Born in Red Hook, Brooklyn and raised in Baltimore, Carmelo Anthony has seen his fair share of race and societal issues. In a feature for ESPN The Magazine, Anthony talked about the Freddie Gray case in his hometown of Baltimore, and the wise words he told Colin Kaepernick after the 49ers quarterback started a major protest.
HB: The thing that bothers me most about this is that people believe, especially about black athletes and black professionals in general, “Well, you made it. What’s the problem?” They seem to treat you as if having success forfeits your voice, when actually it should empower your voice.
CA: The reason I feel so strongly about my beliefs is that it’s been going on forever. Then a part of me is like, “I can’t speak up on every single issue because then it’d be like, ‘Oh, he’s just talking again.'”
But when it’s powerful, timing is everything, and for me the Freddie Gray thing was the one that tipped me off. It was like something just exploded. It was like [snaps] now was the time. Enough is enough. And everybody’s calling me like, “We should do this” or “We should do that,” and I was like, “I’m going home.” If you want to come with me, you come with me, but I’m going home. I’m not calling reporters and getting on the news; I’m actually going there. I wanted to feel that. I wanted to feel that pain. I wanted to feel that tension.
HB: Have you spoken to Colin at all? What was your initial reaction when you saw it?
CA: I spoke to him that night. He reached out to me that night. And I’m watching and I’m like, “OK.” Like, “What’s next?” In a very respectful way, he was like, “I took this step and, you know, just wanted to get your thoughts on what’s happening.” And I said, “Well, you’re courageous.” I said, “You just showed a lot of courage in what you just did, but now is the hard part because you have to keep it going. So if that was just a one-time thing, then you’re fucked. But now you keep it going and be articulate and elaborate on why you’re doing it, and be educated and knowledgeable of why you’re doing it so when people ask, you can stand up for what you believe in and really let them hear why.”
source: ESPN
