’s Ada Hegerberg signed a ten year deal with Nike.

Fabian Johnson will leave Borussia Mönchengladbach when his contract expires this month.

Amazon will produce a film about former U.S. international Tim Howard, focusing on his early days as a goalkeeper with Tourette syndrome.

A longer read: Michael Caley on how football’s return during the coronavirus pandemic showcases its not always rosy role in society for The Correspondent