25 years ago a baby boy was born. His father was black (african-american), his mother was hispanic (mexican-american). His only concerns were breathing, eating, sleeping. He had no idea he'd face his childhood years wondering who and even what he was due to continually being bombarded with a peculiar question: "What are you?" Eventually he would learn that these seemingly innocent children were questioning his ethnicity or race. He would also come to realize how prevalent this subject would be in him establishing and appreciating his identity; his place in the world. The boy was me. What that story has to do with Tiger Woods and why he is still my hero, I will now attempt to explain.
As a child I often felt as though I didn't fit in. From the perspective of an elementary-aged "mixed" boy, school appeared to be segregated, though legal segregation had ended decades earlier. As I grew and progressed through school, the appearance of this "segregation" seemed to be more and more conspicuous. I saw the black cliques, the white cliques, the Asian cliques, the Mexican cliques, etc. I saw people of various ethnic backgrounds appear to blend in with their respective groups and often felt like I was on the outside looking in. As a child I had heroes, people to whom I looked up to and identified with their victories. Michael Jordan comes to mind. I came to identify closely to my African-American heritage and found myself cheering for and looking up to the black athletes, coaches, rappers, business people, news anchors, etc. Then came a guy named Tiger Woods.
I watched Sports Center as far back as I can remember so I'd heard the name and even seen images of Tiger before, but in 1997 history was made. Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods became the first first non-white golfer to win one of golf's most prestigious championships, The Masters. Naturally, I was excited and became more interested in the game of golf. I remember my father calling me asking if I had witnessed the victory and I could sense how important the moment was in his life. I remember going to the driving range during one of my brother and I's summer visits to Indiana where my dad lives. I felt empowered. Someone who was "mixed" like me had done something great, historic, ground breaking.
Since then I have come to witness one of the greatest sports careers in the history of sports. Tiger Woods is currently the world's top-ranked player of a game who's history and record books are filled with Caucasian competitors. I believe that before he retires, he will be known as the single greatest golfer to ever pick up a golf club.
Around the age of 18 when I was introduced to "the real world", I began to further study and develop my identity and seek out my purpose and where I fit in among the over 6 billion inhabitants of this earth. I studied the lives of people like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., A. Phillip Randolph, Elijah Muhammad, Nelson Mandela, Marcus Garvey. I gained confidence and began to feel like I could be like them, like I could be like Tiger. I could be great.
About a year ago it was a "mixed" individual who rose to the highest position in this nation. Senator Barack Obama became President Obama. While President Obama's election and inauguration meant a lot of things to a lot of people, it felt particularly good to me because I identified with him. I saw myself and see myself in him. I can relate.
Everyone has heroes in their lives. Some call them "idols" though I don't favor that term. People that we look up to, people that we want to succeed, people who we celebrate with when they win and perhaps shed a tear with when they lose. Despite the overwhelming negativity of the past few days concerning Tiger Woods, he's still my hero and I'll still point to him and credit him as someone who has inspired me to be great and I'll teach my children and one day my children's children to do the same.
DISCLAIMER: In an attempt to be as candid as possible, please excuse poor grammar, punctuation, etc. Also... I use the term "mixed". Though it is not a term I prefer, I think that you'll understand the point I was attempting to convey. This is a very sensitive subject to me and I've been desiring to speak on it for a while. Perhaps I will continue on the topic. Please let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks. Be Blessed.
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Categories: Editorial, Random
