EROSEANNA “SIS” ROBINSON
BEFORE ALI. BEFORE RUSSELL. BEFORE KAEPERNICK. THERE WAS HER.
Culture Diary
What If... Featured Story
The Kitchen (Women’s Sports Section
Cover Story Outro
Real Talk from the Editor
For years, professors, old school editors, basically anyone born before 1980, would tell me my writing voice was too strong. It was too conversational. Which, is true but it was said to me as a bad thing. It was as if how I communicated through words was wrong because it was not traditional. If you are in a position of power or influence, unless someone under you is doing something completely wrong, not different, let them be. Help them. Inspire them. Guide them into perfecting their method.
But that doesn’t seem to work in journalism. It seems to be one size fits all. That just doesn’t work for me. To all the writers out there, it is okay to be unique. It is okay to write with personality, humor, and charisma all while keeping correct grammar, punctuation, and syntax.
So to all those who attacked my writing style, you were wrong AND myopic. A lot of time may have been wasted by me trying to conform and do things traditionally but I arrived at being comfortable with my ability as a journalist. There is no more imposter syndrome. I deserve to be here and I am good enough. This magazine is a legitimate media organization no matter how small it is, for now.
There is always a seat at the table for you if have the ability, the want to, and honestly, some well-timed help. Determining which seat is yours, however? That’s the game. Choosing wisely can set you back or set you on the right path immediately.
Oh, and shout out to Earl Lee, John Griffin, Willie Hysaw, Don Meadows, Ivie Moore, Tony Gibson, Jerome Berry, Joe Williams, Mel Hamilton, Jim Issac, Tony McGee, Ted Williams, Lionel Grimes, and Ron Hill
GOAT
Publisher Andre Brown
Editor-in-Chief Andre Brown
Creative Director Andre Brown
Writers Andre Brown & Juanita Anderson
Advertising Andre Brown & Joseph Lee For Media Inquiries, Advertising Opportunties, Subscription Options please contact us at ajb@goatthemag.com
Photo Credits: BuffaloBills.com, X.com, Midjourney, NationalToday.com, Lee Choo, National Congress of American Indians, Gabrielle Wroblewski, Martin French (the cover artwork), Candice Ward, Joe Rondone, Juanita Anderson, the Voluntown Peace Trust, JET Magazine, CNN, Steven Poole, Facebook.com
Culture
Diary Feat. Venus & Serena
Dear Venus and Serena,
I never gave a damn about tennis until you two showed up. You both taught me the game of tennis. Literally! I couldn’t follow a game because I didn’t understand the scoring or the lingo but I also didn’t care to because I didn’t see any players that looked like me. Now obviously I’m not a Black woman but the representation still works the same.
The way your dad believed in you two and told anyone with at least ONE working ear how great you two would be and how you ladies would change the game, at the time, sounded crazy but now it sounds prophetic. You both know the narrative because you lived it but it’s still wild to read. Two Black young girls raised in 80s and 90s Compton, coming up in a sport that was rooted in country club culture and white money, trained by their father who was self-taught about the sport, to become the greatest tennis players EVER regardless of gender
No one had seen anything like you ladies before. I mean, sure, there were the legendary Althea Gibson, Zina Garrison, and Lori McNeil before y’all. But I mean, aesthetic-wise and being, unapologetically, yourselves. Venus, you came through being 6’1” as a teenager being an imposing figure but also an athletic unicorn that played the women’s game with power not seen since Martina Navratilova. Serena, you brought the same power to the women’s game too along with the intensity and confidence that was looked down upon by them but loved by us.
And y’all know we HAVE to talk about the beads in the hair. Growing up around Black women my whole life, seeing beads in their hair, braids (micro, box, etc), colored hair barrettes, and all that, it’s just something I was used to seeing in my own community. But seeing that on a Black woman athlete on TV was an eye-opener! Even though you both were called “ghetto” and other racist coded terms, you both stayed the course even though it wasn’t easy.
That Reebok deal that you landed, Venus, was a landmark deal for women athletes across the board. The first deal was for $12 million when you were FIFTEEN YEARS OLD! Then you reupped in 2000 for $40 million. Women athletes weren’t doing that but you were. Then you penned a wonderfully insightful open letter about the unequal winnings pay at Wimbledon and Wimbledon listened and made the winning pay equal!
Serena, you didn’t have much hype behind you as a teen player coming up So what’d you do instead? Only won 23 Grand Slam titles (second all-time), 4 Olympic gold medals, and 73 singles titles. Oh, and became an on-court fashion icon. Oh, and redefined what a strong woman athlete looks like and plays like. Oh, and you won your 23rd GS title while being pregnant. What?!
And to see the fruits of your two’s labor in the form of Sloane Stephens, Naomi Osaka, Madison Keys, Coco Gauff, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Taylor Townsend, and so many others is truly amazing. Thank you ladies, thank you.
With appreciation, Dre
What if....the Buffalo Bills WON four Super Bowls in a row?
They would be known as the greatest dynasty in NFL history
Everyone knows the story by now. You may not know the players or the specifics of the games but, you know. You know that the Buffalo Bills lost four Super Bowls in a row. Or maybe you know that the Buffalo Bills haven’t won a Super Bowl period. Perhaps you have heard the jokes relating to the Buffalo Bills but didn’t really understand it. Either way, you know.
Nothing in a professional league is easy. Making your mark as a consistently good or great player is hard enough. Being in contention, annually, for in-season and post-season awards is tough. Being a consistent winner, year in and year out, and making the playoffs and/or the championship series or game is damn near impossible.
What the Buffalo Bills were able to do from 1990-1994 was remarkable. It’s low-hanging fruit to clown a team that lost four consecutive teams on the biggest stage but think about this. When was the last time YOUR team made the World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals, or Super Bowl? Have they made it once? Obviously just making it to the championship is never the goal but it's better than a lot of other teams do.
But what if the Buffalo Bills won any of one of the Super Bowls they played in? Let’s take it a step further since we’re here, what if the Buffalo Bills won ALL FOUR Super Bowls in a row?
It’s January 1991 and Super Bowl XXV is upon us. The game is played under the tense backdrop of the Gulf War. A fact highlighted by the heavy security, the helicopters circling and snipers at the highest points of the stadium. Also, the halftime show (New Kids On The Block were the performers) wasn’t shown on TV but Peter Jennings covering the latest from the war was. Then there was the ICONIC version of the National Anthem sung by Whitney Houston.
This is an AI-generated image
The Bills come in with a 13-3 record facing the New York Giants, with the same record. Buffalo had a record-setting offense with four future Hall of Famers on that side of the ball; quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, and wide receivers Andre Reed and James Lofton. The Giants brought a dominant defense led by all-world linebacker, Lawrence Taylor.
The K-Gun offense, a term that probably couldn’t be used today, proved to be too much for the defense, which led the league in points allowed. Thurman Thomas ran for a Super Bowl record 275 yards and 4 TDs, and he was named Super Bowl MVP. The Bills won their first-ever Super Bowl, 34-20.
The city of Buffalo goes absolutely crazy during the championship parade which is hosted by the happiest person there, journalist and Buffalo native, Tim Russert. Kelly, who had one too many beers, drunkenly proclaims at the parade “We’ll be back next year!” Everyone cheers but no one outside of Buffalo truly believes that.
So in the 1991 regular season, they set out to prove everyone outside of Buffalo wrong. The record was the same at 13-3 but with that first Super Bowl under their belt, they played with a different swagger. A swagger that had Thomas win Offensive Player of the Year and League MVP. Kelly just completed 65% of his passes for 33 TDs, no biggie. However, Smith battled a knee injury all season long that saw him limited, and finished with a sack and a half.
A lot of times in a dynasty-type run, you need some lucky bounces. And in a lot of conference championship games, there have been some monumental upsets. In this fun hypothetical world, exactly that happened. The Washington Football Team had a historic season going 14-2. Widely considered one of the best teams in NFL history. So what happens when you have the defending Super Bowl champs against this team? A top three Super Bowl of all time!
The first half was a defensive battle where the kickers and defense showed out. The halftime score was 12-12 thanks to 4 field goals from each of them. But in the 3rd quarter, the game resembled the epic 3 round fight between Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler. Haymaker after haymaker. Both teams scored 21 points each in the penultimate quarter leaving the score at 33 all. The first team to turn it over was probably gonna be the loser and Washington had that distinction.
Washington QB Mark Rypien threw the game’s first interception late in the 4th quarter allowing the Bills to break the 40-40 tie. Kelly drove the team down the field for a game-winning field goal by Scott Norwood. Yep, that guy. The Bills went back-to-back, and the offensive numbers put up in that game stood for 10 years until the Los Angeles Rams broke them against the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXIV in New Orleans �� and Kelly won his first Super Bowl MVP.
That summer, all the talk across sports was could the Bills do what no previous NFL team could and that’s win three Super Bowls in a row. A feat that was made even more difficult with Reed missing the season after tearing his ACL in training camp and the release of SB hero, kicker Scott Norwood. The Bills soldiered on though, and made it through the season with a respectable 11-5 record and made it back to the Super Bowl AGAIN. Their opponent? The San Francisco 49ers in the Rose Bowl.
I’ll save you the words here. The Bills won. Easily. Like, 40-13, easy. Bruce Smith won Super Bowl MVP and now the words “greatest dynasty ever” floated around and it made sense. Who was going to stop them and when? Surely they wouldn’t make it back for a fourth consecutive team, right? The Raiders, the Steelers, the Chiefs, one of them had to do it! Nope.
Buffalo made it back yet again sans emotional leader and linebacker Daryl Talley and receiver James Lofton, who moved on in the offseason. But that core four were still there and helped the Bills go 12-4 in the regular season and get to a fourth consecutive Super Bowl in Atlanta. They went against a young and hungry Dallas Cowboys squad who were cocky and confident that they’d run the Bills over.
Dallas even led at halftime 16-6 and 26-13 after the 3rd quarter. Buffalo finally looked like they had run out of gas and the run would stop at three consecutive Super Bowls. They weren’t done and made a comeback for the ages. Scoring on their final two drives including a 4th and goal in regulation to win the championship. Kelly won his second Super Bowl MVP, his 4th ring, and a place in the history books.
Buffalo would not make the playoffs the following season. They wouldn’t make the playoffs for the next five years, actually, as the dynasty would slowly dismantle via retirement or trades. When NFL dynasties were discussed moving forward, the Bills topped every list over the Steel Curtain Steelers, the 1980s 49ers, and even the Greatest Show on Turf Rams.
But in reality, they didn’t win a Super Bowl nor have they made it back to one since 1994. Also, as nice as it would have been to win one, it does not diminish any of the careers of the players on any of those teams that lost. However, it’s always nice to think about what if…
THEY ARE NOT MASCOTS
All the team name ideas out there and people have gone this route?
The Native/Indigenous community is a proud people. They are proud of their customs, the garments they wear, the many tongues they speak, and just proud of being who they are and have every reason to be. They show that a relationship between humans and land can be harmonious and fruitful. While I’m sure they can turn up if pushed there, they typically are quite peaceful and mind their business.
But most important of all, they are human beings who deserve to be treated with respect just like everyone else. So why in the hell have they been turned into sports team mascots? And why has it taken so damn long for even the gradual change that we have seen?
The fact that American sports organizations feel comfortable calling their teams the Braves, the Chiefs, and the Seminoles is mind-blowing. Sure, two teams saw the error and changed the names; after 93 years and 82 years, respectively but change is change. While the names above are not slurs, they are terms that were given to a community that never gave the okay to have those names used in the first place.
Then as if the names aren’t bad enough, there is the tomahawk chop chant that happens at every game with a team with a Native American name. You are probably thinking, or thought, that that song and chant came from a deep Native/Indigenous custom. And you would be wrong. Dead wrong.
The whole ensemble never started from the Native/Indigenous community or culture at all. The genesis of it all is from White Americans. I’m sure you’re shocked. It all started at Florida State University in 1983. Yes, a racist tradition started in Florida. Again, I know you are shocked.
According to Tomahawk Nation, a Florida State University fan page, a fraternity (Theta Chi) member named Rob “Sweat” Hill made up the chant at a football game, in 1983, as a nearby marching band member beat on the drum.
He thought it would be fun to mock and mimic what he thought a Native American chant would be. But it gets “better”! So in 1985, an FSU student group called the…..wait for it, the Scalphunters; yes, I am serious, they held a pep rally where they added and demonstrated the chop to the chant, and from there, it’s pretty much history. Ignorant history.
There is no way in hell that a team named the “Louisville Blacks” would pass in today's world. There would be a riot if there was a team named the “Albuquerque Señors”. Or if an American team's name was the Samurais, Punjabis, or the Hebrews. We all understand that those communities should not be team mascots. Yet, a huge majority of us refuse to give that understanding to the Native/Indigenous community in that regard.
Not that the concept of respecting one’s culture and heritage is confusing because it certainly isn’t. It is simply that a lot of White Americans don’t care. The disrespect does not impact them and there are a lot of them who see Native/Indigenous people, inherently, as less than human.
When it comes to the term “braves”, the term is a mix of the Spanish word bravo meaning “untamed” and “savage” and the Latin word barbarous meaning strange, ignorant, and uncivilized. A term created by Europeans to describe how they Native Americans centuries ago and wouldn’t you know it, the term stuck in America. Go figure.
James Gaffney bought the franchise in 1912, when they were in Boston, and changed the name from the Rustlers to the Braves and it stuck ever since. Gaffney was called one of the “braves” of the New York political machine, Tammany Hall, which used….a Native American chief as their symbol.
The franchise ended up moving to Atlanta in 1966 and the racist and ignorant “tomahawk chop” came about in 1991. The act immediately drew the ire of so many Native American groups who came against it vehemently. And what did the team owners and MLB do throughout the years about it? Not a damn thing.
The history of the word "chiefs" is interesting. It is not a slur by any means but it certainly isn’t a term that comes from the Native/Indigenous community but from the…..wait for it…White European community. Please tell me you’re seeing the theme here. With some professional and college teams, it is not always that a slur referring to that community is used but a term used to describe certain community members that they did not invent. It’s a form of long colonization.
The Kansas City franchise got its team name from Harold Roe Bartle, the Kansas City mayor from 1955 to 1963, whose nickname was “Chief”. �� The franchise has made concerted efforts over the years to improve its standing with the Native community. Headdresses banned from being worn in the stadium, and the immensely racist logo from the 1960s has been discontinued for decades, they have gotten with Native American communities within the last 10 years to see how to best go about game-day events with respect.
But, that tomahawk chop? Still there. And have they met with Native/Indigenous communities and people who DON’T agree with the name and everything about it to get a different perspective? More than likely not. And they wouldn’t because they, as White Americans, aren’t the ones whose culture is being insulted. And that’s the problem.
The history of the Seminole tribe is rich and deep. In the 1700s, the Creek Indians migrated from Alabama and Georgia to seek peace and refuge away from Europeans. By the 1770s, the Florida Indians became known as Seminoles, a name that means “runaway”.
Wars in the 1800s, started by the U.S. by the way, effectively pushed most of the Seminoles out of Florida and any that were left in the state went into hiding out of fear for their safety. In the late 1950s, federal legislation that allowed for Indian reservations on U.S. soil helped buoy the Seminoles, and other Native tribes, to resurrect. On July 21, 1957, tribal members voted for a Seminole Constitution which helped form the federally recognized Seminole Tribe of Florida.
In 2013, the Seminole Tribe of Oklahoma, the largest of the three recognized Seminole governments, strongly objected to the use of the imagery saying “The use of American Indian mascots, images, and religious symbols is harmful to all children, and is discriminatory to Native cultures, Native imagery, and violates religious icons". I guess that the “one person/group likes it so everyone must like it” theory doesn’t fit here. Hmm.
The Aztecs were a mighty people and an empire that went from a nomadic people to a mighty civilization in the 15th century. They arrived in present-day Mexico just after the fall of the Toltec empire and set up shop in Tenochtitlán (present-day Mexico City). They brought with them farming techniques, hunting skills, irrigation, and agricultural methods, and a strong military tradition.
At its peak, their empire ruled 500 small states totaling 5-6 million people with Tenochtitlán having 140,000 inhabitants. The Aztecs had built a bustling metropolis before that was even a term. Outside of the technology, any and everything you see in today’s modern cities, they had it. The cause of the fall of the Aztec empire? Yep. A European invasion. Spanish, specifically. Came through with their weapons and diseases and cleared shit out.
In 2019, San Diego State finally removed its racist Aztec mascot after 88 years. In 2017, the university’s Native American Student Alliance petitioned to also have the name “Aztec” removed. It wasn’t, obviously but the university instead put together an Aztec Identity Task Force!
A 17-person committee comprised of students, staff, faculty, and community members. Five of which, SDSU President Sally Roush selected herself. And how many were of Native or Indigenous ethnicity? We don’t know because she chose to keep the group anonymous. An alleged 88% of the “task force” was okay with the Aztec moniker remaining. Things that make you go “hmmm.”
The lengths that White Americans in positions of power in this country will go to not think about other cultures or other people in this country is truly astounding but also a tale as old as time. Forget that there are ethnic groups, whose objections far exceed the the ones who are okay with Native team names, that are not okay with it. It isn’t about their comfort and it never was. It is about not seeing a group of people, subconsciously, as human beings.
There has been progression recently with the Cleveland baseball team becoming the Guardians and the Washington D.C. football team becoming the Commanders. But each circumstance took almost a century to change. Mainly because the louder the cries got, the more the faux claims about Native/Indigenous support became prominent.
"The Native American community in that region is wholly supportive of the Braves' program, including the chop. And for me, that's kind of the end of the story," he continued. "In that market, taking into account the Native American community, it works."
- Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred
"I think it was a Washington Post poll that came out in 2016] that said nine out 10 Native Americans do not take that in a negative fashion -- the [Redskins' logo or the Redskins' name, and they support it."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell
Those team names more than likely will not change. Those in charge will give every excuse as to why not. They will range from vague to absolute bullshit.
“It isn’t that easy to do so.”
“There are so many people who love the name and identify it with the team.”
“The Native/Indigenous groups we’ve talked to are okay with it.”
They don’t want to change the name because they don’t give a damn about how the Native/Indigenous community truly feels. They will keep the names so as not to upset White American fans and continue raking in merchandise sales. That is of their utmost importance. But let me be crystal clear, Native & Indigenous people are NOT YOUR MASCOTS.
Not all viewership is wanted viewership.
Words by Juanita Anderson
For two years and some change now, women’s hoops has seen astronomical growth and projects to only get bigger. Over time, that’s a GREAT thing. We should all be excited. The possibilities are truly endless. But right now? Family. This shit stinks. And it has nothing to do with the play, which has been fantastic and worth every bit of the attention it’s garnered. The problem, however, lies in the kind of attention that it’s garnered and the culture that’s been created between old fans and new.
There has been rampant racial, misogynist, and homophobic harassment, abuse and denigration online and in real life. Away from the comments, away from the mentions, away from the stories, away from quote tweets and the Tik Toks. Away, away, away. Away from ALL of that, these women are facing very real and tangible threats. For which, at NO point was the WNBA prepared.
Before we move any further I need you to understand that most WNBA dialogue is rooted in how people see Black women. Good, bad or indifferent. What the league is worth, how good it is, if it’s taken seriously, all directly related to Black women and how we are seen. That has always been the case, which is why the women’s game was deliberately sabotaged to begin with. (To whoever just groaned, wondering, “Is EVERYTHING about race?” Yes. Actually. It is.)
Thanks to ESPN finally remembering that they had the rights to women’s basketball, we can see that proven to be true. And even with ESPN doing that, W playoff games are relegated to ESPN2 because of contractually obligated priorities.
.During the next media rights negotiation, I believe the league could and should advocate for more prioritization. Although, I will say, I think ESPN airing W games at the same time as NFL games is a great thing. Serve your base. I hate that the NBA ran scared. Not even about Christmas, they tucked their tail for JV football Thursdays. Yikes.
Anyway. All season long, WNBA dialogue and culture were as toxic as wastewater and stunk even worse. From the moment Angel Reese taunted Caitlin Clark in that national championship game in 2023 all the way until now, Caitlin Clark has unfortunately carried a sizable contingent of virulent racists amongst her “fans”.
Fans positively interacting with two of the league’s most popular players, Angel Reese (top) and A’ja
Wilson
Folding what they think she represents into their own personal politics. They have harassed, stalked, threatened and racially abused Caitlin’s Black colleagues to the point of a severe lack of security. Across a few cities. Which brings us to the blazer-in-chief, Cathy Englebert and her grossly irresponsible comments about new fans on CNBC Television.
Too many Black WNBA players have been deliberately made unsafe by situations she allowed to fester in the interest of the league making money. And on one hand, I get it. The league needs the money. The issue is sacrificing your players is the wrong way to go. But it didn’t matter to Englebert, who happily welcomed racial denigration that she would never see and slurs she would never hear in exchange for league pass subscriptions. How reprehensible.
Connecticut Sun players talked about the abuse they endured, Chicago Sky players have talked about the abuse they endured, Phoenix Mercury players, even fans have talked about the abuse they’ve endured. All were told to shut up and be thankful, or it’s just trolling. But I have a fundamental issue, specifically on part of the players.
Alyssa Thomas, Connecticut’s best player, is not on social media. You cannot tag her. You cannot see her profile. Still, she was subject to what people are calling “trolling”. Trolling is ultimately harmless. Categorized as bait to get a reaction. This is more than that. You don’t think the players don’t know the difference between trolling and genuine hate? Threats of bodily harm are not trolling. I don’t think it’s truly computing to people that “I will r*pe you, nigger bitch” is a real threat these players receive. Which makes what Englebert did so particularly infuriating. Now, I will give credit where credit is due. I’m not THAT much of a hater. Englebert has been great when it comes to bringing money to the W. The Ion deal? Genius. The game is best when the game is free. Tubi allows that for so many and I’m forever grateful. That said, to admittedly feed your Black players to the racist wolves in the interest of courting racist dollars is disgusting.
As much as players have been annoyed with Clark’s silence about what people do in her name, she has never once endorsed that behavior. Has always condemned it and visibly laughed it off as absurd when asked. Not only that, from what I can ascertain, doesn’t even believe those things privately. This is where she may have to be more forthright in her approach about her beliefs, however, she shouldn’t have to.
She’s a victim in all of this as well and I hope people can remember that. This is an issue of safety and security on the part of the league. Who needs to figure out how best to protect their players in general. That half hearted released statement was a day late, a FEW dollars short and wholly insufficient. That may have been cool in May, but in late September/early October? They can kiss my ass.
Then there’s the role of the media, who are set on fanning the flames of hatred for clicks. Look at Christine Brennan. Throwing rocks and using her career to hide her hand. Been covering professional women’s basketball how long and had the audacity to ask a pro who’s NEVER had ‘dirty’ on her jacket if she hit someone in the eye on purpose? Then doubling down on it?
A question isn’t tough just because it’s accusatory. It was asinine and out of bounds. The WNBAPA was right to say what they said and take the stand that they took. These players and their time matter far more than whatever self-righteous truths these journalists call themselves seeking.
The W might be the most educated professional sports league in the world. Almost everyone has at least one degree. A fair amount of players even have two. They know what they are talking about. They know what they are saying. They know what they are experiencing. They know what to call it. You can ask the players real questions. They will give you real answers. IF you care.
But the league doesn’t need media members like Brennan who’ll enthusiastically play on racist tropes and stereotypes for a story. It doesn’t need new “fans” who racially harass, abuse and denigrate its players. And most importantly, it DEFINITELY doesn’t need a commissioner who’ll carelessly casually dismiss its players’ humanity for fickle fan fare. Because those people don’t and won’t stick around. But Black women should all just shut up and be thankful, right?
The Ballad of Rose robinson
KNOW Her name
Words by Andre Brown
Athlete activism is a well-known term today. Sometimes, it is even overused to a certain extent. But it isn’t an action that is foreign in today’s society. Unfortunately, the perspective on it is still very controversial and is still very much seen with hatred.
Many people claim to know various rights covered and protected by the Constitution of the United States. But it usually is the ones that work in their favor so they don’t have true repercussions for example, freedom of speech. Yes, as an American, you do have a right to speak out against anything you like or dislike. Be it religion, politics, sports, or who won the Bachelor, you can speak on it.
Also, in the same amendment, it states about the right to peacefully assemble and protest. Whether it is a group or an individual, they have a right to protest what they see as an injustice in this country. Yet, with that being in the foundational document of this country, there is still an issue with protest. And you have heard all the tired excuses and biased framing as to why.
“I just don’t feel like it is the right time to do this”
“If you don’t like it here go back to (insert country here)”
“All protestors do is loot and set fire to things out of anger”
And on and on and on with the bullshit. But it’s clear why protesting in this country as a marginalized person or group pisses people off. There are those that don’t believe that women, Black people, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups or people deserve anything in this country and they want them to just shut up and be grateful. Well, thankfully Eroseanna “Rose” Robinson didn’t see it that way.
Born in 1924, Robinson is considered to be the first sports activist before the Civil Rights movement even got started. She was not primarily an athlete nor did she only exhibit activism in a sports forum. She did, coincidentally, blend the two without trying to do so but just standing up for what she thought was right.
In 1952, she worked at a community center in Cleveland, Ohio and she decided to help desegregate Skateland, a local skating rink. In her non-violent plan, she brought three kids, two Black and one white, from the center where she worked. She wanted to show that if two kids who are different can get along, why can’t adults do the same? Patrons at Skateland didn’t agree.
The children were harassed by white teenagers. Robinson, who returned to the rink with some friends who joined her cause, was physically assaulted by some customers there. She suffered a broken arm as a result and the security and employees there did nothing to help her.
In 1958, Robinson was invited to a track meet, disguised as a goodwill tour, between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. She declined the invite because she felt like and did not want to be used as a political pawn for world affairs. The objective of the meet was to “show off” American Black citizens as cared for citizens and not victims of discrimination and prejudice and Rose wasn’t having it.
A year later, Robinson was scheduled to run track at the Pan-Am Games in Chicago. Before the race, as the National Anthem played, Robinson refused to stand up for it. Becoming the first athlete, of note, to do so. Even in a very pre-internet and social world, her stand, or lack thereof, infuriated everyone and got the attention of the U.S. government. And they wouldn’t let it slide.
In 1960, the U.S. government had her arrested for tax evasion. Tax evasion. For $380. By any means necessary I guess although I’m sure Malcolm didn’t mean it like this. Now, to be clear, she truly did evade taxes �� to be jailed over such a small amount was a bitch move but, when you draw the ire of the government, that happens. In her first court appearance, she explained why she did not pay her taxes. “I am against my money being used for war purposes”, said Robinson.
She was sentenced to a year and three days in prison but her activist spirit remained strong. While imprisoned, she staged a hunger strike not eating or drinking for three months. Robinson had to be carried to court hearings because she was so weakened.
According to the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, her defiance to adhere to the way of life in prison and increasing media coverage led to her early release. She was free, but the hunger strike's complications effectively ended her athletic career. Her activist life was in full swing though.
In 1961, Robinson joined an activist group called the Peacemakers and did activism work with over the next two decades.
Her last notable act was, while with the Peacemakers, organizing and participating in a restaurant sit-in along Route 40 in Elkton, Maryland. Her and two others, nicknamed the Elkton Three, of course got arrested, jailed, and fined. Their case did spark attention and got the attention of the then-Maryland governor who worked to desegregate the restaurants along Route 40 for years to come.
Eroseanna Robinson died in 1976 at the age of 52. She went out quietly just like her life story was covered. But her impact grew louder and louder as time went on. Robinson didn’t do all the things she did for fame or notoriety. Or even to make a change. She did everything because she thought it was the right thing to do ethically and morally as a human.
When sports activists are spoken of, the usual suspects get brought up in the telling of their story. And they are mainly men. But women have been doing this too AND they did it first. Thank you, Rose Robinson, for leading the charge.
Thank you Black 14