On the eve of the NBA finals, LeBron James’ home was vandalized with the N-word spray-painted over his front gate, and he recently spoke out against the racism that is so plentiful in our society.
“My family is safe. At the end of the day, they’re safe and that’s what’s most important. But it just goes to show that racism will always be a part of the world, a part of America. Hate in America, especially for African-Americans is living every day,” James said at an NBA media event for the finals. “Even though that it’s concealed most of the time, even though people hide their faces and will say things about you, and then when they see you they smile in your face. It’s alive every single day.”
“And I think back to Emmett Till’s mom, actually, it’s kind of one of the first things I thought of. And the reason that she had an open casket is because she wanted to show the world what her son went through as far as a hate crime and being black in America,” he added.
“No matter how much money you have, no matter how famous you are, no matter how many people admire you, being black in America is tough. And we’ve got a long way to go for us as a society and for us as African-Americans until we feel equal in America.”
