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Happy Juneteenth
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Happy Juneteenth

The Knicks celebrated the 155th anniversary of the official end of slavery by doing a really good thing.

Knicks Film School
Jun 19, 2020
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Share this post
Happy Juneteenth
knicksfilmschool.substack.com

Much like winning basketball games, when it comes to PR, the New York Knicks usually bring up the rear.

This has been driven home over the last several weeks, first by their refusal to issue a statement in the midst of nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, and then by the paucity of the words they finally did put out for public consumption.

Yesterday, when they and the Rangers hosted a Juneteenth Youth Symposium featuring Scott Perry, Allan Houston, former Ranger Anson Carter, Senator Jamaal Bailey and NHL Chief Marketing Officer Heidi Browning, it was a chance to make up ground and get an easy PR win. And if that was all yesterday was, I wouldn’t have taken the time to write about it today.

But it was so much more than that.

Twitter avatar for @KnicksNation
Knicks Nation @KnicksNation
The Knicks & Rangers are hosting a Juneteenth Youth Symposium now via Zoom. Led by Allan Houston and Scott Perry Report that.
Image
6:45 PM ∙ Jun 18, 2020
6Likes1Retweet

As I sat and listened to the conversation, I couldn’t help but be struck by the genuine passion that each of these voices brought to the table.

When Scott Perry talked about growing up in Detroit during race riots and having to watch military tanks roll down his block as he stood on his front lawn, it was hard not to be moved. “I grew up as a product of that type of tension,” Perry said as he reflected on the past while trying to make sense of the present, thinking about “how far we’ve come, [but] how far we’ve yet to go.”

Houston, a father of seven, spoke about how all parents need to treat the recent weeks as a call to action. “Are we modeling our own expectations?” he asked as he implored the audience that all of us, black or white, “have to have these conversations.”

As an educator (I used my official teacher email to get into the Zoom chat - thanks NYC DOE!), I can attest to the power of these sorts of talks. The school I teach at in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn was populated almost exclusively by black and brown children when I first arrived; now, you can often count the number of non-white faces on one hand in the average middle school classroom.

As a result, our administration has had to do a lot of work guiding our staff through these changes. It starts with being open and honest - something that yesterday’s panel certainly was.

At the end, each panelist gave advice to educators trying not only to make sense of what is happening around us but to use these events to spur thinking in the next generation of those who can enact real change. I thought Perry’s words here were most poignant: “Be comfortable in the uncomfortable.” In other words, pretending we live in a colorblind society, or that we ourselves are colorblind, isn’t the answer. Instead, we must confront the ills of society head on, even if does take teachers - especially white ones - out of their comfort zone.

Twitter avatar for @ESPNNBA
NBA on ESPN @ESPNNBA
The NBA has given employees paid time off for Juneteenth for the first time in league history, @MarcJSpearsESPN has learned. (via @TheUndefeated)
es.pnSource: NBA giving employees paid time off for JuneteenthThe NBA has given employees paid time off for Juneteenth for the first time in league history, The Undefeated has learned. According to a league source, the NBA…
12:28 PM ∙ Jun 19, 2020
277Likes83Retweets

All in all, yesterday was a day that every Knick fan should be not only proud of, but take inspiration from as well. The organization, just like our country, is far from perfect, but there are positive signs that progress is being made and good things are happening, both on and off the court.


Another head coaching candidate emerges…

Will Hardy, who looks like he should be wearing a peddler cap and tossing the paper onto my lawn from his bicycle, is the latest member of the Pop coaching tree to get an interview with the Knicks.

Twitter avatar for @krispursiainen
kris pursiainen @krispursiainen
Here's a Spurs' look from last year at Will Hardy:
poundingtherock.comGiving Will Hardy the proper congratulations he has earnedThe reality of someone in the Spurs organization working their way from the ground up.
3:38 PM ∙ Jun 18, 2020
8Likes5Retweets

It’s another good sign, both because of where Hardy comes from and that they’re interviewing him in the first place. There is something that feels genuine about this coaching search, even despite the fact that almost all of these candidates are CAA clients, as Marc Berman reported yesterday. Overall, it’s good practice to keep an open mind.

(Feel free to remind me I said this when Thibs is announced as the new head coach three weeks from now)


New Podcast feat. Deadspin founder Will Leitch

Twitter avatar for @JCMacriNBA
Jonathan Macri @JCMacriNBA
Latest KFS Pod: ⁦@williamfleitch⁩ is an editor at ⁦@NYMag⁩, a movie critic, an MLB columnist and the founder of Deadspin. He’s also a Knicks fan. We talked writing, sticking to sports, optimistic fandom, Melo, Dolan, RJ, and much, much more.
podcasts.apple.com‎Knicks Film School: Will Leitch on Apple Podcasts‎Show Knicks Film School, Ep Will Leitch - Jun 18, 2020
11:09 AM ∙ Jun 19, 2020

Tweet of the Day

Twitter avatar for @RealBillRussell
TheBillRussell @RealBillRussell
Sign me up Brady! I have great Hope for our future with smart guys like you leading the way. Please join me and sign Brady’s petition #BlackLivesMatter @NBA @BostonGlobe @SLAMonline @MSNBC @CNN
Twitter avatar for @wtsdmedia
Jennifer Timinski @wtsdmedia
After watching a documentary about the Lakers & Celtics rivalry in the 60s and seeing how poorly players like Bill Russell were treated, Brady (on his own) made this petition and is asking for support to stop racism. His goal is 100 signatures. https://t.co/EAbUHOznkk
7:20 AM ∙ Jun 19, 2020
719Likes100Retweets

That’s it for this week! See everyone Monday and have a safe and happy weekend. #BlackLivesMatter

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